The Singer Not the Song Part 2

"This might be my only song - my final song."

Writer: Nick Abadzis 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 7th April 2016

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 05

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Gabby

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Gabby have walked straight into a war. Something has corrupted the song of the Shan'tee - a mysterious signal of unknown origin - and now the Doctor has gone to investigate. With a plan for a three-way genocide in full fruition, can Gabby help maintain order while the Doctor stops the signal at its source?

Verdict 

The Singer Not the Song concluded in brilliant fashion here with this superb second part and the story really has kicked off the second year of Tenth Doctor comic strip adventures in an excellent way! I like the idea of Titan Comics going with different years as the televised format would with a series but at least with these comics we don't have to wait months and months for new adventures! That's the beauty of the comic strips because whilst the TV series is having an extended leave of absence from our screens, Doctor Who Comic is there to help fill the void with stories for the current and two previous Doctors. I'm very surprised to find that the original Doctor Who Comic has been discontinued and although I prefer the Tales from the TARDIS format as it actually is a comic, I would have thought that considering we are six months behind the USA in terms of release date, and the fact we don't have the Fourth, Eighth or regular Ninth Doctor comic series currently available that the content to fulfill both issues would have been more than satisfactory! Ahh well, it's not to be but I guess I'll just have to save £3.99 a month. After rereading part one prior to concluding the story, something that for some reason seemed an absolute age ago, I remembered how much of a new feel this story seemed to have which went well with it kicking off the second year of adventures and that same feeling was present once again here which I thought was very good. Gabby is just wonderful as companion and I really hope these comics go on for years to come with her as companion because she really is just terrific. Ever since Revolutions of Terror, she has grown with each story and here the way she took charge when the Doctor was elsewhere was magnificent. I thought Allegra was really good here following on from the fantastic cliffhanger with the virus affecting her after jumping species. She reacted to the infection very well and I admired how in her final moments all she cared about was saving the others. What was to come of her would not be Allegra D'Angelo but it would be a monster. She knew that and wanted to be quarantined. Smokey gave us quite the revelation in this story as he was literally in two places at once! That ability of the Shan'tee was quite remarkable and I liked how the two rejoined as one at the end but retained both sets of memories. Imagine having that ability! Harris was a very good character once again and I liked his relationship with Allegra and his unwillingness to kill her despite her begging. I thought the characterisation of David Tennant's Tenth Doctor was very solid which pleased me because I've watched four episodes featuring him on television recently so I'm glad they captured his likeness pretty well. His attempts to kill the virus at its source were good and the humour in the TARDIS with Smokey and the reconfiguring of the dimensional orientation was brilliant. The return to the scene we saw at the beginning of part one was done superbly well and I loved how just when Gabby seemed to have given up on the Doctor arriving, her face lightened up by the familiar sound of the TARDIS dematerialising. The Doctor had found the cure thanks to the very first version of the song that housed the virus and used a megaphone to send it through the Nocturnes and defeating them. I'm not so sure why the Doctor's 3D glasses were worn by the Time Lord but I do like how they're cropping up from time to time after also showing up in The Fractures. The climax was full of action was good and I liked how humans and Shan'tee alike were extremely grateful to Gabby and the Doctor for saving Wutpaki. The ending involving an appearance from Anubis was unexpected but it's good that The Fountains of Forever/Spiral Staircase/Sins of the Father is not being forgotten. Anubis still wants a home. But for now, the Doctor was still looking. Overall, a fantastic story and a great start to year two! 

Rating: 9/10