Fast Asleep

"I let one of them die."

Writer: Rob Williams
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 30th March 2017
Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 16

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Squire, Abslom Daak, River, War Doctor

Synopsis 

The endgame begins, as the architect of the Doctor's pain stands revealed, and the truth behind the Squire is out in the open at last! With Alice still trapped in the Time War, and Abslom itching to take a chainsword to the enemy, can the Doctor broker peace and balm his guilty soul?

Verdict

Fast Asleep was an absolutely superb comic strip adventure! It really did set up the finish of the second year of adventures for the Eleventh Doctor very well and we finally started to get some answers as to just what has been going on for the past twelve stories or so. I took the unusual step of reading a story from an issue after one I was yet to finish but I felt that after reading Kill God only a few days ago, the memory of this segment of the comic's story was still strong so it made sense to push on with things rather than starting a new story with the Twelfth Doctor. I can't read last issue's Tenth Doctor story until I reread its opening part but I foolishly left the issue in which that appears back home so that will have to go on hold for now. Anyway, after an absence in the last story the Eleventh Doctor returned to the frontline of action for his segment of the comic and I really liked the characterisation of Matt Smith's incarnation. He was worried and panicking about what he'd let happen to Alice and that part of his character was captured on the page wonderfully. I'm still intrigued to see what happens with River Song and I liked how the writer tried to convince us that she could possibly die by mentioning how the future is not written in stone. There was a nice reference to Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead but it's no secret that River will recover. I do though look forward to seeing how that pans out. It still seems weird to me that we have Abslom Daak travelling with the Eleventh Doctor but with the Time War focus, the Dalek hunter does seem to be a good fit, even if he doesn't always get on with the Doctor. Although the scenes in the TARDIS were of interest, it was what happened in the Time War parts of the story that really struck me in this comic strip. Alice learned a lot of what lead her and the Doctor to the point of being on the run and the creation of the Then and the Now from the paradox was excellent. I didn't expect that to be Alice's route back to the Eleventh Doctor but I was absolutely okay with it! I really did like it. The Volatix Cabal creature that seemed to be more characteristic of a Dalek this time around was intriguing and its comments really did get me thinking. It was just so weird and wrong and that's everything that I loved about it. It seemed to perfectly fit the Time War which was great. I liked how the paradox that was created by the psilent songbox was the explanation for how the War Doctor would not remember his encounter with Alice. He was able though to help his future self by relaying a message he would not remember giving which I thought was excellent. The fate of the Master seems to be sealed but he always finds a way to come back and I'll be surprised if we've seen the last of him in this second year of adventures. This story finally revealed to us some information about the Squire though which I was delighted with! It was obvious from the start that she wasn't what she seemed but I didn't expect her to be part of the Volatix Cabal. Just how the Doctor fails to have any memory of her is yet to be seen but the way she just shot Abslom Daak was quite a way to finish a story! It was a pacy and action-packed story that started answering a lot of questions whilst still leaving us with things to be answered. Overall, a superb story!

Rating: 10/10.