Music of the Spherions

"War. It's everywhere I turn."

Writer: George Mann
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 9th December 2015
Printed in: Titan Comics: The Eighth Doctor #2

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Josie

Synopsis

The Eighth Doctor and Josie Day start a universe-wide investigation! First stop - Lumin's World, home to a raging war between the near-extinct Calaxi and the crystalline Spherions! When Josie is wounded in the crossfire, it's up to the Doctor to strike a peace - and find a cure - before she dies!

Verdict

Music of the Spherions was another excellent Eighth Doctor comic strip to continue my reading of the A Matter of Life and Death graphic novel. With the dissertation nearly due (and complete!), I think this is the perfect little collection to take my mind off the final stress of submitting my last undergraduate assignment. Thankfully, the quality has been superb thus far but I shouldn't be surprised when George Mann is at the helm. He's a terrific writer and I must say that I have been most impressed with his writing of the Eighth Doctor. The characterisation here was excellent once again but in her first proper outing as companion, Josie really was able to steal the show and show that she is already a terrific companion. I really liked that the TARDIS arrived in the middle of a war-zone and the battle between the Spherions and the Calaxi had clearly been raging for quite some time. The little flashback we got of the history of how the Calaxi were targeted and sought after was quite saddening and they really were living in an eternal struggle of which there seemed to be no escape. Josie getting infected with a crystal provided the story with a perfect problem that needed to be resolved and I loved how the Doctor dismissed claims that it was too late to save Josie. He laughed in the face of being too late. The Doctor comparing this war with that of the Time War was intriguing and given his attire, this story can't be set too far before The Night of the Doctor in the chronology of the Eighth Doctor so it appears that at this stage he was still running from the fight. But I also enjoyed how he was worried that it could not be contained. Josie being grateful for getting an adventure in space was terrific and I liked how accepting she was of her looming death. She didn't blame the Doctor but he was having none of it. He would do what all wars are resolved by - talking. His words weren't quite enough but once he learnt of Glinix, Josie took over and pleaded for them to stop killing the intelligent life that they now knew the Calaxi were. But they wouldn't. Josie's plea was magnificent and the Doctor provided the Spherions with an ecosystem in which they would benefit and he also saw that they provided Josie with the cure. She would no longer be transforming into a Spherion but things didn't stop there for her. The Doctor provided her with her very own art room in the TARDIS but it was more of an entire landscape! It was rather impressive and she was very grateful. I'm enjoying this pairing very much and I look forward to their upcoming adventures.

Rating: 9/10