The Stockbridge Child

"The day of the Lokhus is upon us!"

Writer: Dan McDaid
Format: Comic Strip
Released: December 2008-February 2009
Printed in: DWM 403-405

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Majenta

Synopsis

The Doctor returns to the village of Stockbridge in the company of unwilling companion Majenta Pryce. There, he is reunited with a face from the past in the form of Maxwell Edison but dark forces are once again at work in the strange village...

Verdict

The Stockbridge Child was an excellent comic strip adventure to continue my reading of The Crimson Hand graphic novel! The village has quite a reputation amongst the Doctor Who comic strips now and seeing the Tenth Doctor's encounter in the village was a real treat. I'm still a little bit off knowing the full extent of what the Doctor has encountered here as I am yet to read most of the Eighth Doctor's stories from DWM but those events getting referenced here was very good. I liked the little flashbacks to the past encounters Maxwell has had with the Doctor and it was great how there was no time wasted in the pair getting reacquainted despite the change in appearance of the Time Lord. The concept of Khrysalis was very good and I loved how Max stood up for his village and created the Stockbridge Preservation Society. He was proud of his village and wouldn't see it come under any harm. The apparent company didn't seem to be doing much at all though and following some investigation from the Doctor, it was soon revealed that they had been digging rather than building. That explained the lack of visual development and I was quite entertained by He and She. They were Lokhus and they yearned for their son. He wasn't dead but had been dormant since the beginnings of the Earth and the flashbacks explaining his background and the fact he came from the After Universe was terrific. It's a mind-boggling concept but crossing universal barriers sounded quite extreme! The reward they got was instant death which was a bit harsh but the Lokhus wasn't messing around. The way that he could use psyche ability to get the local population to mother him was intriguing and I found it quite funny that he soon got sick of them offering all kinds of food. The Wyrrmen were very good henchmen and I liked that there were quite a few different alien species cropping up. Majenta was fantastic in this comic strip and I love how she really doesn't want to be like the Doctor's past companions. She's here purely for business and isn't all that bothered about doing good and saving people. I get the feeling that will change though and her conversations with Max should be the catalyst for that. Max being taken over was good and I liked how strong he was when he needed to prevent the Lokhus from escaping the Khrysalis. The conclusion was exciting and well paced and I thought it was a bit of a shame that Max didn't take up the Doctor's offer of becoming a companion once again. The mentions of UNIT and Torchwood and Stockbridge needing Max to defend them was a lovely touch though. Overall, a brilliant comic strip adventure!

Rating: 9/10