Ravens

"Snow and patterns and coincidence."

Writer: Andrew Cartmel
Format: Comic Strip
Released: June-August 1992
Printed in: DWM 188-190

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis

In feudal Japan: A ronin Samurai trudges though ice and snow towards his destination, planning on committing seppuku, ritual suicide. He is the Raven.

Britain, the near future: A gang has taken a mother and her daughter hostage, along with other people in a petrol station. They are the Ravens.

What links these two events across time? Does it have anything to do with summoning a demon?

Verdict

Ravens was an excellent comic strip story to continue my reading of the Evening's Empire graphic novel! I was really impressed with the adventure and it was certainly noticeable as being a Seventh Doctor tale by the great Andrew Cartmel. I'm a huge fan of his work and I thought he did another stellar job here, even without the Doctor featuring too much. Despite that, the Doctor's role in it was subtly huge as the demon lord of time. The mix in settings between feudal Japan and near-future Britain was very good and I liked how similar they were presented despite the obvious distance in time. The alternation was frequent but not too quick and the contrasting ravens within each was fantastic. The Raven, as the Samurai was known, was grieving following the death of his wife and daughter and was now contemplating on joining them in the afterlife through his own means. He was a warrior equipped with a sword and I found it very intriguing that the Doctor went to him for help. He needed him to deal with the situation in what was presumably the beginning of the 21st century with the gang known only as the Ravens. I would have liked a tad more development on why they seemed to be draining their victims of their blood but that is literally my only qualm with this story. Other than that, it was brilliant. I thought the narration throughout was magnificent and the eeriness of the comic strip's atmosphere was hugely impressive. It was definitely a highlight of the story. The relationship between Christine and her daughter Demi was lovely and I liked how strong and full of confidence the latter was. She was too young to be scared of a gang in a petrol station. Rickie, Gerard and Annie were all very different members of the Ravens and I liked the surprise that the narration had been by Annie for the whole story. I really didn't expect that. Seeing the Doctor ensure that the Raven spared her life once he arrived in all the glory of the TARDIS was excellent and I loved that the swords were superior to the bullets. It was a chilling tale and I think the fact it was in black and white was hugely beneficial to its feel. I really liked it. Overall, a brilliant comic strip!











Rating: 9/10