Herald of Madness Part 3

"Knowledge always comes with a price."

Writer: Scott Gray
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 4th April 2019
Printed in: DWM 537

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham

Synopsis

The Gathering at Castle Houska reaches its horrific conclusion as the plan of the evil Baroness comes into fruition with the meeting of the minds of all the scientific theorists present. The Doctor has gone loopy and is no help, leaving Johannes Kepler helpless at Dagmar's mercy...

Verdict

Herald of Madness continued in style with this third part but first I look ahead to the magazine itself this month, despite being some way behind in my DWM reading! I am barely halfway through the last issue due to building university deadlines and essay writing as well as a successful darts weekend away in Newcastle but this looks set to be an interesting issue. The focus being on a university remake of Mission to the Unknown is quite intriguing but I probably have a hugely unpopular opinion on this as I don't think it should get any kind of DVD release from the BBC. Remakes that use original footage and animation are great in my eyes but I'm not a fan of complete remakes as I think they're the equivalent of recasting an actor, something I am not in favour of and is probably why I have next to no interest in the David Bradley audios from Big Finish. Something doesn't sit right with me about it. I look forward to reading all about the project as I am sure those carrying it out are incredibly passionate about the show's history so it should be great to read. The current Time Team are growing on me and I look forward to them viewing the Eighth Doctor as he's just superb and does not get the credit he deserves because of a lack of televised episodes, but I'm also looking forward to the Doctor Theatre feature following on from my listening of The Ultimate Adventure. The costume feature for Tzim-Sha should also be a good read too as it was quite the gruesome look! Now, onto the comic strip itself and I thought it was another solid continuation. The adventure hasn't been anything better than good so far but I have very much enjoyed and I'm liking the utilisation of the Castle Houska setting very much. Johannes getting involved more was very good and his nobility in ensuring that Graham and Yaz were saved in return for his cooperation was excellent. Yaz using her phone and the Snapchat bunny ears to get out of the dungeon was hilarious as the theme of witchcraft was maintained, something of a recurring feature under the Thirteenth Doctor. The fate of the Doctor in investigating the mysterious sword that the underground coven worship was unexpected and her gibberish really did worry Ryan. I did hope that more would be made of the fact that Dagmar was actually half-horse and owed something to Greek myth but she didn't stay in what is presumably her true form for very long. The meeting of the minds happened very well and I look forward to seeing its effects in the next part. I get the feeling that Tycho will play a big part after learning that Johannes will become far more renowned than he ever will. Overall, a good continuation!