Warlord of the Ogrons

"Don't punish me if I fail!"

Writer: Steve Moore

Format: Comic Strip

Released: January 1980

Printed in: DWM 13-14

Featuring:

Synopsis

Dr Linus Leofrix has a dastardly plan to enslave the Ogrons for his own personal gain, but why try and control them all when you can control the one that leads the race?

Verdict

Warlord of the Ogrons was another very good little comic strip story to continue my way through The Return of the Daleks graphic novel! I am absolutely loving venturing to different parts of the Whoniverse without the Doctor and I think the fact the stories were published so early on in the tenure of Doctor Who Magazine and when the Fourth Doctor was still current makes them feel all the more retro and authentic. That's a big bonus in my opinion because now with the world of Big Finish we have had so many spinoff series beyond the Doctor ranging from the likes of Graceless and Jago & Litefoot to Sarah Jane Smith and the Zygon Century to name but just a few. However, tackling the Ogrons in 1980 is a delight because they're still pretty fresh from their appearances alongside the Third Doctor in Day of the Daleks and Frontier in Space so getting a comic strip adventure on their home world must have been pretty exciting! I certainly would love for example now to find in the pages of DWM a comic strip story that was like a spinoff featuring the Smilers. They're on a similar kind of level but I'd be all for exploring more of them and their world! I was impressed with the artwork in the comic strip because there was some development and evolution of the Ogron appearance that I actually think worked. I'm not often a fan of a redesign unless it comes to the Cybermen or a Dalek paint job, but this definitely worked and expanded on the Ogrons that we saw on screen. I like the brute nature of the Ogrons and them just thinking in terms of war and violence is part of their charm because they're pretty stupid otherwise. It's all part of the fun. I think that vulnerability actually made the scheme of Linus and Rostow all the more criminal. I actually felt sorry for the Ogrons and I think here on their home world they wouldn't actually be considered 'bad guys' per say. I think that's intriguing because they've clearly been bargained for by the Daleks when we see them on screen so they're out to make a living. Who can argue with that? I thought the plan for Linus, and Rostow in particular, in wanting to subjugate Gnork to their technological advancement was very good because now with opening up parts of his brain that he wouldn't use before and giving him lessons and visual aid on strategy, he would become Warlord of the Ogrons as the title suggests. It didn't quite work out that way though as he quickly became much more intelligent and used his brute force alongside to become a rather handy Ogron! The logic in wanting to control the Ogron that could control all other Ogrons was sound, but it was never going to work! Not with this violent race. The fight between Gnork and Gwunn was good stuff and I liked the idea of seeing an Ogron challenge, but Gnork was out to save his race and not see them subject to men's will. That was an admirable trait. The way they rose up as a small band against Linus and Rostow was strong and Gnork now taking his newfound intelligence and position to leave the men behind on the Ogron planet while he took the ship and ventured into the galaxy was quite audacious. Overall, a really strong little story. 

Rating: 7/10