Uroborus

"You mean... Izzy watched herself... die?"

Writer: Scott Gray

Format: Comic Strip

Released: June - October 2002

Printed in: DWM 319-322

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Fey

Synopsis 

After the Doctor's request, Fey returns to his side in the TARDIS. But immediately things turn sour as the Doctor discovers that he and Izzy have been followed in recent adventures. The Mobox, along with Ophidius are back, but they're not the only ones...

Verdict 

Uroborus was a superb penultimate comic strip in my continued reading of the Oblivion graphic novel! I'm not quite sure about the name of the story but that shouldn't (and doesn't) take anything away from its quality. The whole graphic novel really came together here and it's not even the concluding story of the collection! I can't wait to see what happens in Oblivion. This story was nicely set up after Izzy's kidnapping at the end of Children of the Revolution and Fey's return to the Doctor's side in Me and My Shadow. I loved how angry the Doctor was throughout this story and it was quite strange at times as I can't picture Paul McGann being too aggressive. However, after the brilliant The Night of the Doctor, I could believe it more and did read the words of the Doctor in the voice of Paul McGann himself. If the writer can achieve that in comic strips or in prose then it's a job well done in my opinion as from my perspective of reading, if I'm reading in the voice of the Doctor's featured incarnation then the essence of the specific incarnation has been expertly captured. They've managed it tremendously well so far with the Twelfth Doctor in The Eye of Torment and The Instruments of War. Fey's arrival into the TARDIS was good and I imagine she was a rather fun companion whilst travelling with the Doctor in her original run. I'll have to backtrack a collection or two of Eighth Doctor graphic novel collections! The Doctor describing the horrific events of Ophidius to Fey once again summed up how shocking it was what happened to Izzy. As Fey pointed out, she literally watched herself die. I'd never thought of it like that and it really did hit home! I was intrigued that we were given a sequel to the opening story of this graphic novel and the Mobox and Ophidius itself both returned. The Doctor's disapproval of the Mobox's apostrophes was wonderful. It was just one fine example of how angry he was. It wasn't exactly a new side to any incarnation of the Doctor, but I don't think we'd seen it on this scale before. The cliffhanger to part two was quite a shock I must say! Destrii had returned! After we watched her die, here she was wearing Izzy's body, alive and well. She'd toned up the body which wasn't appealing in terms of attraction at all. But I guess she was just a drawing in the first place. The flirtatiousness between the Doctor and Destrii was rather surprising but I liked it. If any of the Classic Doctors are going to be romantic then surely the Eighth Doctor is the one to be it! Just look at The Movie! This does bring me to The Aztecs however with the First Doctor getting engaged to Cameca! Ha, who would have thought! The threat of the Mobox was good to see once more and I really liked the ferociousness of Ophidius. The relationship between Fey and her alter ego in Shayde was intriguing and I like that they can switch the control of consciousness. The Doctor's remark to Destrii about the reason he was saving her was incredible. He was simply keeping Izzy's body intact and said the women wearing it could rot. That was an unprecedented comment from the Doctor but one I absolutely loved. It showed how much Izzy meant to him and just how angry he was with what had happened. His relationship with the Presidor was great too. I liked the climax and the action scenes were terrifically drawn. Overall, a fantastic comic strip and one that has set up the finale where we'll see the search for Izzy in full fashion! 

Rating: 9/10