Once Upon a Time Lord

"An empty world, devoid of life, love, or lunacy..."

Writer: Steve Parkhouse

Format: Comic Strip

Released: March-April 1985

Printed in: DWM 98-99

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Frobisher

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Frobisher are once again tested my the time thief Time Lord known as Astrolabus. However, time seems to be running out as Voyager is on the verge of retrieving his prized after star charts, which could prove fatal for one individual...

Verdict 

Once Upon a Time Lord was another absolutely brilliant comic strip to, I assume, conclude the ongoing story of Astrolabus over the last few stories in the Voyager graphic novel. The story after which the collection of comic strips is named is where all this kicked off in incredible style and Steve Parkhouse really did conclude the (what I now like to dub) Astrolabus trilogy in just the same way. It was only two parts but it was just magnificent! A brave style in places with three pages of what can't be referred to as comic strips but exactly what you would expect to find in a fairytale book. I thought the rhymes were extremely clever and I liked that despite them telling us what was going on in terms of story advancement, we had a text recap at the bottom to drum home exactly what was happening. Without it, things could possibly have been a little confusing but with it there was no such trouble in the slightest. I also liked that there was a whole page taken up by just one action. But that gave credibility to the fact that different dimensions were being entered. It was almost the Warriors' Gate blank look in comic strip format. I thought it was fantastic. The story had a similar feel to The Mind Robber in my opinion in that everything the Doctor was encountering could instantly be changed. I loved the fact that Astrolabus was instructing children to construct what the Doctor and Frobisher would encounter next. He really is a superb villain. A Time Lord foe with a twist. The Cabinet of Astrolabus setting was great and I do like to think of this villain as perhaps the Time Lord version of the Celestial Toymaker. There's obvious similarities. Although later in the Doctor's life, but still in this incarnation, I thought the affects Astrolabus had on the Doctor were similar to that of the Valeyard in The Trial of a Time Lord, particularly during the last two parts of the story. Since Voyager, which was neatly referenced, Astrolabus has had a strain on the Doctor and I loved the inclusion of the possibility that it could have been occurring long before that story. Polly the Glot was also nicely referenced with this story continuing quickly from where that left off with Frobisher's kidnapping. I loved that it seemed the Doctor had fallen for this trap before but Astrolabus hold on the Doctor meant he might do so again. Once the Doctor came face to face with his nemesis again I really enjoyed the encounter. To say the Doctor was displeased would be an understatement! He seemed to despise his fellow Time Lord. Well, I say fellow but judging by dialogue in previous stories he should just be referred to as Gallifreyan as he was banished by the Time Lords. I've loved his French aspect and the fact it hasn't really been explained just adds to his wonderful enigmatic personality. Despite not taking it at A-Level, I like to think I am pretty decent at French and could understand most of what he was saying. I wasn't fond of my GCSE French teacher but I liked the subject and got an A comfortably. The climax was superb with the Doctor finally turning the tables on Astrolabus. The revelation that Astrolabus was himself the star charts that Voyager cherished so much wasn't expected I must admit but I liked that once the Doctor worked that out, he felt he should have seen it all along. But the revelation that I loved the most was that Astrolabus was in his final incarnation! I thought it was brilliant that we got a similar situation to The Deadly Assassin not set on Gallifrey. Here was the Time Lord who, through the star charts, wanted immortality. This Time Lord would have lived thirteen lives and even that was not enough. How envious the Doctor's Time Lord foes must be should they learn about The Time of the Doctor and the fact the Doctor received a brand new regeneration cycle that he didn't even ask for! But at this point, it was Astrolabus who was seeking a new regeneration that just was not to be. The threat was over and Voyager let the Doctor go free. Frobisher was rescued, Astrolabus was thwarted and now the Doctor was free for a brand new set of adventure! A clever cliffhanger. Excellent story!

Rating: 10/10