The Sound of Our Voices

"When you can understand... you don't have to destroy."

Writer: Al Ewing

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 18th June 2015

Printed in: DWM #5

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Jones

Synopsis 

Aboard a United System Research Base, an unknown creature is running rampant, putting the research team into comas - their bodies perfectly healthy, but their minds wiped! Posing as an inspector, the Doctor investigated, ultimately freeing scientist Dr Janet Rutherford, who had been arrested as the scapegoat. That's when Security Chief August Hart revealed that the creature is a secret SERVEYOUinc experiment, and pulled a gun on them both! Meanwhile, Jones took a bathroom break... only to be confronted by the hulking, amorphous creature - in the pseudoflesh!

Verdict 

The Sound of Our Voices was a great conclusion to the entertaining story already started in Whodunnit? although I'm still not sure why the writers of the Eleventh Doctor's Titan Comics run have decided to break with the tradition of the other Doctors and continue the story but with a different name for the second part. I think you can get away with it on screen as we've seen over the past eight television series but in comic strips I much prefer to have the same name followed by 'part one' for example. Obviously this was part two and I just don't see the point in having a comic strip adventure spanning two titles! But anyway, it is what it is. I liked the conclusion of the previous part, which I mandatorily reread prior to reading the latest instalment in this month's comic, with Jones finally becoming relevant by being confronted by the apparently monstrous Arc. I'm not sure what Jones brings to the TARDIS team but despite his not doing much, he's seemingly enjoyable for no apparent reason. I hope he gets some more major roles in future stories as after all, this was only his first full adventure following his arrival in What He Wants.... I do like how he seems to make everything into song lyrics and it's nice that he and Alice can get along as there's a connection between the pair as Alice's mother was a huge fan of his. However, that would be the Jones after he's done travelling in the TARDIS. Alice was much more enjoyable in this part of the story and was probably my favourite issue for the still what I would consider new companion. There was no whining about her mother or leaving the TARDIS (which in only issue four was frankly ridiculous) as she made up for me disliking her in the first part of this story. Her and Jones really do seem to be bonding and I hope we can see that come through in the next few stories. Whether they're going to return to one part stories or to my annoyance have multi-part stories with different names remains to be seen, but I look forward to it nonetheless. I thought this was probably the best the Eleventh Doctor has been characterised in DWC thus far and I think it's just wonderful that 18 months on from Matt Smith's regeneration in The Time of the Doctor, we're still enjoying new adventures with my favourite incarnation of the Time Lord. After the future reference to this story in The Friendly Place, I really did think that we'd get something a bit more paradoxical or at least more than one issue between, but I like that the Doctor and co know about the future of the enemy, in this case August Hart. His torturing of Arc was obviously not going to go down well with the Doctor and the anger was masterful of this incarnation. The differences he and Rutherford saw in the laboratory were marvellous. Alice seeing the beauty in Arc was very good and I liked the revelation that its thirst for knowledge was the reason for the many people going into comas. It was logical and it made sense, though I thought it could have been a tad more dramatic. Alice confirmed she wants to stay on the TARDIS and I hope we don't get anymore ridiculous thoughts about her wanting to leave. And it seems like Arc is a new companion of sorts. I'm not sure how that'll work but the Eleventh Doctor is certainly getting up to a lot whilst he's away from Amy and Rory! Overall, a good ending to a decent two-part story. 

Rating: 8/10