Polly the Glot

"The Akkers were a race apart... They were as boring as rope. As interesting as insurance. As dull as dental decay..."

Writer: Steve Parkhouse 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: December 1984 - February 1985

Printed in: DWM 95-97

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Frobisher

Synopsis 

Zyglots, the rarest creatures in the galaxy, are being ruthlessly hunted for their colours by the dullest race in the universe - the Akkers. The Doctor, reunited with his old ally Ivan Asimoff, are tasked with an important mission.

Verdict 

Polly the Glot was another excellent comic strip adventure to continue along the graphic novel of Voyager, which is shaping up to be pretty spectacular! We started off in great fashion with the acquisition of Frobisher as companion in The Shape Shifter and then the outstanding Voyager itself which may rank as the best Classic comic strip story I've read, with Children of the Revolution going to take some beating. As for as the best overall comic strip story, I can't ever envisage Hunters of the Burning Stone being beaten though. That was just incredible, as you would expect from the fiftieth anniversary, but it blew away even my wildest expectations. Anyway, back to the story at hand and although this was my first story that I've read with Doctor Asimoff, I liked the fact that he was returning. Judging by the dialogue and reference to him appearing previously in DWM 56, I'm going to guess that he first met the Doctor when he was in his fourth incarnation. So going from meeting the Fourth to Sixth Doctors, he's certainly met two very different personas of the same Time Lord! His reaction to seeing the TARDIS was brilliant and I loved how he bumped into Frobisher, who I thought had a more prominent showing than last time out. Judging by the excellent artwork on the cover of the graphic novel, I am now getting skeptical about when Peri is going to show up! I just don't understand how she can't even have been referenced! She witnessed the Doctor regenerate in The Caves of Androzani so she can't just have disappeared in the comic strips. She was a constant with the Sixth Doctor until The Trial of a Time Lord and if Peri was not on the cover then I could accept that these stories were placed between Peri's departure and Mel's arrival but I know that she's coming at some point so my skepticism remains. Asimoff seemed to accept the Doctor's change of face awfully quickly which shows to me that he made quite an impression in their first meeting! I liked how Frobisher seemed to learn of the Doctor's ability to change faces for the first time at that moment. Frobisher isn't the only person in the TARDIS who can change forms, though the Doctor doesn't want to do it willingly. The Akkers were an interesting species and for them to be dubbed the dullest race in the universe, I still question how they were capturing the Zyglots. Though to be fair in saying that, Polly's race didn't seem all that intelligent. Just drifting around in space yet they were incredibly valuable. I'm still not overly sure why. I liked that Asimoff, as ridiculous and stupid as he looked (a tad harsh maybe, but he's only a drawing at the end of the day), fell in love with Polly the Glot. I liked that the Zyglots appeared here, chronologically for the first time but for me it was my second showing with the species after reading The Time of My Life recently. The continuation from Voyager was also fantastic with Astrolabus feigning his identity in a way the Master would be proud of. The Doctor's reaction to the subtle mention of the time thief seemed to set off a reaction inside of the Doctor similar to what we saw in the previous comic strip story. Just what Astrolabus is up to I'm not sure, but I'm liking how bad it's affecting the Doctor. The lack of appearance from Voyager was a surprise I must admit. The climax was very good with the Doctor, seemingly favouring the use of gun if he wasn't using it, helping Asimoff to free his love. However, in freeing his love he himself became heartbroken. But at least her pain was relieved. The conclusion was superb with Frobisher being kidnapped which should lead nicely into the next story of the graphic novel, which I anticipate greatly. 

Rating: 9/10