Seaside Rendezvous

"So the sand is alive?"

Writer: Paul Cornell

Format: Comic Strip

Released: July 1991

Printed in: DWM Summer Special 1991

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis 

Whilst the Seventh Doctor and Ace are holidaying in Blackpool, a familiar face from the Time Lord's past has made its presence felt. It's very hungry, and intends on feasting on the inhabitants of the beach...

Verdict 

Seaside Rendezvous was a very interesting, and extremely quick, special comic strip adventure. You couldn't ask for someone better than Paul Cornell to pen a short story which it was at a mere five pages but to be fair to him he did a good job and definitely the best he could with what he had to play with. This story saw me complete all the comic strip stories in what has been a highly successful a The Good Soldier graphic novel. I've thoroughly enjoyed it and although I think the cover is a bit questionable in regards to the title story, the stories have been a joy to read. I really did love The Mark of Mandragora which I would probably say was my favourite from the collection overall. Earlier on in the graphic novel the brilliant Cornell penned A Glitch in Time over a similarly short format which was just incredible. Sadly he didn't quite live up to his earlier work but I like that he was trying. He brought back what could be considered an unfamiliar enemy in the Ogri which we of course saw in The Stones of Blood. The reference to that story was great though I am surprised with the choice of enemy to be brought back. The Seventh Doctor definitely seems to be dealing with the aftermath of his actions from his fourth incarnation lately with the Ogri here following in the footsteps of the Mandragora Helix. I wonder what other past villains and enemies will be returning in the next (chronologically) graphic novel of Nemesis of the Daleks. I'm confident that'll be a good one for sure. This graphic novel wasn't quite as good as my relatively recent reading of Voyager but I definitely wasn't left disappointed. The characterisation of both Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred's companion Ace were very good here, as they have been for pretty much the entire graphic novel, perhaps excluding Teenage Kicks. I thought it was intriguing that the Doctor made a mention of expecting someone and maybe all the way back in The Stones of Blood he had realised that the job wasn't quite finished. Perhaps he was just too preoccupied with defeating the Black Guardian and getting possession of the Key to Time. Ace standing up to the Ogri was good and surprisingly in the last couple of comic strip stories I've actually rather enjoyed her. I don't expect it to continue though! I wouldn't object if it did though, in fact I'd welcome it. As my opening quote suggests, there was a very frightening possibility! The idea of the sand coming alive is typically Doctor Who but sadly with the short format length it was not expanded on as well as it could have been. At least the idea is there to possibly be developed on in a longer story in the future. Perhaps it has been and I just haven't read/listened to it yet. The prelude in the Irish Sea during 1826 was an intriguing way to start a story as short as this but that's why I like Paul Cornell's style. I also liked the Blackpool setting and I wonder if this fits in anywhere with The Nightmare Fair. I would most probably say not but in Doctor Who you can never be sure. Overall, it was very short but for what it was Cornell did his best. A decent job but it's difficult with such a short page length. 

Rating: 7/10