The Dragon Lord Part 1

"Ten seconds after landing, running from a monster already! New record?"

Writer: Steve Lyons

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 10th December 2015

Printed in: DWM 494

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara 

Synopsis 

Upon exiting the TARDIS, the Twelfth Doctor and Clara find themselves in deep trouble as they are faced with a dragon! The dragon is not alone and after joining forces with the local village, a battle with the Dragon Lord ensues...   

Verdict 

The Dragon Lord was a pretty decent start to the latest comic strip adventure to take place in Doctor Who Magazine! I seem to have forgotten in the last few issues that the magazine actually does have a very good comic strip feature and I think that's down to the fact Doctor Who Comic (which has now extended to two magazines!) has been so good lately. But the comic strip is not why I buy DWM. This month it's a festive edition with Christmas tomorrow! Yes, I'm reading two weeks after release but I've managed to fit in reading the previews of The Husbands of River Song prior to its broadcast tomorrow evening. It's been described as a romp by Steven Moffat and after the eventful and emotional Face the Raven and Heaven Sent/Hell Bent, I really like the sound of that. The idea of River not recognising the Doctor could be a lot of fun and I just can't wait to see how Capaldi and Kingston interact. I get a feeling they're going to be magnificent! This will be only the third Doctor that River has met (from the viewer's perspective anyway) and I can't wait to see her reaction to the Doctor surviving past his twelfth regeneration. It's quite incredible that it's been over seven years since Alex Kingston debuted in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead in which her story ends but despite comments in the DWM preview and interview, I hope this isn't her TV swansong! She's just so good. Galaxy Forum was a good read as per usual but I was quite surprised by some of the incredible praise The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion got. I mean, it was brilliant but I felt some letters went a bit overboard. I was glad to see that I wasn't alone in being critical of Sleep No More and it absolutely remains the worst story of the series. How anyone criticised Face the Raven is beyond me but that's the beauty of polarising opinions in the Whoniverse! I can't wait to read Relative Dimensions as always with Jacqueline Rayner yet to fail in providing a page of entertainment. The DWM Preview is of particular interest for me this month with Only the Monstrous and The Legends of Ashildr being previewed - two stories I am eager to get my hands upon. The DWM Review rarely fails so that should also be a good read. I'm also intrigued by the Rassilon feature. Despite my loving of DWM, I'm not at all convinced that £5.99 is a justifiable price. The addition of the poster in an adult audience magazine I find a bit silly to be honest. A fiver is the maximum it should be in my opinion. Anyway, back to the comic strip itself and I love how along with the Twelfth Doctor segments of DWC the adventures for Clara in the TARDIS (the Doctor's one that is) are far from over. I thought the artwork was a bit questionable in this story which was a real shame but the story was quite festive in having a fun theme. This was the closest Doctor Who has come to a Game of Thrones crossover yet and the idea excites me greatly. It would be the most incredible thing ever! I absolutely love GoT so the show getting a mention by Clara was a real treat. The inclusion of dragons had me dying for an appearances by Daenerys but obviously I knew that wasn't going to happen. It happened in the dream I'll have tonight though! The story was good with some excellent characterisation of both the Doctor and Clara, although it seemed to have more of a Series 8 feel rather than being current. However, that doesn't really alter things too much. The interaction between the Doctor and Weezie was excellent and I can't wait to see that relationship continue in the second part, which is of course where the rating will appear should the story conclude. But for now, a good start!