Sins of the Father

"That's why you can't see them. The emptiness is an illusion. The sky is filled not with darkness, but with light." 

Writer: Nick Abadzis 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 11th February 2015

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 03

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Gabby

Synopsis 

Gabby, Cindy and the Doctor face their greatest challenge yet! The whole year has been building to this - what state will the Doctor and his companions be left in when the smoke clears?!

• Ancient evil from the heart of the universe!

• An impossible decision! 

• Shocks and surprises right down to the last page! 

Verdict 

Sins of the Father was an excellent conclusion to both the story already started in The Fountains of Forever and Spiral Staircase but also that of the first year of Tenth Doctor comic strip adventures! It's been quite a run and I must say I think it's definitely be my favourite of the three Doctors that initially kicked off the Doctor Who Comic adventures as we've had some stunning adventures on the way. Revolutions of Terror kicked things off very well and that was followed by an equally strong The Arts in Space. Then we had what is perhaps my favourite comic strip adventure of the lot from DWC with The Weeping Angels of Mons! Then came a nice little filler with Echo before we had this five-part epic conclusion to the year. Gabby has been a fresh of breath air in the Whoniverse and I've made it no secret that I absolutely love her as companion. She's truly wonderful and I hope we get adventures with her for a long time to come yet. This story has really highlighted how much she has grown since first meeting the Doctor in the subway and it does seem an awfully long time ago. After the excellent cliffhanger of the fourth part, or second part of the last named story, where Anubis was revealed to us as the son of Sutekh, I was quite surprised with what we got here actually. There were numerous mentions to Osirans which was good but I did very much like the fact that he wanted to distance himself from his father. He wasn't vengeful or destructive, apparently, but despite claiming that he certainly seemed like he had all the capabilities of his long deceased father. The image of the Mummy creatures that did appear in Pyramids of Mars have quite changed here in this story. I loved how Anubis claimed Dorothy, despite his disgust at her having become a human hybrid, to be no longer the Hand of Sutekh but now instead the Hand of Anubis. The concept of the Seeker was brilliant and I loved how Anubus had his speech in black and bold as it made just how serious a threat he brought really stand out. The same can be said for Dorothy and how she has merged with the so called key that Anubis was sought after. I loved the references to the Time War from Anubis and his position in the universe was again highlighted by the fact he referred to that war as a petty squabble. I thought that was pretty good. The continued references to Pyramids of Mars and Sutekh and Horus were good and there definitely comparisons that could be made between father and son. However, one of the things I found most intriguing was the fact that Anubis actually listened to the warnings that the Doctor gave him about crossing through into his desired universe of four dimensions. But he wasn't going to abandon his plans altogether, which I guess wasn't too surprising. Instead of abandoning his plans for crossover altogether, he would give the Doctor a deadline to ensure that his crossover would be safe. The Doctor of course agreed and would do his best to ensure that everything could be resolved. I like how that leaves this story far from finished and despite the year concluding, I'm sure we are from having seen the last of Anubis. I like that idea and a comic strip exclusive alien returning, like with the Hyperions in the ongoing The Hyperion Empire, is always a great thing and I think it definitely gives more credibility to the format and the series as a whole. The ending was good with Cindy looking like she wanted to join the Doctor and Gabby and I certainly wouldn't be against that happening. I loved her in this story and I do hope we get to see more of her in year two. But for now I have no complaints with more Gabby adventures alongside the Tenth Doctor. Year one, you've been superb. More of the same please! 

Rating: 9/10