A Rare Gem

"Some say you can see infinite complexity in the facets of the jewel."

Writers: Scott & David Tipton

Format: Comic Strip

Released: April 2013

Series: Prisoners of Time 04

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Leela, K9

Synopsis 

Our yearlong celebration of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary continues! Put on your scarves and munch on some jelly babies, as the fan-favourite Fourth Doctor takes the spotlight in this issue of a 12-part epic adventure featuring all 11 incarnations of the Doctor!

Verdict 

A Rare Gem was another very good story to nicely continue along the Prisoners of Time epic adventure! We're a third of the way in now and we're still no nearer to knowing who this cloaked figure is that keeps popping up at the end of stories to take away the Doctor's companions leaving the Time Lord to be left alone, something the figure seemed very determined to do when we first saw him in Unnatural Selection. It's unclear if there's any kind of motive this person has against the Doctor but with him targeting every incarnation and jumping across space and time to do it, I very much doubt this is another case of an evil villain. I mean, it might be in the form of one we have seen before and I wouldn't bet against the figure being some form of Time Lord. I'm very much looking forward to the big reveal though which I assume will have to wait until the twelfth story so I've got some time to wait yet! I'll be continuing this graphic novel right the way through though so I guess I will still see companions disappearing and me waiting for some answers. As long as I get them, I don't mind waiting at all. I just hope it's all worth the wait! At least by waiting three years for a UK release of this story, I don't have to wait eleven months for this story to unfold and instead I'll complete it in twelve days which will be really nice. The story wasn't really a gem which may sound harsh but it really wasn't. That's not me knocking it by any means but I think to describe a story as a gem it needs to have something extra special. I would consider The War Games, The Night of the Doctor and Hunters of the Burning Stone as gems. Those kinds of stories. However, this comic strip was very rare by being, to the best of my knowledge, the first time a monster from post-revival has appeared in a Classic era story. It's obviously happened numerous times vice versa but that's natural with it going chronologically. I'm looking very forward to the upcoming New Monsters, Classic Doctors audio range in which this format will become more familiar. I'm no stranger to the Fourth Doctor in the comic strip format thanks to limited DWM comic strips and a few Doctor Who Annuals, but I don't believe I had ever read a colourised comic strip featuring this incarnation of the Doctor so that was a nice first time experience. I wasn't surprised by the choice of companion in Leela as I envisaged that the writers would want to also include K9 in getting captured to have as many 'prisoners of time' as possible. That meant that Leela was the idea candidate because if either incarnation of Romana had been taken then her intelligence as a Time Lord might have compromised the whole prisoners of time label. Considering the whole umbrella title is that, it's best not compromising it's credibility. I was very surprised to see the Judoon make an appearance in this story for a number of reasons. Firstly, the Judoon didn't appear on screen until Smith and Jones with the Tenth Doctor so to see them battling the Fourth Doctor really was something. The imagery really was fantastic I must say and it again highlighted the beauty of the comic strip format. You can do absolutely anything and this story proves it. The other reason I was surprised the Judoon appeared was because I have never thought of them as 'bad guys' because they're just not evil. They're the intergalactic police and although my reading of Revenge of the Judoon might change my thoughts a little, I maintain that they aren't enemies despite the means they go to in achieving justice. They tend to gloss over the injustice they carry out in getting that. The plot of this story was decent though patchy in places and was just enough to secure the same rating as In With the Tide. I'm glad it wasn't lower! The ending was similar with the cloaked figure coming to take Leela and K9 and the Doctor clearly seeing them and the figure even talking to him. There are still seven more Doctors to have companions taken from so I think it will be some time before I get answers. Overall though, a good story and a great mix of eras. 

Rating: 8/10