Clara Oswald and the School of Death Part 2

"Where humans once stood supreme, now rule the Sea Devils."

Writer: Robbie Morrison 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 7th April 2016

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 05

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

Clara has taken up position as an English teacher in the mysterious Ravenscaur school following the disappearance of her friend. But things aren't what they seem with people getting bedevilled and when the Prime Minister arrives, things just get creepier.

Verdict 

Clara Oswald and the School of Death continued in brilliant fashion with this superb second part! The name of the story is one I absolutely love and you could be forgiven for thinking it to be a modern Target novelisation but it's actually turning out to be quite the comic strip adventure. I reread part one shortly before completing the latest issue of Tales from the TARDIS and I must say I was very impressed with this story. Unlike The Singer Not the Song and The Then and the Now for the Tenth and Eleventh Doctor's year two starter, this is set to be considerably longer than two parts which, given the revelation at the end, I think is certainly the right call. I won't spend time waiting to talk about the huge cliffhanger as I included it in my opening quoted and I was stunned to discover the return of the Sea Devils! We only saw them twice before in The Sea Devils and Warriors of the Deep and I'm unaware of any other appearances they may have made in novels, audios or comic strips so this was excellent to see them return in modern Doctor Who alongside the current incarnation of the Doctor. Now I must say that based on first impressions I'm not overly keen on their revamped appearance and it definitely seems to be less impressive than the modern take on the Silurians but I'll give it a chance in the future parts to see how they go. I soon realised that their return had been hinted at throughout the story with references to bedevilling and sea creatures and we even saw humans showing signs of being part Sea Devil but I didn't catch on which, considering the amount of Doctor Who I have amassed, I really should have. I have blogged over 700 entries now which I never anticipated and I just love doing it. I really enjoy looking over past entries and seeing how my style and thoughts have developed and I can't wait to continue doing it and break the 1,000 blog entries mark in around a year or so. Anyway, back to the story and I thought the characterisation of Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor was superb. I particularly enjoyed his lunacy when going into the local tavern and he certainly didn't get along with the locals! He rarely does in public places and it was a joy to see. His wearing of the eye-patch was just brilliantly bonkers! As well as capturing the Twelfth Doctor extremely well, this comic strip's characterisation of Clara was also spot on. Jenna Coleman's companion was presented wonderfully well and I really enjoyed her relationship with Jack and Lucy, the only two pupils at Ravenscaur that actually seemed normal. Clara being concerned about her friend's disappearance was natural but it seems to have landed her in some serious danger. However in saying that, I'm not sure she'd want it any other way. When she arrived at what she deduced to be a replica of prehistoric times on Earth, she owned the place exactly as the Doctor usually does. That signalled to me that this was set late into Series 9 because there she just screamed confidence and had no fear for death which is what I saw here. I'm sure she now has reason to be concerned though because she met the Sea Devils face to face in a brilliant cliffhanger. I'm not sure what to make of their return yet because they have only just arrived but I'm really looking forward to part three now! I do hope it delivers and I have every confidence that it will do. Overall, an excellent continuation of the story!