The One Part 2

"The prison planet where the Gallifreyans imprisoned the worst, most malevolent war criminals in the history of time."

Writer: Rob Williams  

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 25th August 2016

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 10

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Squire, Abslom Daak, River Song

Synopsis 

Shada. The lost prison planet of the Time Lords. The Eleventh Doctor is after the Master's TARDIS and seeks information to prove that he did not commit the crimes he has been accused of. But he may not be pleased with what he finds...

Verdict 

The One continued in scintillating style with this brilliant second part of the story! As with my reading of Doctor Who Magazine, it's taken me a little longer than I would have liked to get round to reading Doctor Who Comic and I only actually purchased the issue this week which is highly unlike me. Things have been a bit hectic but they're slowly falling back to normality now so it shouldn't be too long before I'm blogging the next issue of this comic. Of course, I've still got two more stories to read after this and they will shortly follow in the days to come. As per usual, I reread the first part and I enjoyed it just as much and it was fantastic to see the Doctor and his companions on Shada. The Doctor having made himself forget its name was interesting but when the memory of it came back to him, it definitely wasn't comparable to Skegness. The references to Shada were absolutely magnificent and I loved how the Doctor mentioned the book that told the story in full where the television serial failed as it was never completed due to a BBC strike. It's a shame that the story was not finished but I'm glad that its impact is still being felt today. It really does have quite a lasting legacy and I think being incomplete is a big reason as to why that is. River's reaction to discovering where the Doctor had brought them was terrific but I must admit I was surprised she knew about it. This story was particularly interesting in regards to the Squire and I think it's mightily intriguing how she is a person without history. Just how that is possible I'm not quite sure but I do look forward to seeing the truth about her come out. She clearly knows all about the Doctor and is familiar with the Time War but I suspect there's something a little more hidden beneath the surface of the character. Shada itself was very good and I liked how the Doctor was using the Then and the Now as a means of getting past the prison planet's security. Abslom Daak didn't really have much of an impact in this part of the story and that came with a quite crowded TARDIS team of five members. River Song was as terrific as ever and I love the fact that she's featuring in the comic at all. The Doctor's trust in her was marvellous to see. The flashbacks and imagery of A Good Man Goes to War, The Wedding of River Song, Abslom Daak: Dalek Killer and After Life were excellent and the purpose they served was very good. The hunt for the Master's TARDIS was good but I was hoping we would see the physical form of the Doctor's arch nemesis. That sadly was not to be. We did though gain access to the interior of the infamous pillar TARDIS that was the Master's and it was quite horrifying to see that he had experimented on its brain. The Doctor was disgusted but the TARDIS logs disgusted him even more. Whatever it was that the Doctor did that caused the consequences seen in The Then and the Now were too sick even for the Master. That horrified the Doctor and it also revealed that it wasn't his old enemy that framed him. With the War Doctor being so different, could it have actually been the Doctor that committed the crimes he was accused of? I've got a sneaky feeling the Squire might have a pivotal connection and I look forward to things being revealed. But for now, it was another fantastic story! I really am loving the second year adventures of the Eleventh Doctor so far.

Rating: 9/10