The Only Good Dalek

"Bravery, courage and determination against unfeeling, pitiless monsters..."

Writer: Justin Richards 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 16th September 2010

Series: Graphic Novel #1

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy

Synopsis 

'Station 7 is the most secret establishment in the whole of Earth-Space. Even our own people don't know it exists. It's beyond top secret. There's no way the Daleks can ever find it.'

Station 7 is where the Earth forces send all the equipment captured in their unceasing war against the Daleks. It's where Dalek technology is analysed and examined. It's where the Doctor and Amy have just arrived. But somehow the Daleks have found out about Station 7 - and there's something that they want back.

With the Doctor increasingly worried about the direction the Station's research is taking, the commander of Station 7 knows he has only one possible, desperate, defence. Because the last terrible secret of Station 7 is that they don't only store captured Dalek technology. It's also a prison. And the only thing that might stop a Dalek is another Dalek...

Verdict 

The Only Good Dalek was an outstanding comic strip adventure and it really was one of the very best stories of its format that I've ever read. I loved it. From start to finish it was just superb and I must say I love the idea of an extended graphic novel housing just one story within its pages. Having a comic strip as detailed and long as this was a real treat and it really was an absolute pleasure to read. It was a wonderful catalogue of Dalek history with Robomen, Ogrons, Varga plants and even a Slyther appearing! The start of the story was incredible with the minor recreation of The Daleks with the petrified jungle and Magnedon. The story immediately captured my interest and it never let go. I was hooked throughout and considering the graphic novel was over 120 pages long, I felt like I absolutely whizzed through it. The pace was really good and I also felt that the characterisation of the Eleventh Doctor was very good which isn't always the case in the comic strips featuring Matt Smith's fantastic incarnation. I think the length of the story might have had something to do with that. It was good to be back doing a story with Amy and I liked how she referenced The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone as well as Victory of the Daleks getting an obvious mention. The imagery of a Mechanoid and Special Weapons Dalek was terrific and I also loved the references to The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Chase and especially The Daleks' Master Plan. The Doctor mentioning Bret and Sara was sublime and I really enjoyed how he reacted to the claim that he must have been very young during that time. The artwork was tremendous in this story and with a lot of visuals in space, that made the story so much easier to read. The idea of a good Dalek has been tampered with before and The Evil of the Daleks probably presents the best view on that theory with the human factor being used on Daleks. However, we actually see a good Dalek and it's outside of its casing. The Abomination was mightily intriguing and the history behind it with Weston was fantastic. The Daleks going all out in force to destroy one of their own turned good was just brilliant and so typical of the Doctor's greatest enemies. I liked how they recognised his presence and I also loved how the Doctor flat out refused to believe that the Daleks could be controlled, irrelevant of the circumstances. Tranter was a great character and I must admit I was shocked by the revelation that he had been working for the Daleks without even knowing it. It was true that he was a former prisoner of the Daleks but he was allowed to leave rather than escape as he believed he had done. Kustler was another good character and I also loved Jay. Her relationship with Amy was a real highlight of the story. They got along pleasantly which was delightful to see. A war between humans and Daleks isn't new in Doctor Who but one featuring the Paradigm Daleks is. I'm not sure how that fitted into Dalek history but I certainly wasn't objected to it. Things need to be concurrent with the television series and with this being released in 2010, the right design was absolutely used. The ending was very good with an exciting climax and a whole lot of action and explosions. The Abomination's involvement in that was brilliant and I thought it was interesting to see how many people sacrificed their lives to get Weston's information out and away from the Daleks. It represented hope and the cost paid was worth it. The Daleks were blown to smithereens after the reactor exploded but the ambiguous ending surrounding Jay's escape and the reveal of another Dalek agent was terrific. Overall, a quite incredible comic strip that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Rating: 10/10