Downtime

"The horrific genocide of an entire species was probably his fault..."

Writer: Si Spurrier

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 22nd September 2016

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 11

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

Synopsis 

Abslom confesses a Daak secret. Alice develops a bond. The Squire recovers a memory. And the Doctor discovers the horrific truth about how The Then and The Now has been tracking them - and he doesn't like it one bit. As the universe closes in around them, is escape even possible?

Verdict 

Downtime was a very good comic strip and whilst the action surrounding the recent run of adventures for the Eleventh Doctor calmed down a little, the mystery behind the alleged crime of genocide that the Doctor committed during the Time War only deepened. Things are getting quite timey wimey now and I don't mind that all as these comic strips aren't really for the casual fans so going into deeper story arcs is a brilliant thing and I think that was perfectly highlighted in the previous story with Shada being the setting. That place doesn't technically exist in Doctor Who continuity but its legacy was firmly cemented as far as I am concerned. River's explanation for how they broke out of the time prison really was a little confusing and Abslom Daak's disapproval at the technojumble that she was spilling really was terrific. Whilst I admit that I didn't come anywhere close to understanding how River pulled off the escape, the confidence in which she explained how it was done really was great. I thought she was the star of this particular comic strip and I didn't think it would be long before she stole the show if she was sticking around, which is exactly what seems to be the case. The Doctor was rather strange in this comic strip and he really wasn't taking the likelihood that he actually did commit genocide all that well. I mean, that's completely understandable but his attitude towards Alice throughout the story really wasn't warranted and I must admit it was not nice to read. It just seemed so uncharacteristic of Matt Smith's incarnation. I did though like the question of the Doctor having too many companions being raised as I do think that four others is probably overstepping the mark although a comic strip is the format that you can get away with it most so I don't see any real problems. Alice seeing a flashback again of the Time War and the War Doctor was interesting and I found it pretty intriguing that the Squire was so quick to pick up upon it and ask what she saw. I'm still in doubt over the truth behind her which is good because it keeps me wanting to read to find out more which is exactly what should occur when I'm reading a comic series. DWC never fails in that department though thankfully. The arrival on Clundanius XI was good and I was quite surprised that the Doctor of all people thought it would be good to stop and have a drink. He clearly still wasn't thrilled about the revelation that the Master did not frame him for the horrendous crime of which he is accused. We did get somewhere though with the Exterminhate phrase thanks to Abslom Daak and I liked how that was the Doctor's true purpose for coming to the planet. The Volatix Cabal sounded like a very intriguing society amongst the Daleks and the fact that they may have hidden and escaped the Time War before the Time Lock came into play, conveniently around the time of the Doctor's alleged genocide, was excellent. I do hope the Daleks make a proper appearance at some point in this comic run as they've been talked about enough! The lead into the next story was very good with River not quite being correct in getting away from danger. The Then and the Now was on the way once again and tracking because of Alice which was an interesting revelation, but it seemed another danger was lurking in space. Overall, a very good story!

Rating: 8/10