Beneath the Waves Part 1

"Robots with an unhealthy appetite for conquering organic life forms."

Writer: George Mann
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 23rd November 2017
Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 20

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Hattie

Synopsis

The Doctor reunites with Hattie to investigate mysterious disappearances at a 1970s seaside town, where a new enemy awaits below the depths. With reports of mysterious figures entering the sea in the middle of the night, why are there suddenly beings coming out from beneath the waves?

Verdict

Beneath the Waves started in tremendous fashion with this brilliant opening part! It really was a wonderful opening part and I really can't wait for the continuation of this story. Sadly it seems like it's going to take me quite some time to finish the story as Doctor Who Comic now appears to only be released every three months. That's quite a shame as the content is excellent and I thought we were getting somewhere close to catching up with the States. Whilst there is still an absolute abundance of material out there, reading this current run of stories every month was a treat but I will still continue to collect every three months. It's just going to require some strong memory and a lot of rereading! This story started off the third year of the Twelfth Doctor comic adventures in excellent style and the opening sequence beneath New Oceana was magnificent. We had glimpses of a Silurian, Sontaran, Judoon, Catkind and even a Zygon with a moustache! It was quite the array of species and the build up to revealing the emergence of the Quarks was magnificent! I was expecting that they would feature as the main antagonist of the story but that was not the case. I don't mind that at all and just to see the famed robots from The Dominators share the page with the Twelfth Doctor was marvellous. The Doctor quickly sent them back into dormancy and then he headed back to the Twist to be reunited with Hattie. I thought she was a great character in The Twist and I'm delighted to see her back alongside the Doctor here. She's a punk rocker and really does suit the Twelfth Doctor very well. She wanted to get away from the band and the media publicity she was receiving due to her success and I liked that the Doctor took her for some northern chips in 1979. Not quite what she was expecting but the story soon developed into something brilliant. There was mystery and intrigue and that's always a positive. The Doctor quickly noticed the newspaper report of mysterious figures entering the sea but just as he was there and wanting to catch a glimpse of just what was going on, mysterious figures were coming out of the sea. A very nice little twist and not what I was expecting so early on in the adventure. The Doctor going off on his own was very typical of just about every incarnation he's ever been and I liked how he jokingly warned Hattie of the two old dears who were up to no good. Hattie having bad dreams looked very good and I must say that the artwork was absolutely sublime for this story. I've noted in past DWC adventures concerning the Twelfth Doctor that the artwork is of a stellar quality and I just continue to be impressed by it. Long may it continue. The ending was built up to very nicely and with hints and glimpses of the mysterious sea creature given, the full reveal on the final page was a great cliffhanger. Quite what this new monster exactly is won't be answered until February but it looks something like a sea-version of the Yeti! I doubt that will turn out to be the case but the resembling appearance is very good. I like the look of them and I thought this opening part was outstanding. A fantastic way to start the story!