The Phantom Piper Part 4

"I'm the King of the Dreamspace!"

Writer: Scott Gray
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 8th February 2018
Printed in: DWM 522

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Bill

Synopsis

The coded message inscribed on the TARDIS has finally been decoded... and with it came the emergence of the Phantom Piper. As if this didn't bring enough problems, the fuel in a potential war between humanity and the Galateans is about to be lit.

Verdict

The Phantom Piper continued in magnificent style with this fantastic fourth part of the story! I must admit that I was expecting things to conclude here but that was not the case. Anyway, per the usual DWM comic strip blog entry I like to talk about the magazine itself and this will be an issue I remember as it is the first one I have received as part of my subscription. It's been a long time coming but I have finally committed and what a front cover we have! The main features concerning the Daleks looks very exciting and I'm delighted that the Daleks we see on the front page are of their earliest design. They look brilliant. I have read a little of the magazine so far (university research projects are currently taking over my life!) and I was glad to read that I wasn't the only one disappointed with the writing of the First Doctor in Twice Upon a Time. It still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth if I'm honest. The Peter Capaldi Tapes looks set to be an excellent feature and his time as the Twelfth Doctor really did just about have it all. He was a great Doctor and I look forward to reminiscing on his time in the TARDIS. I'm intrigued to read about the breakfast with the Doctors that was part of last year's Comic Relief and having that many actors who played the Doctor all in one room is rather rare. I must say I'm not too fussed about the cosplay feature as that doesn't overly interest me but I am looking forward to the three interviews that have also been lined up this month. It looks like I started subscribing for a very good issue! Now, back to the comic strip and I have to say that this part was sublime! It was definitely my favourite part since any of Doorway to Hell and I really did think that the Phantom Piper made an excellent villain. The language and tone he used was terrific and you really did get a sense that he had manifested in real space just for the hell of it. He wanted to cause chaos and do so by having a laugh. He knew all about the Doctor and Chiyoko and the events of The Child of Time and that caused a lot of nightmares he could claim to go missing. The way the Piper murdered Tommy Flowers was quite shocking but it did finally spark some emotion from Alan Turing. The Doctor's realisation that Turing was using block transfer computation was terrific and I enjoyed the subtle reference to Logopolis. The explanation of how the Phantom Piper came to be through using this along with the Galateans was great and I thought things really did tie in together very nicely. The Piper taking Chiyoko hostage and using her brain was good and the cliffhanger was another very good one. Overall, a brilliant fourth part of the story!