Who's That Girl!

"Don't you remember? You regenerated... into me!"

Writer: Simon Furman
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 25th November - 2nd December 1989
Printed in: The Incredible Hulk Presents 8-9

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis

The Doctor is adjudicating at a delicate planetary peace conference. Unfortunately, the delegates don't realise that the woman they think is the Doctor is really a hired assassin...

Verdict

Who's That Girl! was a brilliant comic strip adventure and I think part one was one of the most entertaining and intriguing five pages I've read in a graphic novel for quite some time. It seems quite apt that I am reading this story some time after the announcement of Jodie Whittaker's casting as the Thirteenth Doctor. I am very excited to see what the gender change brings to the role and I am sure that the possibilities are endless but for just a second in this story we got a snippet of what things might be like with the Doctor as a female. I loved that there was no explanation as to why a woman exited the TARDIS and the attire she was wearing really was magnificent. It was a cluster of past Doctor's wardrobes and I really did think she looked impressive. She had all the characteristics of the Doctor and I can't imagine the reception this story might have had upon its release in the 1980s. Would any readers just accept the regeneration? I'd love to know if there was any kind of backlash to the idea of the Doctor being a woman. I doubt there is anything of the kind though given that this story was only printed in The Incredible Hulk Presents. What I do love is that the idea of the Doctor being a woman was present in 1989 and actually got represented in a printed story. Of course, the Doctor did not regenerate into a woman in a 1989 comic strip and he was actually being impersonated by a hired assassin in the form of Kasgi. I thought she was terrific and the way it was revealed that she had the Doctor captured and was intent on killing Luj was marvellous. It really was a brilliant cliffhanger. Sadly, I didn't feel that part two quite measured up to the first part but the story as a whole was still really good. The way the Doctor found out the true intentions of his supposed old friend was a little too easy for my liking and the way he just emerged from the secret passage was again a little too simple. He was once again seemingly an advocate of the Time Lords which is intriguing given he is in his seventh incarnation but it really is something that continues to interest me. Kasgi's respect for the Doctor when she overlooked him leaving was a nice touch and I liked how she survived intact. The Doctor knew that Luj needed to be stopped and went about ensuring it happened but he would not allow Kasgi to do it in the form of an assassination. Overall, a very bold, brave and brilliant little story.

Rating: 8/10