Star Tigers

"An enemy of the Daleks is a friend of mine!"

Writer: Steve Moore
Format: Comic Strip
Released: April-May, September-November 1980
Printed in: DWM 27-30, 44-46

Featuring: Abslom Daak

Synopsis

The 26th century... a time of peace and prosperity for the Draconian Empire. The Frontier War with Earth has been fought and settled. Standing aloof from the long-drawn conflict between Earth and the ever-expanding empire of the Daleks, a fleeing space-yacht has now brought Abslom Daak to Draconia... which can only mean trouble!

Verdict

Star Tigers concluded my reading of the Nemesis of the Daleks graphic novel in a very good way! I don't think I have ever blogged this amount of comic strips in succession as I have for the past week or so and despite the good quality of stories and interest in following the solo adventures of the Seventh Doctor, I am very much looking forward to getting on with a different format tomorrow. Now, I know that I have skipped Abslom Daak... Dalek-Killer from the pages of this magazine but that is because I have already blogged that particular comic strip two years ago as I own a copy of a comic strip reprint collection from the 1980s. I didn't feel it was necessary to reread the story as I aim to consume as much new content as possible from the world of Doctor Who. That story was nicely referenced here and I was actually quite surprised with how long this story was. To devote 28 pages to a character that had, at this point in chronology, never actually met the Doctor was quite a gamble but there were a lot of familiar elements which I liked. Obviously, wherever Abslom Daak goes the Daleks don't seem to be far behind and despite them playing a pivotal role in the comic strip adventure, they didn't actually appear too much which was intriguing and probably a positive for the story. What we did get to see in abundance was the political happenings of Draconia and with that a welcomed return of the Draconians! I really liked them in Frontier in Space and I liked how their speech was taken into account with the writing of the dialogue for this story. Salander was terrific and his relationship with Daak blossomed very nicely. I quite liked the idea of the pair assembling a team and their first point of call being an Ice Warrior was quite unexpected! I love the Ice Warriors and to see one was making a living by killing people who voluntarily wanted to be killed was quite humorous. I liked that he still had Martian honour and wanted to respect his contract. Mercurius wasa another good character and I enjoyed how he and Daak had a history that wasn't always pleasant. They did realise that a partnership could be beneficial though and they certainly aided each other when it came to the destruction of the Kill-Mechs. I wasn't too sure about them and I also thought naming the ship the Kill-Wagon was a little poor but as a whole, I thought this story was quite a lot of fun and it was great to get an insight into what was happening on Draconia. Axiron was a good character and I'd like to know more about what happened to him with his vague claims to the Emperor but as a whole, a positive finish to the graphic novel!

Rating: 8/10