The Transformed

"They turn into monsters!"

Writer: Cavan Scott
Format: Comic Strip
Released: August-September 2016
Printed in: The Ninth Doctor #4-5

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose, Captain Jack, Mickey

Synopsis

The Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack, bouncing back from their most recent adventure with a destructive doppelganger, run into a most unexpected face! As the Doctor struggles to keep Rose apart from an element of her future she cannot know, Jack discovers another twist on his missing past that complicates his present!

Verdict

The Transformed was a brilliant comic strip adventure! It concluded my reading of the Doctormania graphic novel and I have to say, I have very much enjoyed my little stint with the trio of the Ninth Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack. It's been a collection of very high quality and I have already placed a reservation at the library for the next collection in the series. This one though had a familiar face alongside the TARDIS trio in the form of Mickey Smith. Except, this wasn't the Mickey from the time of the Ninth Doctor but rather the one married to Martha Jones. This was Mickey following the events of The End of Time and everything with the Tenth Doctor. I was stunned, in a hugely good way, when this was the case and the idea of Mickey in 2016 meeting the Ninth Doctor is just superb. I loved it and it was utilised very well. I thought the inclusion of a transformed Martha was intriguing and a good way to protect the Doctor from meeting his future companion. I was a little surprised that the Doctor didn't ask more questions but the relationship between him and Mickey was perfectly portrayed on the page and just superbly in line with the era in which it was set. Captain Jack took a little bit of a backseat in this story and it was Rose who took centre stage for the subplot as she developed special powers which saved her from imminent death after a nasty fall. She developed a nice relationship with Dean and I liked how Jack saw how cute he was for the both of them. The concept behind the Gargoyles was very good and I thought it was great that Mickey and Martha thought they could deal with them alone. Martha went ahead first but she'd stayed too long and was suffering the effects now. The inclusion of the Bad Wolf wording was very subtly done with it appearing on the side of the bus and I also thought Glom was a humorous character. The punchway was a good concept and I liked how Rose was following in the footsteps of the Doctor in making things up as she went along when leading those with the 'gift'. It was pretty cool that the Forge got a mention by Mickey alongside the more expected and obvious names of UNIT and Torchwood. The cliffhanger was very good and I thought the overall pace of the story was excellent. Once everything was solved with the punchway collapsing beneath its own weight just as everyone was saved, the image of Mickey clutching Martha tight to him, with Rose just nearby, was extremely powerful. It told us a lot without saying anything and I can't imagine Rose's reaction at this point in her timeline. The cliffhanger with Dean arriving in the 1970s/80s with Harry and UNIT was intriguing and I really do hope this means a Ninth Doctor and Classic UNIT story - I can certainly get on board with that! But for now, this was a terrific comic strip!

Rating: 9/10