Ghost Stories

"You don't say no when the cosmic comes calling."

Writer: George Mann
Format: Comic Strip
Released: April-July 2017
Series: Ghost Stories #1-8

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis

Together, the Doctor, Lucy, and Grant defeated the nefarious forces of Harmony Shoal. The world saved, and his love for Lucy reciprocated, Grant put away the costume, and the Doctor left Grant and Lucy to their new life together.

But the Doctor is terrible for picking at loose ends...

Verdict

Ghost Stories was a terrific story and a great bonus series of Twelfth Doctor comic strips! This adventure saw the Doctor reunited with Grant and Lucy eight years following the events of The Return of Doctor Mysterio and I am definitely in favour of the superhero returning. The mix of the Doctor and the Ghost is fantastic and I love the differences between the pair despite them both recognisably being superheroes. The Doctor needed Grant now as the universe was in grave danger and I thought the premise of needing all of the gemstones was very good. Of course, one of these in the form of the Hazandra was what gave Grant his superpowers and now the Doctor was going to use it in the TARDIS to locate the others. The first mini-story taking us to an apocalyptic future of New York was very good and the emergence of the Smoke was most unexpected! He was a super-villain and its connections to the Ghost were hugely intriguing. I loved the narration throughout from Lucy and it was really great to read her thoughts and comments as the stories went on. It was very beneficial to the storytelling and for learning what things had been like in her and Grant's relationship in the intermittent years without the Doctor. I'm not quite sure how Jennifer could already be 11 years old, but the details weren't overly important. She had a good little role in the story. The Nixtus III setting for the second gemstone was very good and I loved the cliffhanger where the Ghost's powers had stopped working altogether. The Doctor certainly didn't see that one coming! He recruited Grant for those very powers. It was brilliant that some of the Harmony Shoal returned here and the fear that it invoked in Lucy was tremendous which was brilliant. I thought the story concerning the third gemstone was the best as we saw the Twelfth Doctor do battle with the Sycorax! Kraxnor made for a great leader and I liked how he recalled the events of The Christmas Invasion. The use of blood, this time the Doctor's, to enforce the sacrifice engine into fruition was nice continuity and I liked that the Ghost challenged the leader. Honour dictated that it must be carried out. One little aspect of the story that I didn't like was Lucy overcoming a Sycorax as I thought that made them look a little weak, but her bid to impress her husband was a nice aspect. Jennifer was then aided by her superhero stepdad to retrieve the gemstone and all was secured. Just one thing, the Doctor needed the one within Grant now. He gave it up to save the universe and rid it of dark matter excess but his powers were not gone. The gemstone had still bonded with his DNA and with another visit a week after departing the TARDIS, the Doctor showed Grant that his powers remained if he willed them. Overall, a fantastic little story!

Rating: 8/10