Endgame

"Don't you want to play my games?"

Writer: Alan Barnes

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September-December 1996

Printed in: DWM 244-247

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Izzy

Synopsis

The Doctor returns to Stockbridge, but despite correct coordinates this is not the village he remembers. Games are afoot, and when reunited with old friend Maxwell Edison and introduced to a new companion in Izzy Sinclair, the Doctor is soon pitting his wits against an old enemy and his box of toys...

Verdict

Endgame was a terrific start to the graphic novel of the same name! I am delighted to be kicking off the Eighth Doctor's first collection of DWM comic strips and it has been quite some time since I blogged the contents of Oblivion, so I'm looking very forward to rounding things out by starting here. For a first adventure to feature the eighth incarnation following on from The Movie, this was certainly a brilliant way to start! I love that the Doctor was reunited with an old enemy and whilst it might have discounted the likes of Divided Loyalties and The Nightmare Fair with incarnations earlier than the eighth encountering the returning Toymaker, that's not an issue in the slightest as with a show as widespread as Doctor Who it's almost impossible for the continuity to run smooth. I like to think of each format as its own sort of interpretation of sorts. Placing the new Doctor in familiar surroundings of the comic strip with Stockbridge and also alongside Max was great and it was just fantastic to have him back again. He's a very good little character. His connection with Izzy was really good and I thought she had a solid introduction as the new companion. I thought her unimpressed reaction to the TARDIS interior and how she thought it would be bigger was wonderful! The stories she'd heard from Max about the Doctor brought a certain reputation and it seemed to be one that he initially wasn't living up to. However, by the end she was eager to go travelling with him as we learned that she had been adopted and never knew her parents. She was clearly longing for more so the Doctor would be perfect for her there. The way the Celestial Toymaker returned was brilliant and for the Doctor, this seemed to be a rematch based on the events of The Celestial Toymaker where the First Doctor bested him. I'm a huge fan of this villain as I think the potential is just endless. The use of the comic strip for his return was great and the imagery was just fantastic! I loved the use of crosswords and the game of hangman with Izzy and Max on the noose was superb stuff. The rhymes throughout were also really good and I thought the anecdote quote that accompanied the titular page of each part was great stuff. It just added a little to the story each time which is always good. The focus, no pun intended, on the Focus was good and I liked how the Toymaker had a motive in revenge. He was going to use the Imagineum which needed the Focus to complete it and provide him with the Doctor's challenger. Of course, that turned out to be himself which was fantastic and the illustration of the darker side of the Eighth Doctor was really well done. The Doctor appealing to the goodnatured side of his darker personality was terrific and I loved how the Toymaker's destruction of Marwood, which was done in brilliantly brutal fashion, was the final piece needed to convince the darker Doctor that he would never be free of the Celestial Toymaker. The links the story had with the Templars was very interesting and it was nice how everything tied together around Stockbridge. The Doctor realising that it wasn't the Stockbridge he knew was fun and he was looked on with trepidation from the start. But by the end, he had won again and used the Imagineum against the Toymaker to give him an eternal opponent back in his own dominion. The Toymaker doing battle against himself in an eternal stalemate was a fantastic end to the story and the delight and satisfaction the Doctor seemed to have regarding this was really good to see. The game of mouse trap and even some Sontaran entertainment might go down a treat! Max having picked up the true village of Stockbridge in typically clumsy but useful fashion was really lovely and I liked how the Doctor offered him a quick trip. He declined, but Izzy was very eager to join him! Overall, a really strong start to the Eighth Doctor's comic strip run!

Rating: 9/10