Unnatural Born Killers

"I'm one of a kind. I've got a soul."

Writer: Adrian Salmon

Format: Comic Strip

Released: April 1999

Printed in: DWM 277

Featuring: Kroton

Synopsis

As the Sontarans seek to colonise another planet, a Cyberman unlike any other stands in their way. He won't be letting them ravage another world. And there's nothing they can do about it...

Verdict

Unnatural Born Killers was a very good little comic strip adventure to continue my way through The Glorious Dead graphic novel! The significance of this story is yet to dawn on me but considering Kroton is placed alongside the Eighth Doctor and Izzy on the graphic novel's cover artwork, I think he's going to play a pivotal role! This is why I have favoured the approach of reading in release order because it just makes sense to have an understanding of who Kroton is and how he was created going back to Throwback: The Soul of a Cyberman and Ship of Fools. I just cannot comprehend the decision to print the stories out of order and if anyone did read in the order in which they were printed, something I imagine most readers would do if they hadn't been around in the late 1990s to collect the comic strips within the issue of Doctor Who Magazine each month, what benefit is there in learning about Kroton after the major story has taken place? It just seems baffling. I mean, his genesis was alluded to here and whilst this story pretty much does give you all you need to know about him, why not just print the backup stories first so we know a great deal more about him before the major events start? Anyway, enough about the graphic novel silliness to the story itself and considering it was only six pages long, I thought it held its own very well for a single-part adventure and the lack of Doctor or Izzy was absolutely fine, probably because there was so little time! The idea of the Sontarans colonising a planet isn't new but it was wonderful to have them come up against a Cyberman here. They got more than they bargained for with Kroton though, but just the image of a Sontaran and Cyberman doing battle was magnificent. I really enjoyed that both had knowledge of the other and Kroton using the probic vent weakness was great stuff. Kroton proclaiming to have a soul was a nice throwback to his origins and it was nice for him to protect the planet. I was a big fan of the lack of dialogue and how what we read was the inner thoughts of Kroton, rather than have him actually speak it. That worked really well. I was also a big fan of the different artistic style which worked really well for the monsters and whilst I wouldn't favour it for the drawing of humanoids, it was perfect for Sontarans and Kroton here. It felt a bit jazzy and although it seemed more like something you would find in comic strips aimed at a younger audience, it fitted in really well here. Kroton made pretty light work of the Sontarans in the end and despite their intentions being colonisation followed by genocide if that failed, the fact they got to go out with an honourable death and it was their Field Major that was the last to be defeated kept them strong as a villain. But there's no shame in going down to a Cyberman with a soul. I'm very excited for what comes next an the anticipated meeting between Kroton and the Doctor has me eager to read the next story in the collection! Overall, a very good little adventure.

Rating: 8/10