The Hans of Fear

"Never meet her gaze."

Writer: Alan Barnes

Format: Comic Strip

Released: May-August 2024

Printed in: DWM 604-607

Featuring: Fifteenth Doctor, Ruby

Synopsis

Nineteenth century Copenhagen, and something is haunting the stories of Hans Christian Andersen. Are his tales really his? Will Ruby become a fairy? The wrath of Snedronningen will be felt. 

Verdict

The Hans of Fear was a decent story to continue the ongoing comic strip adventures of the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby within the pages of Doctor Who Magazine! I've started to take a different approach with this comic strip now as instead of reading each part as I read the respective issue of the magazine, I've decided to hold off until it completes and read in one go. I feel it's the best approach and keeps things fresh instead of ending up reading multiple parts multiple times. I think it's the best way to move forward, especially with this being the current storytelling device! Of course, that is until Christmas at least. This obviously takes place prior to The Legend of Ruby Sunday/Empire of Death as well and it was good to acknowledge the in series continuity by making reference to the snow that has been following the Doctor and Ruby since The Church on Ruby Road. It was different snow this time around though and not the mysterious memory version. This was signalling the arrival of an Ice Queen in the form of Snedronningen who made for a strong villain. She was no native of Mars, but I enjoyed how she was able to toy with the elements. I also appreciated the suggestion that she was of a different reality and perhaps tying in with the whole emergence of gods that has followed the series since Wild Blue Yonder and beyond. It makes it feel authentic and genuinely part of the ongoing series storytelling. The only reason I think this story gets a slightly lower rating than it perhaps deserved is the format of the comic strip itself. I just don't think six pages is enough content to allow for compelling storytelling. By the time something has started and got into gear, we're already building up for a cliffhanger! I think it would be beneficial to just get rid of the cliffhangers and tell a story over twenty-four pages for example without the breaks. Just present six pages of the story each issue. But hey ho, as long as we're getting content then I'm happy! I really enjoyed the setting and I loved how happy the Doctor was to be encountering Hans. He seemed to have a history with the author (I mean what historical figure doesn't he have history with by now?) and was thrilled to introduce him to Ruby. I thought the characterisation and illustration of Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor was excellent, but I didn't have the same kind of sentiment when it came to Ruby. Her illustration didn't seem consistent, but I must admit I loved the idea of her being experimented on to become a fairy! More should have been made of that. It wasn't tapped into enough and I do wish she would have been able to utilise some sort of fairy ability. I did like that she was able to round up the troops of those also subjected to the Snedronningen experiments, but she felt a little out of the way. The concept of belief when it came to Snedronningen was good and without it, she quickly lost her power. Seeing her diminish at the end into a miniature version of herself was amusing, although the ending did seem to come slightly too quick for my liking. It came all of a sudden with Ruby having her fairy wings just dissolved in a flash. I get that it was to stop her mid-flight, but almost immediately she was saved. A little more trepidation would have been welcomed! I thought the reveal of one of the tin soldiers actually being the father of Hans and his contract terms of protecting his son having been broken was terrific. That worked very well and I liked how he was smiling at the end as his son was safe and returned to the normal world. He wouldn't be so lucky which was a shame, but he did his son well which was brilliant. Hans enjoying the storytelling devices and seeing the wonder in a young boy thinking he saw a mermaid was a nice way to end things. Overall, a good little comic strip adventure!  

Rating: 7/10