The Monster Makers

"The arch meddler in private business affairs."

Writer: Alan Barnes

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September 2024 - January 2025

Printed in: DWM 608-612

Featuring: Fifteenth Doctor, Ruby

Synopsis

The Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby don't arrive as intended and are welcomed as invaders. They quickly leave, but the fast return switch soon sets in motion a mysterious journey of monster creation. 

Verdict

The Monster Makers was a good story to continue the ongoing comic strip adventures of the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby! I do wonder when the comic strips will kind of catch up with what is happening on screen as reading this comic strip as a whole after the broadcast of Joy to the World makes it feel slightly out of date which is a bit of a shame. Of course, I am all for more adventures with the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby as it still doesn't feel like we quite got enough of them on screen, but I also think of the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip as being concurrent with the series which does not quite feel to be the case at the moment. With that all being said, this was still a fine little story! I say little but at five parts it was about the right length to have a feeling of a full adventure. I think the reduction in page count down to six has been detrimental to the quality of the comic strip since the time of the Thirteenth Doctor and I honestly think it would be much better to not have to build so quickly towards a cliffhanger. The title of the story sounds like an online Doctor Who game which is quite amusing, but it actually became quite serious with CoHurtCo basically selling monsters. The idea of a staged invasion was quite intriguing although I was a little put off by the way the story started. The Doctor and Ruby exiting the TARDIS and being welcomed as invaders was so good and interesting because of how unique it was. And then they just leave? That felt random but thankfully a fast return switch later saw them back and five minutes later they were witnessing the invasion of some very daft looking iBalls. The design was actually pretty interesting although I must say it did feel very Doctor Who Adventures. I hate to say it because I know how much work is put in but at times the artwork in this comic strip did feel somewhat questionable. A number of images for both the Doctor and Ruby felt a little awkward which was a shame. I did like the format though of having the pair split up at the start and how they both learned the same information about where they were and what was happening. The Doctor harking back to his ninth incarnation about not feeling the world spinning confirming it wasn't Earth was also a highlight for me. I loved that. I thought the tease of the Doctor having wronged the grandfather was intriguing and whilst it seems like there is a bigger play ongoing here with references to the similarities of events to Liberation of the Daleks and The Hans of Fear, the way it was presented made it seem like this was going to be a big part of this particular story. So to not get the identity was a bit of a let down I must say. I feel like I have been slightly negative so far in my review but as my rating reflects, this was still something I very much enjoyed. Selling invasion is terrific and I loved the confidence the company has in their monster creations. Ruby's reaction to being asked if she was satisfied with her invasion was also pretty humorous! She was very much dissatisfied. The use of a survey for invasion seems mad but it actually made perfect sense here. I also thought the recycling of matter was good stuff and the right level of grotesque for Ruby to witness as she realised she hadn't really made friends at all. The ending was good but I think let down by the format of only having six pages. For a final part, you don't want it all to be about the resolution as that shouldn't be hinted at really until close to the end, but there just isn't much room for that here. The Doctor was essentially able to just do some magic sonic work and reprogram things to set them back on their right course. Will the Doctor and Ruby ever reach Reykjavik now? I certainly hope! But overall, a decent comic strip adventure for sure.

Rating: 7/10