"They say magic happens on the in-between day."
Writer: Alan Barnes
Format: Comic Strip
Released: January 2025
Printed in: DWM 613
Featuring: Fifteenth Doctor
Synopsis
The Fifteenth Doctor is getting to grips with travelling alone, and stumbles upon a world with two dawns once every forty-seven years. It holds a secret, and he's going to tell Ruby about it anyway.
Verdict
Run was a great story to continue the comic strip adventures of the Fifteenth Doctor! I am glad that many months after the airing of Empire of Death, the comics have caught up with the current era and have the Fifteenth Doctor travelling alone as we saw recently in the Joy to the World Christmas Special. It makes sense for the comics to run concurrently with what is happening on screen so whilst I am very much a fan of Ruby Sunday as companion, I'm quite glad she wasn't around for this adventure. It's still quite fresh for the Doctor though as was evidenced by him wanting to show off the marvel that was the double dawn on the grey grieving planet. I thought that was a fun concept and that allowed for some really strong colourisation for the rest of the comic strip adventure. That orange haze of the in-between day with it not being night nor morning was excellent and really set the vibe. It somehow just suited the Fifteenth Doctor as well and his vibe, although as the image suggests the artwork for his hairline in particular was a tad questionable throughout this adventure! It wasn't a problem of course but just something I found a little amusing. I thought the idea of the Doctor telling the story of what was happening to him to Ruby was decent although I was less of a fan of when the words that represented her were talking back and basically being a companion. It was almost as if she was written into the story and then quickly removed with her dialogue remained. Just let the Doctor travel solo! It happens and has happened. We know Ruby is returning is well so I thought it would be better to just let this be pure Fifteenth Doctor. The characterisation was strong throughout and I really enjoyed the plot. At just six pages, I was impressed with how much was done and the depth that came from the story whilst not feeling like an overload of information. That was really impressive. I thought the Glimmering was a fitting name and the mark was very reminiscent of Face the Raven which was a fun recycle. I'm all for that in a short comic strip story like this and the Doctor taking on the mark wasn't a surprise, but his reaction to the original holder being consumed by the hound was a little shocking! He didn't seem to hold a great deal of remorse purely because he'd given a warning that you could not make a deal with the non-corporeal beast. The transition of that into being corporeal was excellent and I liked the hunt mentality that came with the threat. The Doctor knew the mission at hand which was good and if any Doctor could out run a mysterious hound then this one of the incarnations I would bet in favour of doing so! He almost enjoyed the thrill which felt in line with his personality too. The reveal that the Grey Grievants had actually used the shadows as a means of protecting the hound species was good and worked well, and the confidence that came from the Doctor's leap of faith was brilliant! Talk about being brave. I thought outrunning until sunrise was pretty fun and I liked the revelation of there being many protected beasts from the time of the Glimmering. The hunters were soon outnumbered and on a retreat. There would be no longer just one chance to hunt, it was to save. Overall, a terrific little comic strip story!
Rating: 8/10