Everyone Must Go!

"What scares you more than anything else?"

Writer: Dan Watters

Format: Comic Strip

Released: June-November 2024

Printed in: Fifteenth Doctor #1-4

Featuring: Fifteenth Doctor, Ruby

Synopsis

The Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday have followed a mysterious signal to a shopping mall in the last days of Earth. It's sure to be a trap, but to find the source, the Doctor must face his greatest fears...

Verdict

Everyone Must Go! was a great Titan Comics debut for the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby! I love that we get a full on comic strip adventure for the contemporary Doctor and whilst I am a huge fan of the comic strip content we get in the pages of Doctor Who Magazine, these Titan stories are just better in terms of depth and feel. As ludicrous as it sounds but because they are actual comics it almost feels more authentic. I thought the artwork for this adventure was mostly excellent although some of the drawings of the Doctor in particular didn't quite feel right in terms of shape and expression. Ruby was absolutely nailed on though. I really liked the loose way in which this story seemed to fill the gap between Rogue and The Legend of Ruby Sunday as the TARDIS looked to then go to UNIT and having its own Susan Twist involvement as a means to get them there was magnificent. It was acknowledged by the Doctor with the expected references to Boom and Dot and Bubble where they had also seen the woman, and here she was as one of the shoppers. I must admit I didn't actually catch her anywhere specifically in the pages in terms of likeness (and I went back and flicked through!), but the fact the Doctor and Ruby caught her is all that matters and I hope this continues for any future Series 14-set adventures. It really is like Bad Wolf all over again. I think some of the marketing for this comic series is a little bit annoying because from the covers of the first two issues in particular it really did feel like this was going to be the Fifteenth Doctor taking on the Cybermen for the first time which was awfully exciting. I love the idea of it happening in the comics but it never turned into that unfortunately. What we got was still terrific it was just different to how things were being sold in my opinion. I think the Scream Sommelier was a fantastic villain as another god and his desire to capture the scream of a Time Lord was very niche! Pondering on your deepest fears was intriguing and whilst it's not treading new ground, I feel like this went a little deeper with the exploration. It was enthralling. The presence of the Cybermen was intriguing and the suggestion of them being there as the Doctor's fear was a little surprising, but should it be after the relatively recent events for him of World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls and Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children? They've certainly provided more hurt to the Doctor in recent times than the Daleks or Weeping Angels as he referenced. Less about the Chuldurs reference although I like to think that was there because of Rogue's fate. The little girl who was voiceless for almost the entirety of the comic strip was an intriguing character and it being her that was actually scared of the Cybermen was a fun reveal and made sense. Getting the flashback of how she ended up at the last shopping centre was emotional as her parents used their final vortex manipulator to send her away and told her not to scream. How brave she was to arrive all alone! Ruby's role in the conclusion was really good and I loved the threat she had when it came to dropping the bottled screams. I was also a huge fan of the Scream Sommelier departing in style as he literally folded the comic strip windows and segments and warned of the scream the Doctor will have when The One Who Waits arrives. That's quite fun to have in hindsight as we know that refers to Sutekh, but it's brilliantly continuity and I think this adventure fits very nicely into the on screen story arc! Overall, a great read and it looked magnificent. That Cyberman design was superb! 

Rating: 8/10