The Honourable Society

"Your death will teach these wretched scum the true meaning of fear!"

Writer: Jason Quinn

Format: Comic Strip

Released: July 2026

Printed in: DWM 632

Featuring: Fugitive Doctor

Synopsis

The Fugitive Doctor, accompanied by UNIT archivist Andrew Turner, is on a mission to return corrupted Sontaran artefacts. The mission takes them to Calabria, Italy in 1894, where they soon cross paths with a secret society with a taste for extortion and human sacrifice...

Verdict

The Honourable Society was a good little story to continue the ongoing Circuit Breaker multimedia adventure! I was always looking forward to the contribution from Doctor Who Magazine because getting an extended comic strip is always welcomed. I think it's wonderful that we continue to expand the adventures of the Fugitive Doctor and this had strong continuity with Adversary of the Daleks in the form of the debrief. This particular story was not going to be quite as long and it's clear the comic strip budget was not the same, but it was still a solid offering. Amazingly though, this isn't the comic strip adventure as part of this issue of DWM that I'm most excited by as it appears we're getting an interlude during The Daleks' Master Plan which is just incredible! I'll blog that one when it completes and whilst the absence of the TV show is disappointing, it provides an opportunity to the ongoing comic strip to really reach out there and try some things. I'd be delighted if they continued the adventures of the Fifteenth Doctor but it appears that won't be the direction and to be honest I can understand why. The Fugitive Doctor has filled that gap on a temporary basis with this saga which I really like and also the weekly releases of the Twelfth Doctor Adventures at Big Finish feels like it's helping fill the gap also. I'm a big fan of where things are in the expanded media so let's keep it going! The prospect of the Fugitive Doctor encountering the Sontarans was exciting and whilst she didn't know what a Dalek was in the previous story, she knew about the clone race bred for war and I hope that's an intentional reference to Betrayal at the House of Sontar. Seeing a Sontaran in the religious Italian garb of the late nineteenth century was quite something though! It was probably the highlight of the story in all honesty and I like how it did seem to be a larger Sontaran. Maybe that was the artwork or an illusion of the robes, but it just worked. I think the returning of the Sontaran devices and Andrew using the Resistor on them basically as soon as they left the TARDIS felt a bit quick and random for me considering that's the overall story arc basis, but it did allow for some character development for the Fugitive incarnation. She's not the Doctor we know and love just yet which is really being made clear but there are signs that those likeable traits are buried deep within her and potentially starting to scratch the surface. I thought the very fact she agreed, albeit reluctantly, to have Andrew travel with her was a sign of that as he filled a companion role for the story. He would do the UNIT debrief and even use the Resistor. It almost felt like the Doctor was redundant! That was a tad disappointing, but I did like that she was showing concern if she wasn't admitting it. She saved the mayor's daughter and brought down the Honourable Society in a pretty quick swoop. Andrew aiding her with the Sontaran back of the neck was great and I liked the mystery of the Sontaran just transporting away. I'm not sure where the honour in that move is, but the epilogue certainly keeps me intrigued with the cloaked figure watching on. Who is behind all this and for what purpose? It all feels very Adam in Prisoners of Time so it's safe to say I am invested! Overall, a good little story to continue the overlapping story arc. I'm already excited for the next one! 

Rating: 7/10