"You boys need to be supervised!"
Three chapters in, and not only is this brilliant, full of so many nice little touches, in terms of both character and the best kinds of fanwank both overt and subtle, but... well, it's incredibly complicated, its plot a truly tangled web. But somehow it works. It doesn't confuse or overload the reader. Yes, I suspect part of this is the fact that we're having so much fun that the threat of plot fatigue doesn't arise, but we have some masterful storytelling here. And that's in terms of both plotting and (integral to the medium) in terms of the visual storytelling of the art. The little notes at the bottom are a nice touch too.
I mean, the only gripes I have are over two ridiculously nitpicky things. One is that the Third Doctor at one point addresses his archenemy as "my dear old Master", whereas at no point on screen does this Doctor ever directly address the Master as such, and never does- and this can be no coincidence, given the amount of screen time they have, implying a rejection of the Master's claimed title.
I'm also uneasy at the sight of the Celestial Toymaker reporting to Omega. I don't think I'm being influenced by The Giggle in any way when I say that I've always seen the Toymaker as a more powerful, ineffable being than even the most legendary of the Time Lords. The Celestial Toymaker, rubbish story though it is, portrays the character as basically a god. Then there's the novelisation of The Nightmare Fair and the character's appearances in various novels...
That said, I gather from the notes that there's a reason for these two being paired, so I'll reserve judgement. And any gripes I may have are far outweighed by the sheer awesomeness. As well, of course, with the wise and righteous rejection of any nonsense about the War Chief having been the Doctor Master (oops, typo!).
There's so much to praise, though. The plot may be complex, but it makes sense, and the fact that we know all the characters (Drax!Leela! K'Anpo Rimpoche! A full hat trick of K-9s!) is a useful narrative shorthand. The hints about the Keeper indeed being the Valeyard are delicious. There's the intriguing mystery of certain characters not recognising certain Doctors. And... yeah, Leela should never have married Andred.
I may well end up zooming through this.
Uhh, I think you meant to say "wise and righteous rejection of any nonsense about the War Chief having been the MASTER", LIamastrangler.
ReplyDeleteThe Fourth Doctor's toothy grin when the Daleks turns its head to look at him and him whistling innocently is gorgeous artwork.
Also Jamie serving a cybermen's head by whacking it with its blaster is GOAT.
Given how many characters there are running around, Rich does an amazing job of keeping everyone busy and useful to the plot. While some might be a bit superfluous, pretty much everyone is there for a reason, even if it is just comic relief (and this is a genuinely funny comic, especially for those as steeped in the series' lore as Rich). The comic somehow manages to keep the 10 Doctors and their companions busy with a huge storyline that somehow, at least to those who have read it, never gets to big to comprehend yet covers basically everyone and everything in the Doctor Who universe up to that point in 2007 - 2009. It's grandiose and yet small at the same time, with the time spent with careful attention to the personalites of the Doctors and friends. With all the weight of a TV multi-Doctor story, you don't usually get to see these sorts of interactions because the bigger plot takes up the runtime. Here, we have time for both. And that's just fantastic
Ahem, duly amended but in a way which cheerfully admits the typo!
ReplyDeleteThat's the amazing thing, at least up to this point. That there can be so many plot threads, such a complex storyline and, indeed, so many lead characters as to defy all the laws of storytelling... yet it works. Partly because it's in no hurry and takes the time it needs, partly out of sheer charm, but surely also because of some ineffable plot alchemy.
So, if you were to have the Ten Doctors be part of the Doctor Who index in the Odds and Sods section, are you going to put all reviews of the ten chapters together in one big review, much like your Classic Who serial reviews?
ReplyDelete