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Doctor Who Graphic Novels: The Eighth Doctor #2
Doctor Who: The Glorious Dead
The Eighth Doctor faces new perils in this bumper collection of classic comic adventures! This volume features eight amazing stories: "The Fallen," "Unnatural Born Killers," "The Road to Hell," "The Company of Thieves," The Glorious Dead," "The Autonomy Bug," "Happy Deathday," and "TV Action!"
Also included are two bonus stories from the early days of Doctor Who Weekly, "Throwback: The Soul of a Cyberman" and "Ship of Fools," telling the origins of Kroton the Cyberman! And, a special six-page, behind-the-scenes feature where writers Scott Gray, Alan Barnes, and Adrian Salmon reveal background information on the stories' origins, alongside never-before-seen sketches and character designs from Salmon and fellow artists Martin Geraghty and Roger Langridge.
Also included are two bonus stories from the early days of Doctor Who Weekly, "Throwback: The Soul of a Cyberman" and "Ship of Fools," telling the origins of Kroton the Cyberman! And, a special six-page, behind-the-scenes feature where writers Scott Gray, Alan Barnes, and Adrian Salmon reveal background information on the stories' origins, alongside never-before-seen sketches and character designs from Salmon and fellow artists Martin Geraghty and Roger Langridge.
244 pages, Paperback
First published June 29, 2006
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About the author
Scott Gray
113 books16 followersScott Gray, born Warwick Gray, is a comic book writer from New Zealand who lives and works in the UK.
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There is more than one author with this name
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 24, 2023
Pretty much the halfway house of the DWM strip’s more 2000AD influenced early days and its later more fan-focused narratives. Grace’s return is downbeat but thoughtfully handled, Kroton’s perhaps less so, while it’s pleasing as a comic fan to see the Doctor plunged into stories heavily influenced by Lone Wolf and Cub and Ditko’s Doctor Strange run (and perhaps including a homage to Once Upon A Time Lord from the Voyager arc). The arc which knits things together is pleasingly thematically strong, though struggles a touch in the final episode with the Doctor’s irrelevance to the story’s resolution.
It’s topped off with a selection of strips which show off Roger Langridge’s wonderfully idiosyncratic style - indeed, much of the joy of the collection is the stylistic variety he and Adrian Salmon add to Martin Geraghty’s reliably fine work. I’d forgotten much of this in the 25 or so years since last reading them, bar a couple of memorable images from the title strip but it’s a thoroughly enjoyable collection that’s stronger than I recalled.
It’s topped off with a selection of strips which show off Roger Langridge’s wonderfully idiosyncratic style - indeed, much of the joy of the collection is the stylistic variety he and Adrian Salmon add to Martin Geraghty’s reliably fine work. I’d forgotten much of this in the 25 or so years since last reading them, bar a couple of memorable images from the title strip but it’s a thoroughly enjoyable collection that’s stronger than I recalled.
March 30, 2017
This is the second book of Eighth Doctor Comic Strips collecting stories from #272-296 of Doctor Who Magazine and back up tales from Doctor Who Weekly #5-7, #23 and #24. This is the last Black and White collection for Doctor Who
The Fallen (#273-276): A sequel to the TV movie that finds Grace Holloway (the Doctor's one shot companion from that movie) involved in some dodgy genetic experiments that lead to monstrous consequences. It's good follow up to a story that really had problems and explores the idea that the Doctor's encouragement that Grace was destined for greatness led her to take this detour is interesting and there are some good character moment. Grade: B
Unnatural Born Killers (#277): The Sontarans are attacking and who can stop them? How about a lone well-intentioned Cyberman who thinks like a Bronze Age Marvel Comics character? This story serves as a re-introduction to Kroton, who turned on the Cybermen in the Doctor Who weekly back up feature at the end of the book. He was a great concept character that only got two story arcs back in the 1980s and his reintroduction here is glorious. Really one of Doctor Who's best Comic book characters. The two Doctor Who Weekly stories at the end of the book are also great reads. Grade: A
The Road to Hell ( 278-282): The Doctor and Izzy land in Medieval Japan during its most isolated time where aliens are both manipulating and feeding off the isolation in Japan at the time. This also introduces a character in a later event. Overall, grade: B+
The Company of Thieves (284-286): The Doctor and Izzy battle some decent space pirates with a surprise twist. This would be a good story but the Doctor and Izzy meets Kroton which is awesome enough to make this an even better one. Grade: A-
The Glorious Dead (287-296): A Ten Part(!) epic story that finds the Doctor, Izzy, and Kroton encountering a dangerous cult with old enemies behind it. I'm far from a fan of the philosophy beyond the story, but I give the writer points for originality for pushing beyond the usual cynical anti-religious tirades that Doctor Who spinoff media goes for for something original. It's an epic tale that succeeds in tying together so much of what's come before in this volume. Overall, quite lovely. And of course Krotonn is epic. Rating: A
The Autonomy Bug (297-299): Described by the author as Alice in Wonderland meets One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest , this story finds the Doctor and Izzy encountering Drones who are apparently developing personality, something that the villain can't abide. The art was a little odd in this one, but still I enjoyed it. Grade: B+
Happy Deathday (#272): It was a Doctor Who Anniversary and what better way to celebrate than having all of his old enemies team up to kill him and all his former selves. It's an amazingly effective and well-crafted story that manages to do a better job of giving every Doctor his due than the Prisoners in Time story despite that one having two full 20 page issues for the denoument and twelve issues overall. A really fun tale that almost makes the whole book worth the purchase price. Grade: A+
TV Action (DWM 283): An anniversary for Doctor Who magazine that features the return of the Beep the Meep, that great Fourth Doctor villain. It's a fun story with an appearance by the Fourth Doctor. with dialogue from an interview with Tom Baker. It's a hilarious nostalgic trip and the Interview portion reminds us how little "acting" as traditionally understood was involved in Baker's 4th Doctor because in playing the Fourth Doctor, Baker was in many ways, playing himself. Grade: A-
Overall, an incredibly strong collection of Doctor Who Comics. This is the last Black and White collection and it goes out with a bang rather than a bust.
The Fallen (#273-276): A sequel to the TV movie that finds Grace Holloway (the Doctor's one shot companion from that movie) involved in some dodgy genetic experiments that lead to monstrous consequences. It's good follow up to a story that really had problems and explores the idea that the Doctor's encouragement that Grace was destined for greatness led her to take this detour is interesting and there are some good character moment. Grade: B
Unnatural Born Killers (#277): The Sontarans are attacking and who can stop them? How about a lone well-intentioned Cyberman who thinks like a Bronze Age Marvel Comics character? This story serves as a re-introduction to Kroton, who turned on the Cybermen in the Doctor Who weekly back up feature at the end of the book. He was a great concept character that only got two story arcs back in the 1980s and his reintroduction here is glorious. Really one of Doctor Who's best Comic book characters. The two Doctor Who Weekly stories at the end of the book are also great reads. Grade: A
The Road to Hell ( 278-282): The Doctor and Izzy land in Medieval Japan during its most isolated time where aliens are both manipulating and feeding off the isolation in Japan at the time. This also introduces a character in a later event. Overall, grade: B+
The Company of Thieves (284-286): The Doctor and Izzy battle some decent space pirates with a surprise twist. This would be a good story but the Doctor and Izzy meets Kroton which is awesome enough to make this an even better one. Grade: A-
The Glorious Dead (287-296): A Ten Part(!) epic story that finds the Doctor, Izzy, and Kroton encountering a dangerous cult with old enemies behind it. I'm far from a fan of the philosophy beyond the story, but I give the writer points for originality for pushing beyond the usual cynical anti-religious tirades that Doctor Who spinoff media goes for for something original. It's an epic tale that succeeds in tying together so much of what's come before in this volume. Overall, quite lovely. And of course Krotonn is epic. Rating: A
The Autonomy Bug (297-299): Described by the author as Alice in Wonderland meets One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest , this story finds the Doctor and Izzy encountering Drones who are apparently developing personality, something that the villain can't abide. The art was a little odd in this one, but still I enjoyed it. Grade: B+
Happy Deathday (#272): It was a Doctor Who Anniversary and what better way to celebrate than having all of his old enemies team up to kill him and all his former selves. It's an amazingly effective and well-crafted story that manages to do a better job of giving every Doctor his due than the Prisoners in Time story despite that one having two full 20 page issues for the denoument and twelve issues overall. A really fun tale that almost makes the whole book worth the purchase price. Grade: A+
TV Action (DWM 283): An anniversary for Doctor Who magazine that features the return of the Beep the Meep, that great Fourth Doctor villain. It's a fun story with an appearance by the Fourth Doctor. with dialogue from an interview with Tom Baker. It's a hilarious nostalgic trip and the Interview portion reminds us how little "acting" as traditionally understood was involved in Baker's 4th Doctor because in playing the Fourth Doctor, Baker was in many ways, playing himself. Grade: A-
Overall, an incredibly strong collection of Doctor Who Comics. This is the last Black and White collection and it goes out with a bang rather than a bust.
August 29, 2022
I have already waxed lyrical about the eighth Doctor strips in Endgame; the ones in this collection continue the extraordinary run of quality and, for my money, reach new heights. Having started by boldly placing itself in the slightly separate universe of Doctor Who Magazine’s original comic strips, the series now sets about reclaiming its place in the continuity of televised Who by offering a straight up sequel to the 1996 TV Movie.
It's a shrewd move, because let’s be honest, the TV Movie doesn’t make a lot of sense as a standalone piece of television. It was designed as a pilot and would perhaps feel more substantial as the prelude to a series; I’m not sure late 90s televised Who would have been so far ahead of the game as to offer story arcs, but it would certainly have involved a few recurring characters and offered much more by way of dramatic closure to the events of the TV Movie. Which we get here in spades – to the extent that, rather than acting as a sequel, it actually succeeds in making the TV Movie feel like a prequel. That’s not least because the limitless budget for scenery, combined with the incredible imaginations of the creative team, give this an epic scale that the humble TV Movie can’t hope to compete with. But also because Scott Gray approaches the narrative with a matching epic sense, planting ideas and resolving plot strands with a forethought and patience that is all the more impressive when you consider that it was written for a monthly publication. In his notes, Gray recalls editor Gary Gillatt promising readers an end to ‘involved story arcs’, but thank goodness he resisted that edict, and in fact went so far in the opposite direction that he achieved a more consistent and satisfying whole than the TV series ever has. Moreover, this is without question the most successful continuation of the Paul McGann Doctor from his solitary television outing. (Although I’m a fan of much of the Big Finish output, but they don’t really get McGann right until they unshackle him from the memory of the TV movie; the BBC books range was all over the place.)
Aside from having the sheer nerve to let a story unfold over this length of time (and as a regular DWM reader by this point I remember that it was utterly thrilling), those involved in putting the strip together also have the confidence to sustain even a single story for as many as ten parts. This is partly just down to good storytelling – there’s none of the directionless meandering that afflicts some of the longer fifth Doctor strips – but it’s also achieved with subtle (and occasionally less subtle) variety across the instalments, which play with narrative voice and effortlessly shift perspective from one twist to the next. Most memorable of these shifts (with the best cliffhanger EVER) is a diversion into what turns out to be a multiverse, proving the strip to be yet again ahead of the curve. Indeed, fans of Into The Spiderverse will recognise the playful approach to graphic style, while a later episode is so visually similar to Doctor Strange’s recent journey through the multiverse, I can’t help feeling Martin Geraghty deserves some kind of credit.
Speaking of Geraghty: holding all of the above together is some of the finest artwork ever seen in a Doctor Who comic strip: eye-watering full page spreads, a dynamism that constantly leaps off the page, endless invention when it comes to layout and a level of detail that you could happily submerge yourself in, but for the constant imperative to turn the page. Geraghty’s gorgeous artwork is supported by two strips illustrated by the incredible Adrian Salmon, who brings Kroton the Cyberman to life with customary style and movement in Unnatural Born Killers then goes one better with The Company of Thieves. Also included are two more frivolous one-offs drawn by Roger Langridge, which (vitally) are genuinely funny, with a wealth of visual gags; whilst Langridge’s art appropriately leans more towards caricature, the depth of his work is revealed in the fairytale gem The Autonomy Bug, simultaneously eccentric, dark and haunting – and, like everything else in this volume, packed with visual detail and flair.
Whisper it: Doctor Who in comic form would never quite look this good again. I can understand why the introduction of colour made commercial sense, and I can absolutely appreciate the artistry that went into it; but for me, the stark contrasts in the black and white strip, the dynamism of black against white and the complexity allowed by lines untroubled by colour, make these stories I will come back to time and time again simply to drink in the glorious visuals.
About as good as Doctor Who gets in any format, and as consistently brilliant a graphic novel as you could hope to read. Essential.
It's a shrewd move, because let’s be honest, the TV Movie doesn’t make a lot of sense as a standalone piece of television. It was designed as a pilot and would perhaps feel more substantial as the prelude to a series; I’m not sure late 90s televised Who would have been so far ahead of the game as to offer story arcs, but it would certainly have involved a few recurring characters and offered much more by way of dramatic closure to the events of the TV Movie. Which we get here in spades – to the extent that, rather than acting as a sequel, it actually succeeds in making the TV Movie feel like a prequel. That’s not least because the limitless budget for scenery, combined with the incredible imaginations of the creative team, give this an epic scale that the humble TV Movie can’t hope to compete with. But also because Scott Gray approaches the narrative with a matching epic sense, planting ideas and resolving plot strands with a forethought and patience that is all the more impressive when you consider that it was written for a monthly publication. In his notes, Gray recalls editor Gary Gillatt promising readers an end to ‘involved story arcs’, but thank goodness he resisted that edict, and in fact went so far in the opposite direction that he achieved a more consistent and satisfying whole than the TV series ever has. Moreover, this is without question the most successful continuation of the Paul McGann Doctor from his solitary television outing. (Although I’m a fan of much of the Big Finish output, but they don’t really get McGann right until they unshackle him from the memory of the TV movie; the BBC books range was all over the place.)
Aside from having the sheer nerve to let a story unfold over this length of time (and as a regular DWM reader by this point I remember that it was utterly thrilling), those involved in putting the strip together also have the confidence to sustain even a single story for as many as ten parts. This is partly just down to good storytelling – there’s none of the directionless meandering that afflicts some of the longer fifth Doctor strips – but it’s also achieved with subtle (and occasionally less subtle) variety across the instalments, which play with narrative voice and effortlessly shift perspective from one twist to the next. Most memorable of these shifts (with the best cliffhanger EVER) is a diversion into what turns out to be a multiverse, proving the strip to be yet again ahead of the curve. Indeed, fans of Into The Spiderverse will recognise the playful approach to graphic style, while a later episode is so visually similar to Doctor Strange’s recent journey through the multiverse, I can’t help feeling Martin Geraghty deserves some kind of credit.
Speaking of Geraghty: holding all of the above together is some of the finest artwork ever seen in a Doctor Who comic strip: eye-watering full page spreads, a dynamism that constantly leaps off the page, endless invention when it comes to layout and a level of detail that you could happily submerge yourself in, but for the constant imperative to turn the page. Geraghty’s gorgeous artwork is supported by two strips illustrated by the incredible Adrian Salmon, who brings Kroton the Cyberman to life with customary style and movement in Unnatural Born Killers then goes one better with The Company of Thieves. Also included are two more frivolous one-offs drawn by Roger Langridge, which (vitally) are genuinely funny, with a wealth of visual gags; whilst Langridge’s art appropriately leans more towards caricature, the depth of his work is revealed in the fairytale gem The Autonomy Bug, simultaneously eccentric, dark and haunting – and, like everything else in this volume, packed with visual detail and flair.
Whisper it: Doctor Who in comic form would never quite look this good again. I can understand why the introduction of colour made commercial sense, and I can absolutely appreciate the artistry that went into it; but for me, the stark contrasts in the black and white strip, the dynamism of black against white and the complexity allowed by lines untroubled by colour, make these stories I will come back to time and time again simply to drink in the glorious visuals.
About as good as Doctor Who gets in any format, and as consistently brilliant a graphic novel as you could hope to read. Essential.
November 17, 2016
The Fallen (273-276). The plot of this is just a battle against a proto-blob thingy. But it's got terrific connections to Doctor Who: The Movie, making it a critically important 8th Doctor story. We get to see what happened to Grace later on (in the comic-universe at least) and that proto-blob even devolves from the movie plot. As for the longer term plot ... well that's a topic for another story. [7/10].
Throwback (Kroton: 5-7). A neat introduction to the cyberman Kroton. This close attention to the villains of Doctor Who in the early days of the magazine was quite neat [6/10].
Ship of Fools (Kroton: 23-24). The return of Kroton is less spectacular because it's a one-note story of the sort that was more common in 2000 AD [5/10].
Unnatural Born Heroes (Kroton: 277). And a few decades later, here's Kroton headlining the main DWM strip. It's kind of cool seeing him fight Sontarans and hearing his monologue, but otherwise there's not much going on [5+/10].
The Road to Hell (278-282). Back to the main story ...
When Scott Gray was brought on as the regular comic writer, he was asked to write dumbed down standalone stories. Fortunately, he mainly avoided that, but when he didn't, we get a lackluster story like this one. Some alien nanite thing that we don't care about attacks some people that we don't care about and the Doctor gets involved. Yawn.
Still, this story had two things going for it. First, the setting of 17th century Japan is quite unique. Second, the character of Katsura gets a rather interesting ending, reminiscent of the storyline for a character in the 12th Doctor's run. I was looking forward too seeing more of him in better future stories, which is exactly what happened [5/10].
A Company of Thieves (283-285). This story has better depth thanks to its many characters with different motives, and also due to a bit of humor. But the real joy is the introduction of Kroton to the TARDIS crew. Yay! Cyberman aboard! [7/10].
The Glorious Dead (287-296). Yowza, a 10-part DWM comic! It's like the DWM Masterplan. And Gray does quite a good job with the story. It's got multiple companions, it's got huge scope. It warps history and goes out into the omniverse. It brings back not one but two interesting villains, and put them to good use. It had twists and turns. Two of the issues drag a little bit (#5 and #9, the two issues with extensive focus on the omniverse), but otherwise this is one of DWM's best longer arcs [8/10].
The Autonomy Bug (297-299). A very cute story of Lost Robots. I think the connections to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest are understated, meaning that this story mainly comes off as fun cuteness [7+/10].
Again, this volume puts some less canon stories at the end.
Happy Deathday! (272) Gray does a rather impressive job of mixing together all the Doctors in a genuinely funny one-off [7/10].
TV Action (283). Another humorous anniversary story, but this one's barely comprehensible [4/10].
The Glorious Dead has some strong stories, particularly the eponymous Glorious Dead and the use of the cyberman Kroton. I'm a bit sad that it doesn't have the cool connection to old DWM stories that the previous volume did, but it sets up plenty of new canon of its own.
The biggest weakness of the volume is the characters of Izzy and the Doctor. They're almost entirely flat. I couldn't tell you who either one is; they're just a generic Doctor and a generic companion.
Throwback (Kroton: 5-7). A neat introduction to the cyberman Kroton. This close attention to the villains of Doctor Who in the early days of the magazine was quite neat [6/10].
Ship of Fools (Kroton: 23-24). The return of Kroton is less spectacular because it's a one-note story of the sort that was more common in 2000 AD [5/10].
Unnatural Born Heroes (Kroton: 277). And a few decades later, here's Kroton headlining the main DWM strip. It's kind of cool seeing him fight Sontarans and hearing his monologue, but otherwise there's not much going on [5+/10].
The Road to Hell (278-282). Back to the main story ...
When Scott Gray was brought on as the regular comic writer, he was asked to write dumbed down standalone stories. Fortunately, he mainly avoided that, but when he didn't, we get a lackluster story like this one. Some alien nanite thing that we don't care about attacks some people that we don't care about and the Doctor gets involved. Yawn.
Still, this story had two things going for it. First, the setting of 17th century Japan is quite unique. Second, the character of Katsura gets a rather interesting ending, reminiscent of the storyline for a character in the 12th Doctor's run. I was looking forward too seeing more of him in better future stories, which is exactly what happened [5/10].
A Company of Thieves (283-285). This story has better depth thanks to its many characters with different motives, and also due to a bit of humor. But the real joy is the introduction of Kroton to the TARDIS crew. Yay! Cyberman aboard! [7/10].
The Glorious Dead (287-296). Yowza, a 10-part DWM comic! It's like the DWM Masterplan. And Gray does quite a good job with the story. It's got multiple companions, it's got huge scope. It warps history and goes out into the omniverse. It brings back not one but two interesting villains, and put them to good use. It had twists and turns. Two of the issues drag a little bit (#5 and #9, the two issues with extensive focus on the omniverse), but otherwise this is one of DWM's best longer arcs [8/10].
The Autonomy Bug (297-299). A very cute story of Lost Robots. I think the connections to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest are understated, meaning that this story mainly comes off as fun cuteness [7+/10].
Again, this volume puts some less canon stories at the end.
Happy Deathday! (272) Gray does a rather impressive job of mixing together all the Doctors in a genuinely funny one-off [7/10].
TV Action (283). Another humorous anniversary story, but this one's barely comprehensible [4/10].
The Glorious Dead has some strong stories, particularly the eponymous Glorious Dead and the use of the cyberman Kroton. I'm a bit sad that it doesn't have the cool connection to old DWM stories that the previous volume did, but it sets up plenty of new canon of its own.
The biggest weakness of the volume is the characters of Izzy and the Doctor. They're almost entirely flat. I couldn't tell you who either one is; they're just a generic Doctor and a generic companion.
March 23, 2014
Sorry but there be spoilers here!
Dr. Who the glorious dead is the second of four trade paperbacks collecting the 8th doctors adventures
Volume one endgame was horrible. It should've been great it had the Celestial toymaker it had the Daleks it had Max Edison, but most important it was Marvel UK's chance to define the 8th doctor.
But it fell way too short, the glorious dead makes up for that, this is an eighth doctor who knows who he is and what he's all about.
He has fun young geek as his companion as well a ........ Cyberman from the early days of doctor who weekly.
The return of an old foe, and grace is along for the ride.
We also get to see the first second third fourth fifth sixth and seventh doctor in action with the eighth Doctor
And the extras are great! commentary on each story plus a reprinting of the original kroton the Cyberman story from Doctor who weekly.
Great art ( I love Roger Landridge) and stories that just are so good
I had to give this four stars you should check it out it's a pretty good read
Dr. Who the glorious dead is the second of four trade paperbacks collecting the 8th doctors adventures
Volume one endgame was horrible. It should've been great it had the Celestial toymaker it had the Daleks it had Max Edison, but most important it was Marvel UK's chance to define the 8th doctor.
But it fell way too short, the glorious dead makes up for that, this is an eighth doctor who knows who he is and what he's all about.
He has fun young geek as his companion as well a ........ Cyberman from the early days of doctor who weekly.
The return of an old foe, and grace is along for the ride.
We also get to see the first second third fourth fifth sixth and seventh doctor in action with the eighth Doctor
And the extras are great! commentary on each story plus a reprinting of the original kroton the Cyberman story from Doctor who weekly.
Great art ( I love Roger Landridge) and stories that just are so good
I had to give this four stars you should check it out it's a pretty good read
January 10, 2022
Volume 2 of the Eighth Doctor comic strips ensures that this is my favourite run that I've read from DWM so far.
The Fallen - Acting as a semi-sequel to the TV Movie, a piece of media that I love despite it's flaws, this comic worked really well for me. The return of Grace Holloway was great to see, and I'd love to see an Eighth Doctor and Grace box-set (cough cough Big Finish) - 3/5
Unnatural Born Killers - A nice little story reintroducing Kroton before he join the TARDIS a couple issues later. Not really much in its own regards. - doesn't matter/5
The Road to Hell - Great stuff! This is a side you really don't see much in Doctor Who, at all, so I really enjoyed read about it in this comic. Katsura Sato is one of the most memorable and interesting characters I've seen from a Doctor Who comic in a long time. - 3.5/5
The Company of Thieves - Kroton's back, and the Doctor accidentally attacks him. For a moment that's a large part of the next couple of stories, the Doctor's accident should definitely be a larger moment than it is in this story. - 3/5
The Glorious Dead - Wow. This is now one of my favourite Eighth Doctor stories. High-scale and monumental in scope, this is exactly why comics are such format for Doctor Who. All the stuff revolving around the Ominversal Spectrum is so insane that it couldn't be attempted on a TV budget, and I think that Big Finish's soundscape's couldn't really do it justice. Kroton's exit is fantastic and this one story singlehandedly made me go out and buy the next two volumes of comics. - 4.5/5
The Autonomy Bug - Mere fun. - 3/5
Happy Deathday - One of two comics by DWM celebrating Doctor Who's 35th anniversary, and I prefer this one. Not saying anything about the next, but this is absolutely hilarious. Each Doctor pairing is fantastic and the references to Dimensions in Time is hysterical. - 4.5/5
TV Action! - Another hilarious anniversary strip. Bringing back one of the first villains from this comic, being Beep the Meep, and have him be defeated by Tom Baker's (yes, the actor) endless witterings is another incredibly funny piece from Scott Gray. - 4/5
There's two older stories in the back giving the origins for Kroton the Cybermen, but I won't get into them here. This is an excellent compilation of stories and I can't wait to read more in this run.
The Fallen - Acting as a semi-sequel to the TV Movie, a piece of media that I love despite it's flaws, this comic worked really well for me. The return of Grace Holloway was great to see, and I'd love to see an Eighth Doctor and Grace box-set (cough cough Big Finish) - 3/5
Unnatural Born Killers - A nice little story reintroducing Kroton before he join the TARDIS a couple issues later. Not really much in its own regards. - doesn't matter/5
The Road to Hell - Great stuff! This is a side you really don't see much in Doctor Who, at all, so I really enjoyed read about it in this comic. Katsura Sato is one of the most memorable and interesting characters I've seen from a Doctor Who comic in a long time. - 3.5/5
The Company of Thieves - Kroton's back, and the Doctor accidentally attacks him. For a moment that's a large part of the next couple of stories, the Doctor's accident should definitely be a larger moment than it is in this story. - 3/5
The Glorious Dead - Wow. This is now one of my favourite Eighth Doctor stories. High-scale and monumental in scope, this is exactly why comics are such format for Doctor Who. All the stuff revolving around the Ominversal Spectrum is so insane that it couldn't be attempted on a TV budget, and I think that Big Finish's soundscape's couldn't really do it justice. Kroton's exit is fantastic and this one story singlehandedly made me go out and buy the next two volumes of comics. - 4.5/5
The Autonomy Bug - Mere fun. - 3/5
Happy Deathday - One of two comics by DWM celebrating Doctor Who's 35th anniversary, and I prefer this one. Not saying anything about the next, but this is absolutely hilarious. Each Doctor pairing is fantastic and the references to Dimensions in Time is hysterical. - 4.5/5
TV Action! - Another hilarious anniversary strip. Bringing back one of the first villains from this comic, being Beep the Meep, and have him be defeated by Tom Baker's (yes, the actor) endless witterings is another incredibly funny piece from Scott Gray. - 4/5
There's two older stories in the back giving the origins for Kroton the Cybermen, but I won't get into them here. This is an excellent compilation of stories and I can't wait to read more in this run.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2024
The eponymous story is the mainstay of this collection. Its a ten parter that includes villains old and new, some striking artwork and an ambitious plot that develops characters from earlier stories. Its quite impressive and a cut above some of the cartoony filler that follows.
A lengthier compilation than more recent efforts, albeit in the original black and white, it finishes with interviews and notes from the creators plus a couple of standalone tales. As with others in the series, there's a mix of styles and tone that sometimes jar. Personally I can't stand the stylised child-like art of Adrian Salmon's cyberman stories, but each to his own.
In comparison to the current TV offerings, its a work of staggering genius. I wish some these books were more widely available as the price of some volumes (eg Endgame and The Flood) is ridonculous. That said, they are lovely big books, lovingly reproduced from the Dr. Who Magazine.
A lengthier compilation than more recent efforts, albeit in the original black and white, it finishes with interviews and notes from the creators plus a couple of standalone tales. As with others in the series, there's a mix of styles and tone that sometimes jar. Personally I can't stand the stylised child-like art of Adrian Salmon's cyberman stories, but each to his own.
In comparison to the current TV offerings, its a work of staggering genius. I wish some these books were more widely available as the price of some volumes (eg Endgame and The Flood) is ridonculous. That said, they are lovely big books, lovingly reproduced from the Dr. Who Magazine.
May 23, 2017
The Doctor gets joined by a cyberman with a soul, and has epic adventures with new and old enemies. This is the Glorious Dead storyline, even the ones before that feed into it. There is some amazing artwork and real page turning plots. It also has a multi doctor anniversary story and a flashback to the early days of the cyberman companion. A really good read.
August 14, 2024
After reading them in backwards order (starting with the flood and then oblivion) I’ve now read most of the eighth Doctor comic run, and I can say that it’s one of the most consistently good run of stories from all of doctor who. artwork and writing in this book (and the 2 others I’ve read) are top-notch.
March 4, 2018
Fun, exciting adventures, and far more imaginative than most of the Doctor Who stories on the TV at the moment.
June 1, 2025
1. The Fallen - 2 stars
Not the best start to the graphic novel. It wasn’t my cup of tea and was also rather forgettable
2. Unnatural Born Killers - 5 stars
For only using about 8 pages and little dialogue this comic had an emotional beat, and an effective beginning middle and end
3. The Road to Hell - 4 stars
One of the few stories set in Japan, and this one was very enjoyable. There were some pacing problems unfortunately
4. The Company of Thieves - 3 stars
This story was alright but I found there wasn’t much substance
5. The Glorious Dead - 3 stars
For a large-scale story it feels like nothing really happens for a good while. However when the story gets going it starts to do very well. Some great moments and some dull moments (such as the ending)
6. The Autonomy Bug - 3 stars
This story was strange but in a way that
7. Happy Deathday! - 5 stars
A really fun anniversary story. Only utilising 8 pages, each of the current Doctors feels like they got equal breathing space.
8. TV Action! - 5 stars
This story is just great silliness and fun. Again it only uses 8 pages and very much fits the length given. Short but sweet
9. Throwback: The Soul of a Cyberman - 4 stars
This comic introduces Kroton the Cyberman and shows his humanity despite the fact he is what he is (this was also done well in Unnatural Born Killers),
10. Ship of Fools - 5 stars
A very fascinating set of characters with possibly one of the bleakest endings in Doctor Who comic history
Not the best start to the graphic novel. It wasn’t my cup of tea and was also rather forgettable
2. Unnatural Born Killers - 5 stars
For only using about 8 pages and little dialogue this comic had an emotional beat, and an effective beginning middle and end
3. The Road to Hell - 4 stars
One of the few stories set in Japan, and this one was very enjoyable. There were some pacing problems unfortunately
4. The Company of Thieves - 3 stars
This story was alright but I found there wasn’t much substance
5. The Glorious Dead - 3 stars
For a large-scale story it feels like nothing really happens for a good while. However when the story gets going it starts to do very well. Some great moments and some dull moments (such as the ending)
6. The Autonomy Bug - 3 stars
This story was strange but in a way that
7. Happy Deathday! - 5 stars
A really fun anniversary story. Only utilising 8 pages, each of the current Doctors feels like they got equal breathing space.
8. TV Action! - 5 stars
This story is just great silliness and fun. Again it only uses 8 pages and very much fits the length given. Short but sweet
9. Throwback: The Soul of a Cyberman - 4 stars
This comic introduces Kroton the Cyberman and shows his humanity despite the fact he is what he is (this was also done well in Unnatural Born Killers),
10. Ship of Fools - 5 stars
A very fascinating set of characters with possibly one of the bleakest endings in Doctor Who comic history
July 9, 2023
I wanna reread this and write a prpper review but let me just say Kroton is a bean and I love him
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