Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor #5 - Titan Comics

DOCTOR WHO: THE FOURTH DOCTOR No. 5, October 2016

Long-term fans of actor Tom Baker’s tenure as the British Broadcasting Company’s travelling Time Lord probably experienced a disconcerting sinking feeling of déjà vu whilst reading Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby’s narrative for Issue Five of “Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor”. For despite the twenty-two page periodical bringing the murderous exploits of an extra-terrestrial Medusa skulking in the catacombs of Ancient Greece to a somewhat satisfying conclusion, the similarities between the collaborative team’s treatment and the resolution to David Fisher’s screenplay for the 1978 broadcast serial “The Stones Of Blood” are disappointingly alike.

These ‘parallel proceedings’ sadly start straight from the comic’s opening, as the Gallifreyan is quickly teleported away from a claustrophobically atmospheric underground cavern aboard a jarringly gleaming alien spacecraft and discovers from the partially-defunct ship’s data banks that, as with the on-screen Justice Machines and Cessair of Diplos, the crashed craft’s crew are in fact intergalactic guardians who were about to begin “the long journey home” ferrying back a criminal when disaster struck their vessel. Regrettably, such dissatisfying resemblances don’t stop there either, as the scarf-wearing bohemian is forced to literally argue with the alien Zeus for his very life, to the point where some readers were probably half-expecting artist Brian Williamson to suddenly pencil the titular character donning the barrister’s wig which he wore whilst out-witting the Megara during the ‘Key To Time’ broadcast; “Sorry to interrupt, but don’t you think it seems terribly unfair that my friend and I are being included in this all must fall solution of yours?” 

Disappointingly, what innovation this fifth instalment to “Gaze Of The Medusa” does contain arguably struggles to withstand much scrutiny either, with “poor Lady Carstairs” suddenly becoming a supposedly “specially prepared” vessel within which the Medusa can conveniently relocate her consciousness just as “the ship’s generators are being overloaded”. Precisely why the snake-like gorgon hasn’t previously attained such a “full bodily transmogrification to go with the mental transference” using one of the dozens of victims littering her lair is never properly addressed, and resultantly this transformation appears to be used as a contrived plot device so as to give both the partially-petrified widower her just desserts for the cold-blooded murder of Professor Odysseus James, as well as provide the pair’s increasingly paper-thin plot with a reason as to why the scaly-skinned villainess reaches the Doctor’s time portal back to Victorian London somewhat simultaneously with the time traveller and Athena.

Of course, such shenanigans aren’t entirely without their entertainment as the comic ends with a rather enjoyable tongue-in-cheek conclusion involving Harry Sullivan’s great grandparents. Wonderfully sketched by Williamson, with Lieutenant Albert Sullivan, “a ship’s surgeon in the Royal Navy”, bearing a strikingly good resemblance to the late actor Ian Marter, this humorous eleven-panel long encounter is by far the highlight of the book, and it’s clear why Sarah Jane Smith much prefers an invitation to the loving couple’s wedding over visiting a Draconian coronation.

Writers: Gordon Rennie & Emma Beeby, and Art: Brian Williamson

Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor #4 - Titan Comics

DOCTOR WHO: THE FOURTH DOCTOR No. 4, August 2016

Selling a reasonably respectable 7,187 copies in August 2016, this penultimate instalment to Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby’s myth-laden magnum opus finally places the titular character at the very centre of the action, and resultantly starts to decisively explain what a living Medusa was doing imprisoned within a labyrinthine catacomb in “Greece twenty-four centuries before the modern day”. Admittedly, this twenty-two page periodical still provides a modicum of ‘screen-time’ for Lady Emily Carstairs and “her small army of Scryclops”, but for once, the mini-series' episodic narrative predominantly focuses upon Doctor Who and both the bohemian's nervy exploration of the his cavernous surroundings with Athena, as well as the Gallifreyan's simultaneous scientific clarification as to the nature of the “particularly vile -- predatory alien species” which they’re facing.

Indeed, one of the book’s more tensely-felt moments is arguably when the Time Traveller unknowingly begins enlightening his Victorian London-born companion as to the alien’s ability to petrify its prey “in a basic form of quantum-locking… so the creature can feed on them at its leisure, drawing from their life energy”, just as the grotesque-looking extra-terrestrial is about to sate her ravenous appetite upon Sarah Jane Smith elsewhere; “Miss Smith! Oh my heavens, No!” Mercifully, such an ill-fitting demise for “one of the Doctor's longest-serving companions” is averted by the poorly-timed audible exclamation of a mortally wounded Odysseus James, yet even so, despite its readers knowing full well that the female reporter must most-assuredly outlast her stony state, the scintillating scene still conjures up the plausible possibility of the “dogged investigative journalist” dying “rather deep underground”.

Sadly, the survivability of this comic’s “expert” in chrononautology is shown to be an entirely different matter, as the hapless Professor James desperately tries to defend his daughter from a brutish one-eyed giant, and pays for his surprising bravery by having his calcified left side heart-breakingly pulverised into rubble. Of course this murderous act finally raises Carstair’s character to indisputable odious villainess, as opposed to her previous status of simply being a misguided widower dangerously desperate to do all she can to rid herself of both her debilitatingly blighted physical transformation and restore her dead family to her side. However it still comes as something of a shock considering the blustering buffoon has previously ‘grown’ into such a likeable aged coward.

Disappointingly though, Issue Four of “Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor” does seemingly still fall into the trap debatably a few of the Time Lord’s television serials succumbed to, by bringing its well-working exploration of myth and legend to a disconcerting end with the Gallifreyan’s teleportation aboard a giant alien’s spaceship. This unoriginal plot-twist really does jar with the claustrophobic aura of nightmarish monsters tirelessly chasing after the comic book’s cast through ancient Greece, especially as Brian Williamson pencils the heavily-bearded all-powerful celestial as a space-faring incarnation of the god Zeus…

The regular cover art of "DOCTOR WHO: THE FOURTH DOCTOR" No. 4 by Mark Wheatley

Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor #3 - Titan Comics

DOCTOR WHO: THE FOURTH DOCTOR No. 3, July 2016

Whilst Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby’s collaborative script for Issue Three of “Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor” undoubtedly contains plenty of action, suspense and engaging elucidation, the writing team’s early decision to previously reveal that Lady Emily Carstairs already owns a centuries old stone statue of Sarah Jane Smith within her mansion’s gallery, rather makes a mockery of any tension supposedly generated by this comic’s central plot thread. Indeed, predominantly focusing upon Professor Odysseus James and the female reporter’s exploration of the gorgon’s creepy caverns, this twenty-two page periodical’s 7,412-strong audience were undoubtedly simply asking themselves when the Time Lord’s assistant was going to be petrified as opposed to anxiously pondering whether she was going to endure such a hideous fate…

Of course, the same cannot be said for the ardent feminist’s blustery companion, who initially seems to believe that the pair have inadvertently fallen through “some damned clever hinged opening or hidden lock mechanism” rather than been erroneously transported through time and space straight to the Medusa’s fearsome lair. His destiny appears to be very much in the laps of the gods as he excitedly discovers a Corinthian helmet “almost straight from the Bronzesmith’s forge” and a classic Xiphos shortsword; “What the British Museum wouldn’t give for this beauty!”

In fact, the “expert” in chrononautology’s infectious enthusiasm for the duo’s forebodingly dark and twisted journey throughout the venomous monster’s multi-tunnelled underground labyrinth is arguably one of the highlights of this publication, and it certainly must have made many a reader sigh in relief when the increasingly endearing character miraculously evades the glare of the gorgon and somehow manages to flee her serpentine presence. Admittedly, this desertion of Sarah Jane does leave the journalist’s calcified ‘corpse’ at the tender mercies of a triumphant, hideously-formed, multi-limbed mythological beast, but the time-traveller’s fossilisation was more as a result of her audacious curiosity, rather than the apprehensive scientist’s unheroic nature.

Equally as able to hold the attention as this comic’s competently compelling narrative is Brian Williamson’s artwork. The British illustrator genuinely depicts a truly harrowing journey for this comic’s protagonists through the statue-infested catacombs of Medusa, and seemingly provides every one of the creature’s grotesque trophies with a haunting look of terror upon their stricken faces. In addition, the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design graduate manages to imbue the rather dialogue-heavy exposition scenes between the Fourth Doctor and Athena James with some much needed animation; something which is particularly appreciated once the Gallifreyan has outwitted the Scryclops and begins experimenting upon the Lamp of Chronos.

Writers: Gordon Rennie & Emma Beeby, and Art: Brian Williamson

Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor #2 - Titan Comics

DOCTOR WHO: THE FOURTH DOCTOR No. 2, May 2016

Having previously gone on record during an interview with “Downthetubes.net” (in February 2015) that “it still bamboozles me that I’m not writing one of the new Who comics that are out now”, Gordon Rennie’s script for Issue Two of “Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor” perhaps shows just why the Scottish author wasn’t initially considered to pen a “Titan Comics” publication. For whilst there are times when the twenty-two page periodical’s narrative does a fairly competent job of replicating the atmosphere of a “Hammer Film Productions” silver screen feature, the Diamond Comics Award-winner’s plot involving laughably large cyclopean monsters serving a moderately fossilised Victorian widower in her quest to escape the curse of a Gorgon, probably has more in common with Graham Williams’ derisory flop “The Invisible Enemy” than one of producer Philip Hinchcliffe’s highly-regarded Mid-Seventies ‘horror stories’.

Indeed, considering that this second instalment to “Gaze Of The Medusa” is based upon the premise that “the sinister Lady Emily” supposedly needs to “break through the barriers of the Chrono-stream” so as help a snake-headed entity escape her cavernous prison and subsequently heal the partially-petrified woman as a sign of gratitude, arguably appears too absurdly convoluted a narrative even for “the longest running on-screen Doctor of the series”. Certainly, the ability of the Machiavellian Madame’s one-eyed manservants to be able to use their singular sight to record and then two-dimensionally project what they can see like the cameras of a closed-circuit television set-up must have struck some of this comic’s 8,521 readers as an incredibly incongruously contrived device to forewarn this story’s antagonists that “there’s still some Englishmen left with a bit if backbone to them.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean that this comic is without any merit whatsoever. The book undoubtedly contains a wonderful replication of Tom Baker’s dialogue and mannerisms, professionally pencilled by artist Brian Williamson, which makes it especially easy to imagine the actual actor rushing through the adventure with his well-documented wit and vigour. Plus the rather cowardly “expert in chrononautology”, Professor Odysseus James”, also increasingly manages to shake off the disagreeable egotism of this mini-series’ opening instalment and delightfully replaces it with some much-needed humour, predominantly at the stiff-back scientist’s own expense; “Hmmph. You’ll have to forgive my daughter, Doctor. If I were some dashing young army subaltern called Henry, I doubt she’d disapprove so strongly of my intemperate ways!”

The regular cover art of "DOCTOR WHO: THE FOURTH DOCTOR" No. 2 by Brian Williamson

Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor #1 - Titan Comics

DOCTOR WHO: THE FOURTH DOCTOR No. 1, April 2016

Writing for a television character who at their popularity’s peak “was considered to be the most recognisable and iconic incarnation of the Doctor both in the United Kingdom and internationally” cannot have been easy for Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby, but fortunately for “Titans Comics” and this publication’s 14,129 readers, the duo’s script for Issue One of “Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor” undoubtedly plays out like a genuine episode from the science fiction programme’s Mid-Seventies. Indeed, the sense of gothic horror which pervades every scene of “Gaze Of The Medusa” makes it very easy to imagine that producer Philip Hinchcliffe is just off-screen ‘overseeing’ both Tom Baker and the late Elizabeth Sladen’s studio performances.

Arguably the biggest reason for this twenty-two page periodical's successful replication of such a specific period in the BBC science fiction television programme's lengthy history is in its handling of the titular character and the fact you can actually hear the Lancashire-born actor’s distinctive voice within its dialogue. Wide-eyed with excitement at a Victorian viewing of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Rodeo Show one moment, and then heroically interceding betwixt a pair of Scryclops stalking the foggy streets of London in the next, the deer-stalker wearing time traveller appears to have stepped straight out of the celluloid and into the comic panel; “Oh, you’re foreigners! That’s a coincidence! I’m not local either, so --”

Slightly less likeable however, is this opening instalment’s supporting cast, Professor Odysseus James and his “overly bold” daughter, Athena. The academic’s offspring is pleasing enough, with her willingness to brave a gigantic Cyclops simply to stop Sarah Jane being abducted marking her out as a potential precursor to the Sixties “lady spy adventurer” Emma Peel. But the young lady’s father is as insufferable an egotist as he is cowardly, and resultantly soon starts to grate upon the nerves even when the Doctor is rather humorously cutting the bearded scholar’s boasting short.

Sadly, despite the quality of this tome’s penmanship, Brian Williamson’s illustrations debatably can bring the story-telling down a notch or two on account of the “Judge Dredd” artist’s overly-detailed attempt to capture the perfect likeness of Tom Baker. The freelance comic book artist can clearly draw competently enough, and yet throughout the adventure appears to try and duplicate ‘classic’ stills taken of the show’s leading man rather than simply sketch him into each picture in the same manner as he does everyone else.

The regular cover art of "DOCTOR WHO: THE FOURTH DOCTOR" No. 1 by Alice X. Zhang