Retro Comics: Doctor Who #15

Some more retro comic reviews. In this case the Fifth Doctor makes his Marvel!

When a character called the Prime Mover strikes the wrong chord his "event synthesizer" time becomes distorted, causing several weird occurrences. Like a cricket ball turning into a grenade and a knight appearing in modern times. With his cricket game interrupted the Doctor heads toward the TARDIS, meets a knight named Sid Justin and heads home to Gallifrey to crack the mystery. Of course it isn't going to be easy as the Doctor and the reader finds out.

A little quick history: Marvel published a Doctor Who magazine in Great Britian during the show's original run. In the 1980s with the show reaching the US Marvel reprinted several stories in their own comic book, sticking to the Fourth and Fifth Doctors. With this issue the Fifth one begins and it's a fun story, catching the fun and wit of the show of the era pretty well. With monsters, offbeat ideas like a medevial knight going to another planet and an "event synthesizer" you just have to accept it. Thankfully writer Steve Parkhouse makes it work so I had fun with it.

What might interest comic fans is that the artwork is done by Dave Gibbons, who later co-created Watchmen and his work is wonderful and vivid. From the monsters to the Doctor (who resembles Peter Davison) it's a showcase for a major talent and interesting early glimpse for fans. So if nothing else the issue is worth tracking down for that and for fans of DW.

With a bonus short story starring a classic Doctor Who villain and some cool text pieces this was a fun issue and a blast from the past. I'll be back later.