Doctor Who: The Flood by Scott Gray

Doctor Who: The Flood Reviews

• 
  Jon Arnold

  With the benefit of hindsight, these feel like unconnected scraps from the end of the Eighth Doctor era: necessarily lighter fragments after the sustained Threshold and Oblivion epics. That’s mostly due to circumstance, with the run cut short by the show’s return to television, so no blame attaches to anyone involved creatively. Indeed, as the excellent commentary says villains and companions were being set up for long term narratives.
  
  The highlights are the living tribute to Neville Main and the early TV comic strips, The Land of Happy Endings, and the eponymous shamelessly epic finale, which includes a triumphant Cybermen design and feels like an influence on the TV episode Army of Ghosts. Appropriately it ends this era on a perfect grace note, similar to where The Gallifrey Chronicles would leave this incarnation in the books.
• 
  Xander Toner

  The best run of Doctor Who comics, in my opinion. Pick all of these up and read them as soon as possible, it's such a shame so few people have enjoyed these incredible stories.
  
  Endgame
  The Glorious Dead
  Oblivion
  The Flood
• 
  James Lark

  It's worth remembering that when the stories at the start of this volume were written, the idea of Doctor Who returning to actual television screens at any point remained a longed-for but distant hope, and as (in my mind, the strongest) contender for the-continuation-of-Doctor-Who-in-a-different-medium, the Eighth Doctor strips might have carried on carving out a universe of its own adventures for a further four volumes. Thus, having written out companion Izzy at the conclusion of a genuinely epic cycle, it made good sense to have a reset: companionless, stand-alone stories, free to explore different styles and genres without the shackles of a story arc - in fact, exactly what I have always said should be the bread and butter of the series itself.
  
  I'm just not convinced that the strip benefits in the same way from this approach. Already an episodic format, the lack of continuity from one story to the next can result in the sense that the stories are slightly inconsequential, in the way that the McCoy era strips often were. At the very least, for the only time in its tremendous run, the Eighth Doctor strip feels a bit directionless. It's not that we haven't had plenty of effectively stand-alone stories up to this point, but what the first half of this volume reveals is just what a strong character Izzy was and how much her journey drew the previous stories together, and indeed helped define the character of this Doctor - the one who, thanks to his brief screen time, most needs defining. We get several takes on the character here, ranging from morose to urbane to swashbuckling and, perhaps hardest to square with any previous version, bare-chested action hero. Swinging from one reading to the next in each brief adventure, they might as well be different characters.
  
  It doesn't help that the artist changes so frequently, adding to the slightly throwaway feel to the sequence - so Mike Collins' appropriately cartoony interpretation of The Nightmare Game feels like something that would be more at home in a Dr Who Annual, Adrian Salmon's characteristically classy work in The Power of Thoueris sort of draws attention to the slightness of the plot ('an excuse to give Adrian Salmon lots of cool stuff to draw', Scott Gray jokes in the notes, but the whole thing also slightly reads as an elaborate set-up for a punchline), whilst Anthony Williams' stylised art for The Curious Tale of Spring-Heeled Jack never quite delivers on the atmospheric pastiche promised by the (confusingly laid-out) opening pages.
  
  Not that there aren't considerable high points: Where Nobody Knows Your Name properly belongs at the end of the previous run of strips, providing an elegiac bookend to Izzy's travels with a nostalgic and bittersweet twist, though Roger Langridge's brilliantly quirky artwork ensures that it is too eccentric to become mawkish. Best of the bunch is The Land of Happy Endings, for which everyone involved deserves huge congratulations - a gorgeous take on Neville Main's early Dr Who comics, featuring the return of John and Gillian as the Doctor's Grandchildren, which succeeds as tribute rather than parody (without missing the opportunity for a few affectionate chuckles) when it could so easily have been ballsed up by a less sympathetic approach (as the notes reveal). Proper lump-in-throat stuff.
  
  Still, it is a relief when the reliable hand of Martin Geraghty returns a feeling of consistency to the ongoing strip, and when Destrii and Jodafra step into the picture it is not only a brilliant cliffhanger but confirmation of how much the series gains from continuity and ongoing supporting characters. Given how soon the strip was soon to change forever, it feels a shame in retrospect that there wasn't more time for this set-up to be resolved; nevertheless, with the end in sight, The Flood allows the Eighth Doctor to go out with a stone cold classic. Acting as something of a greatest hits for Doctor Who in graphic form and bringing some aspects of the whole era full circle, it also manages to anticipate the tone of the soon-to-be-revived TV series - contemporary London setting, monsters in their hundreds, an earth-threatening scheme with a twist, and a resolution that is more fantasy than science fiction (though here it really feels as though the moment has been earned).
  
  There is a tantalising commentary about the regeneration-sequence-that-might-have-been to lead into the Ninth Doctor's era. Allowing the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip such close ties to the TV show would have been a bold move and certainly superficially exciting for fans (18 years on and Russell T. Davies has finally tied in a regeneration to the comic strip), but I'm in no doubt that what we ended up with in 2005 was a far more satisfying conclusion. Reservations about consistency in this volume notwithstanding, the Eighth Doctor strips are the most consistent run of Doctor Who, not only in graphic form but in any medium (yes, I said it), and they deserve to end as they do: with the Doctor and companion walking into the sunset, ready for new adventures.
  
  A perfect ending to a pretty darn near perfect run.
  
  I have written similarly glowing reviews of the other volumes in this series:
  Endgame,
  The Glorious Dead, and
  Oblivion.
• 
  Adam Graham

  This book collects twenty-five months of Comic Strips in Doctor Who Magazine, including the last of the Eighth Doctor stories. There are a lot of ups and downs as the Doctor moves on from Izzy:
  
  Where Nobody Knows Your Name (DWM 329): After having said farewell to his companion Izzy in the previous story, the Eighth Doctor strolls into a bar and has a conversation with a bartender.
  
  As a story, this one is basic. There's a nice variety of aliens which are interesting to look at and other than that, it's just the Doctor and the Bartender talking. There's a nice reveal at the end, but otherwise, this is pretty standard. Grade: C
  
  Doctor Who and the Nightmare Game (DWM 330-332) While attending a Football (soccer to Americans) game, the Doctor runs smack into an alien invasion. A somewhat disappointing tale, but it's far from Gareth Roberts best work with few laughs and not many surprises. Both the story and the Doctor's "companion" for one story are pretty forgettable. Art's decent, but other than that, there's not much to commend this. Grade: C-
  
  The Power of Thoueris (DWM 333): While trying to enjoy a holiday in ancient Egypt, an old Egyptian goddess appears and the Doctor has to fight and expose her. This is a very bog standard story. The Doctor vs. a false god is an old trope and because of the story being this short, there's little space to dress this up. Because of this being only be a one issue story, there's no subtlly or surprise. It's just striaight to the point. The art is the best thing about this strip. It's stylized and interesting to look at. Unfortunately, the story doesn't actually do anything noteworthy. Grade: C-
  
  In the Curious Tale of Spring-Heeled Jack (DWM 334-336), the Eighth Doctor returns to London at the beginning of the gaslight era where a mysterious phantom known as Spring-heel Jack is terrorizing the city.
  
  This is a well-realized tale. The era works well with Doctor Who, the artwork is superb and we have some nice twists and subversion of expectations within the space of what is a rather short comic story. Overall, this story makes a very solid read. Grade: B+
  
  
  The Land of Happy Endings: A fortieth anniversary story that finds the Eighth Doctor back with his grandchildren Jack and Gillian, who he travelled with in the pages of TV comics. The story is a silly bit of nonsense with a sweet salute to theTV comics, including that art that really captures the style. The ending is nice and poignant and very fitting for an anniversary year. Grade: B+
  
  In Bad Blood (DWM 338-342), the Doctor arrives in the Old American West where a group of minors has disappeared and General Custer is investigating, while the Doctor meets with Chief Sitting Bull.
  
  This story does a lot right. None of the historical characters come off as cartoonish, not even General Custer who has been the target of many attacks since his death. The plot has some clever reveals and the return of an old foe, which I have mixed thoughts on, but didn't throw the story off much. I did think the monster reveal towards the final chapters was really quite remarkable.
  
  Overall, a very solid outing for the Eighth Doctor. Grade: B+
  
  Sins of the Fathers (DWM 343-345): After the events of Bad Blood, Destrii needs medical care so the Doctor takes Destrii to the future and Hippocrates Base for treatment. However, their arrival is ill-timed as Destrii becomes part of an alien invasion plot.
  
  Overall, this story is a pretty standard base under siege set up. It's elevated by some of its high concept ideas, the art, and also Destrii's character. She's really fun, particularly when she's involved in fights. Overall, it's not all that unique a story, but it's well-told.
  
  The Flood (DWM 346-353): The Doctor and Destrii arrive in 2005 London at a market where something strange is going on and it all leads up to the return of the Cybermen.
  
  This is an eight-part story and it's a rivetting finale for the Eighth Doctor. The Cybermen's plan is really quite unique a nice change from the typical way of Cybermen forcing people to convert. The Cyberleader even has an argument that they're saving the Earth. The finale is appropriately epic and really gives the Eighth Doctor a good comic book sendoff even though it's not the regeneration scene that Russell T. Davies offered the script.
  
  I have mixed feelings about the Cybermen design as it goes in the same direction as the Series 8 Cybermen only moreso. I also felt it was an abrupt ending for Destrii whose time in the TARDIS had really just gotten started. Still, despite the limitations of the forced ending of the strip, this was a really superb read.
  
  One great reason to read these Panini books is all of the behind the scenes information on the writing and art of the script as we get to find out what inspired the writers. This is nice as we get to find out how the Eighth Doctor almost regenerated in the pages of Doctor Who magazine, why they didn't happen, and get the alternate script for what that story would have looked like.
  
  Despite starting out with three weak scripts, the book finishes very strong and is well worth the read.
  
• 
  Stephen Theaker

  I've just read this for the second time. Any one of these stories would have impressed in the TV series, and the pattern is quite similar - far-future story, celebrity historical, big Earth invasion finale. The Doctor for me in these issues is still rather empty - I have to struggle to hear his voice when reading the dialogue. But that's the fault of TV executives rather than the comic strip. I'd probably enjoy this even more had I heard a few more of his Big Finish adventures.
• 
  Andrija

  For anyone who knows me, what I'm about to say is high praise indeed: The Flood is the best Cyberman story written to date. And the other stories in this final chronicle of the 8th Doctor's comic book run are also quite amazing, but the final tale of the Cybermen is by far the best and a great way for the 8th Doctor to sail off into the sunset.