Hour of the Cybermen is two things. First it’s the second in a loosely connected trilogy based on 80s UNIT (or possibly a specific member of 80s UNIT), and it’s also the long-awaited return of the more talkative, fist-clenching “EX-cellent!” shouting 80s Cybermen! On top of all that, it’s actually a really good story, so let’s take a closer look!
The second half of the second “series” (or boxset, let’s face it) of the Eighth Doctor’s Time War adventures is a pair of pretty standard stories. Neither “In the Gardren of Death” or “Jonah” will make you jump out of your seat and praise how great they are, but neither will leave un-entertained at the same time. In fact they’re both good stories, but they just lack that spark of originality… so let’s see what I mean!
The Time War returns with the second series of Eighth Doctor stories set during the universe-altering period. These first two stories are entirely stand alone, with the first one being quite dark and dramatic, and the second being quite campy and fun (while still being the Time War, so not all laughs, obviously…) It’s a good double bill, so let’s look at them a bit more deeply, shall we?
The 12th Doctor “Year Two” run of Titan Comics comes to a mixed end with a volumes of two more stories. “Terror of the Cabinet Noir” is actually a great story, with some of the best artwork I’ve seen in one of these comic stories, where as “Invasion of the Mindmorphs” is pretty weak, and pretty much a rip off of a classic Futurama story… So, let’s take a closer look at this collected graphic novel of two halves!
We reach the end of the Eleventh Doctor: Year Two Titan Comics run, and with it the end of the Time War-spanning adventure featuring the Doctor on the run from his past deeds. It’s… well, to be fair it’s a bit of a mess, and keeps layering on more and more plot before explaining it away with mostly dialogue, but Malignant Truth has its moments. Let’s have a look!
The monthly range continues with a second “Sixth Doctor paired with a sort-of new companion for one story” … story, as The Doctor becomes paired with famed civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel during the time he was excavating the Thames Tunnel with his father. Sounds dull? Well, there are some ghosts… and an alien world connected to London via a bunch of portals… Also, there’s a good story as well! Hooray! Let’s have a closer look then!
Year two of the Tenth Doctor’s Titan Comics run comes to a big conclusion as everyone fights against the recently resurrected Sutekh. It’s a fun story, surprisingly focusing more on some character development than big set pieces. This volume also comes with a stand-alone story from Year Three, just to fill out the numbers, which is obviously less spectacular… Anyway, let’s have an overall look, shall we?
As we continue to run towards the end of Titan Comics’ “Year 2”, we return to the 10th Doctor and his on-going deal with Osiran God Anubis, which of course goes completely fine without incident! … Let’s take a closer look.
Official Secrets contains two stories and sees the Ninth Doctor finally get his Brigadier story, and UNIT era Brig to boot! Apart from the always powerful tool of nostalgia though, is there any reason to track down this volume of the “Ninth Doctor Adventures” beyond the extreme close-up of Christopher Eccleston on the cover? Well…
Series 7 of the Fourth Doctor Adventures comes to a climax with a traditional four-part story featuring the return of Sutekh! This actually the second time Big Finish has brought the character back, but there is something special about hearing Gabriel Woolf voice the evil Osiran opposite the Fourth Doctor once again. Plus Sutekh-aside, there are some fun new characters as well! So let’s dig in, shall we?
Hogan Reviews 