In truth, Doctor Who Magazine only printed five Ninth Doctor stories during Christopher Eccleston’s run on the show, so while these are technically Nine’s Top Five Doctor Who Magazine comic stories, that’s in part by default. Still, there are some good, creative stories to be had here with some nice nuggets of comic fun and delightful Easter eggs.
“The Love Invasion”
The Doctor and Rose hit the groovy ‘60s, where time is just a little bit off the mark, and a fleet of helpful young bombshells aren’t what they seem. Featuring fun with organic technology and the Doctor driving a horse-and-cart – also, eagle-eyed readers will notice a certain pair of former companions from the ‘60s as an Easter egg in one panel.
“Art Attack”
An entertaining little one-shot. Rose wants to see the Mona Lisa, so the Doctor takes her to a trippy multi-dimensional gallery in the future (of course,) where a celebrated artist’s latest unveiling packs a bigger punch than expected. I like the turns this one takes and the Doctor and Rose’s method of resolving the central conflict. And obviously, a futuristic art gallery that appears architectured from the mind of M.C. Escher is like catnip to a comic artist – the sort of thing you could never do at the BBC, but in a comic, an artist can go hog-wild with the visuals.
“The Cruel Sea”
Okay, this is a cool one. The TARDIS materializes on a cruise ship in the middle of a Martian sea, where a decrepit billionaire is sustained by a string of wives with varying levels of devotion. The story strikes similar notes with “The Waters of Mars,” wherein human meddling in the future awakens/angers something they shouldn’t have messed with, and I like how the real enemy here is human avarice. Also, the various mirror worlds/traps conjured by the creature are effectively creeply and disturbing for our heroes.
“Mr. Nobody”
I feel like this is an RTD-style story all over. He enjoys that “ordinary people colliding with the extraordinary” trope, and that’s pretty much what this whole story is about. Average-Joe Phil Tyson is mopping up one night at his dead-end job when he’s suddenly transported onto an alien spaceship and put on trial – luckily for him, the Doctor and Rose are there to help! Lots of running down corridors, and it’s nice to see Rose’s knack for connecting with people out in full force, helping Phil deal with the enormity of what’s happening to him while the Doctor is busy keeping them all alive.
“A Groatsworth of Wit”
Funny – here’s a Shakespeare-themed comic written by Gareth Roberts a couple years before he penned “The Shakespeare Code” in series 3 (side note: while the Doctor here tells Rose that, contrary to speculation, Shakespeare is “definitely straight,” “The Shakespeare Code” takes a decidedly different view on that.) This is a neat story, featuring one of Shakespeare’s contemporaries, a rival named Robert Greene, looking at whose art will stand the test of time. With a creepy villain and a heap of Shakespeare references, this one is completely up my alley.
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