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“CARD CONUNDRUM: THE SECOND DOCTOR GETS DEALT A VERY STRANGE HAND”

Card Conundrum is a surreal, stylish tribute to the Second Doctor’s era—imagine The Mind Robber, The Celestial Toymaker, and a pack of playing cards all got chucked into the TARDIS blender and whirled into a comic. The result? A bonkers short story that’s visually distinctive, deeply weird, and tonally spot-on for the era. The only catch? It feels like we’ve joined the story just as the credits are about to roll.

A GORGEOUS, IF HAZY, NIGHTMARE

The art here leans towards the soft and washed-out, giving the whole strip an ethereal, almost dreamlike quality that suits the off-kilter nature of the story. The visual design of the insectoid playing card creatures is gloriously absurd, and you can easily imagine this as one of the more experimental BBC studio-bound adventures from the late 60s, complete with wobbly sets and moody lighting.

The vibe is pure Season 4 or 5 weirdness, with the Doctor whipping out mathematical brilliance to escape a conceptual trap while Jamie stands loyally by his side, ready to thump something if necessary. It’s the perfect setup for the kind of cerebral nonsense that defined the Second Doctor’s most abstract stories.

BUT WHO SHUFFLED US TO THIS POINT?

As deliciously bizarre as it is, Card Conundrum suffers from a total lack of setup. There’s no explanation of who the creatures are, where we are, or how the TARDIS team ended up in this mess. It genuinely feels like we’ve stumbled into the final ten minutes of Part Four of a long-lost serial. Fun? Absolutely. Confusing? Definitely.

Ben and Polly, despite technically being present, are barely involved—relegated to background duty while the Doctor and Jamie handle everything. Considering how rare it is to see this full TARDIS crew together, it’s a missed opportunity not to give the original companions something meatier.

📝VERDICT: 8/10

Card Conundrum is a trippy, nostalgic dive into the stranger side of Doctor Who’s black-and-white years. Its soft art style and eerie vibe are a perfect fit for the Second Doctor, and the insectoid playing card aliens are classic Who weirdness. But the lack of context and underuse of Ben and Polly make it feel more like a stylish coda than a complete adventure. Still, if you're a fan of the era’s cerebral chaos and theatrical oddities, this will deal you a good hand.