I want to talk about the Threshold arc in general, so this is more of a review of Ground Zero through to Wormwood. This was designed not around the new doctor, as Scott Gray says in the behind the scenes of Ground Zero, but rather an attempt to turn the DWM comics from supplementary material to the show/novels into its own serialized story. In essence, the Threshold were created in order to make DWM readers excited to tune into the Doctor's adventures month to month, rather than something to read quickly after reading the rest of the issue. Gray does this with the help of Alan Barnes, who wrote a lot of this arc, Gary Gillatt, the brand new editor for the comic strip, and of course the brilliant Martin Geraghty, who does the pencils for the majority of stories in this arc.

I guess that's the first place to start- the art is simply phenomenal. Geraghty proved he was able to capture the likenesses of characters throughout classic who previously, which climaxes in Ground Zero's phenomenal art, in which Seven is portrayed with all of the grit, anger, and maturity that he has in every fan's brain. Dare I say, perhaps with more nuance than Sylvester himself has ever depicted with the character. The Threshold themselves are such an interesting design, becoming even more visually interesting as the arc progresses. By Wormwood, they feel just as frightening, and are now accompanied by the Pariah, a terrifying creation of Rassilon himself. In Fire and Brimstone the Daleks are an excellent throwback to their look in the 70s while still capturing the appropriate scale that Gray, Barnes and Gillett are trying to capture with this brand new era of Who. In Tooth and Claw, the atmosphere is dripping with gothic imagery and danger. I like Izzy a lot, though design-wise she doesn't stand out, Fey does. She has one of the most inspired designs, and where her arc eventually ends, fusing with Shayde, it is all the more satisfying by the way that both characters' designs and personalities mirror each other's.

In The Final Chapter, though still written by Alan Barnes, this version of Gallifrey feels different from the Big Finish series, or even from its depiction in the classic series. There is a certain mysteriousness and gothic quality to the setting that hearkens back to The Deadly Assassin, yet is not burdened by that story's budget constraints. This was also the first run of stories to truly depict the Eighth Doctor. It's amazing how much they understand him from the get go. His compassion is endless, though he still has a sort of rage bubbling underneath. For Izzy, he is a friend and a magician. For Fey, he is an ally, but for everyone else, he is so menacing and threatening. That romantic quality is only there when he is with Izzy, but he can be remarkably cold. Similar to Seven, he is not afraid to trick his friends and put them through hell to gain the upper hand against his enemies, hence the first half of Wormwood, in which his companions believe him to have regenerated into Nick Briggs.

Yeah, I'd say they succeeded. This new take on the comic strip is exciting and artful. Because of Gray and Gillett, the comic strip is always the first thing I turn to when I open up a new issue of DWM, and it hugely influenced the direction Big Finish would later take with Eight.