DWM COMICS: STORY 126 (Ninth Doctor: Story 4)

A Groatsworth of Wit, the comic that inspired The Shakespeare Code, isn’t very good.

William Shakespeare himself is a bit of an idiot in this story, as are most of the characters.

The monsters here are very different from the Carrionites from the TV story.  In A Groatsworth of Wit, we instead have the Shadeys, whose plans are as stupid as their names. They do, however, have a really cool design.

The designs and artwork are easily the best part of this story. The depictions of the characters are just about bordering on caricature, but the settings are stunningly realised.

Another little thing I enjoyed was the fun references hidden in the bookshop in Part One.

Overall, A Groatsworth of Wit is nice to look at, but a dissapointing end to Nine’s DWM comic run.

I love the core idea behind this, a jealous writer is overtaken my witches and attempts to kill Shakespeare to ensure his legacy does not overshadow his own. The story gets a bit muddled towards the end, but it’s an entertaining read. Perhaps more interesting is reading the seed to The Shakespeare Code. It’s crazy to look back and see how many comics and short stories used to get adapted for the main show.