8th Doctor DWM #1.3 - "Fire and Brimstone" by Alan Barnes

Returning to a place he helped create, the Doctor finds all of reality in danger from a powerful invader, and a mysterious puppet master pulling the strings.

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Fire and Brimstone was the first DWM comic I felt really worked. Somehow, Barnes managed to do a big, high stakes story and not make it feel rushed. The pacing here is great, the cast is great, there’s a brilliant rise and fall in action and it makes sure to plan around its length.

I really like that it’s a sequel to the previous story as it really does make this feel like a proper narrative season of Who and not just some random stories. This is also my first encounter with The Threshold, apparently responsible for Ace’s death at some point (did not realise that happened in the comics), and I have to say I really like them. A mixture of a really great visual design and some super fun character beats make them both joyous to read and a genuine threat.

As for our main characters, I think McGann’s voice is really nailed here and I could practically hear him talking as I read it. Plus, I think Izzy’s finally getting some development, having a decent amount of agency in this strip. I really like the headstrong, geeky angle they’re going for, I have high hopes for this.

In other news, the Daleks are back! That was a fun twist and I think they’re pretty good here. I didn’t love them using a weird nanobot wasp thing because it did take a little bit of agency away from them but the idea of them fighting parallel universe versions of daleks is super cool. Didn’t love that they were defeated by deus ex machina Dalek wasps though.

I think the climax could be a little stronger; I liked the Threshold but how they were implemented felt super clunky and they were only really there to exposit. In fact, quite a lot of this story is exposition, which is a shame but it’s by far the most satisfying and competent arc we’ve gotten from 8DWM.

8/10

Pros:

+ Izzy and the Doctor are both fantastic

+ Loved the idea and presence of the Threshold

+ Had great pacing and a satisfying arc to it

+ I enjoyed its ties to the previous story

Cons:

- The climax feels muddled and janky

- Too much focus on Dalek Wasps and not Daleks