The Chains of Olympus

It feels like the DWM comic is benefitting from a breath of fresh air and new investment with this story. Scott Gray is on writing duties for the first time in a while and has a lot of creative energy in him. Ancient Greece is ripe for a new Doctor Who story and it’s delightful to see Rory join the comic for the first time, even if Mr and Mrs Pond look nothing like their TV counterparts. The most compelling thing I suppose though is the multiple plot threads and the more down to ancient Greek setting (grounded) which is paired with plenty of Greek gods (epic). The combo fits like a glove but also provides a nice contrast.

Socrates as the star of this celebrity historical makes for a fantastic hero. The fact he is down and out gives the comic a similar flavour to Vincent and The Doctor. You get a sense that The Doctor is truly in awe of him and is blindsided by him not living up to the version Plato portrays in his writing. This provides the impetus for some healthy drama and really strong and often very funny dialogue between Socrates, Amy and The Doctor.

The idea of the gods as constructs of faith and a machine is something that’s not a million miles away from well worn Doctor Who territory, but it is done so beautifully and tied elegantly into Socratic teachings. I wish there were more Doctor Who comics like this one.

The Chains of Olympus is a DWM comic strip and, interestingly, features said comic strip’s earliest historical period for a multi-part story. The only other DWM strip set earlier than this is the Eighth Doctor one shot, The Power of Thoueris.

Athens is gorgeously depicted in the comic strip and really gives the entire story a sense of place and time, particularly the bustling market place at the beginning of the story. When Amy and Rory (in his first DWM comic strip appearance) step out in togas, this immediately feels like a proper Doctor Who historical ala the Hartnell years when the companions, and occasionally the Doctor, would dress up appropriate to the era. There are some lovely touches such as Rory pointing out the homeless as a counterpoint to Amy’s awe and wonder at real live, classical Greece and each frame of art seems vibrant and energetic which, for still images, is to the credit of the artist, Mike Collins.

The story sees the Doctor, Amy and Rory encountering Greek Gods and Monsters in Athens, accompanied by Socrates and Plato. An alien telepathic generator has been absorbing the dreams, wishes and prayers of the Athenians and a defence mechanism within the device triggers and creates Zeus and the pantheon of gods accompanied by various monstrosities. I’m not entirely convinced by the plot of the story as it all seems a little vague. As I’ve mentioned before (in my review of The Quality of Mercy) I find vagueness surrounding the origins of antagonists in science fiction to be a bit frustrating. I’m going to give the fact that the origins of the telepathic generator are left a mystery the benefit of the doubt for now, however, as I have a feeling that this is something that is going to be picked up on in future comic strips (DWM seems to have a thing about long running story arcs at the moment). The Doctor is asked a question by Athena in the final instalment ‘What is buried in man?’ and Socrates comments to the Doctor before he leaves that he may be brave and clever, but he is not wise. The Doctor clearly ‘knows’ what he’s saying but just smiles and brushes off the comment.

A fun reference to the TV series is the reappearance of Roranicus – Rory’s Roman persona, this time in full Greek Warrior get up. There is also a fan-pleasing reference from the Doctor to The Myth Makers when he mentions to Zeus that he was once mistaken for him.

The dialogue given to the Athenians feels in keeping with the current trend for historical stories within the TV series. This stories closest cousin is probably The Fires of Pompeii and the style of dialogue is similar – modern but with ‘ancient’ overtones. In fact, I’d say The Chains of Olympus manages it better than The Fires of Pompeii as that had some silly inclusions and iffy performances – Caecilius’ Welsh accent for example or Phil Cornwell’s ‘lovely jubbly’ stallholder, which felt too out of place for the setting. The Chains of Olympus involves us with Socrates and Plato and both speak much like 21st century characters, but with an air of classicalness about them.

Of course, this is not the first time we have encountered the great philosopher, Socrates, on this marathon. Bernice Summerfield had the pleasure of his company throughout her audio story, The Oracle of Delphi. The two portrayals are not so dissimilar as to be incompatible and it is probably only the slightly comedic style of the Bernice Summerfield play which allows Socrates the sort of dialogue which would be completely out of place within the pages of DWM (the swear words, to start with). That said, Socrates thumping the Doctor good and proper on their first meeting and spending much of the first instalment of this adventure drunk seems thoroughly in keeping with the ‘Delphi’ portrayal of dragging up and swearing.

For the classical scholars amongst us we have Zeus, Athena, Aphrodite, Haephaestus, Hermes and Ares atop Mount Olympus and terrorising the Athenians we find a Hydra, Cerberus, Harpies, a Griffin and a Cyclops (all of which are created out of water, fire, wood or earth/rock which recalls other such-created creatures from a variety of myths).

The destruction of Athens, in particular by the monstrous Ares, is not, as far as I can tell, a fact of history and much of this tale falls very much into the pseudo-historical camp with the setting being little more than an attractive backdrop as oppose to a plot point – more The Smugglers (where it’s all about the ‘feel’ of the period) than The Fires of Pompeii (where it’s all about the historical eruption of Vesuvius).

The Chains of Olympus is one of DWM’s best strips, in my opinion. It’s exciting, fast paced and funny. There are some wonderful images and spot on characterisations of the regulars accompanied by fun characters like Socrates. Wonderful.