I mentioned previously that the golden age of the Magazine Comics ended with the Eighth Doctor's The Flood, but there'd still be it's high points in the years to come. Well The Cruel Sea is one of those high points, surprisingly written by Rob Shearman so you know you're already off to a good start. You wanna talk bizarre, this was only the Ninth Doctor's third Magazine Comic story and Series 1 was already over by the time the first part was released! In fact there'd only be one more Ninth Doctor comic after this before shifting over to the Tenth. Basically if you get The Cruel Sea omnibus you're pretty much getting his entire Magazine Comic collection.

As what seems to be the pattern with these omnibus collections, the titular release is the highlight of the set. The Doctor and Rose are relaxing on a yacht cruising the red oceans of Mars but something seems to have been disturbed and it's hungry for life. Weirdly not the last time the waters of Mars would be used in Doctor Who, but this one's very different from the TV episode. The art style in this is some of the magazine's best, really pushing the bar in the grotesque and the horror and allowing for some surreal imagery. Part of me wishes all Shearman stories were adapted into comic form just to get a visual sense of some of the bizarre imagery featured in most of his works. It carries that dark sense of humour Shearman often employs, particularly during the Rose dream sequences where she experiences an alternate life without having travelled with the Doctor and how miserable it turned out to be, with the Doctor popping back up occasionally with some brutally cutting lines. My one issue with the story, and if I'm honest it's part of a wider nitpick I have with Shearman's stories (keyword being nitpick) is the villains motivations are practically the same as the one from The Chimes of Midnight, even featuring some eerily similar dialogue. My one nitpick when it comes to Shearman is he does tend to repackage ideas and even dialogue from his other works. But he does know how to re contextualise them to suit the story so it's not much of an issue.

The Cruel Sea is an outstanding read, its a shame that much like his TV era, the Ninth Doctor's run of comics was cut so short, the other three comics are ok but The Cruel Sea is well worth the price for the entire collection.

DWM COMICS: STORY 125 (Ninth Doctor: Story 3)

The Cruel Sea, a Ninth Doctor DWM strip by Rob Shearman (of The Chimes of Midnight, Scherzo, Jubilee, and Dalek fame), is a very weird, and very good, comic.

Set on the artificial seas of 22nd century Mars, the comic has stunning artwork by Mike Collins, which I could just gaze at for hours.

The Cruel Sea is strange and psychedelic. It's unusual visuals and body horror are what really make this comic work.

The story itself, while a little faulty, is mostly very solid, with intriguing alternate realities, and terrifying villains.

All in all, this is the best Ninth Doctor comic and could easily be up there with the best DWM comics in general.

It’s almost a masterpiece.

An extremely good story, and a must read for those wanting to get into Doctor Who comics, as this is exactly how to use the format.

Robert Shearman delivers something far reaching, psychedelic and truly demented here. There is an abundance of creativity and ambition which is missing from most Doctor Who comics. I appreciated seeing moments from the TV show folded into events, the evil versions of The Doctor and Rose, and Rose’s disappointing alternative realities.