The Power of Thoueris!

The Power of Thoueris is a one part comic strip in issue 333 of DWM. It’s artwork is by Adrian Salmon with a story by Scott Gray. It sees the 8th Doctor alone, holidaying in Ancient Egypt. He seems to have made a companion in Ediphis who is taking him on a boat ride down the Nile when it is interrupted by the sudden emergence of Thoueris, a huge, hippo-like alien. The Doctor quickly deduces she is an Osirian and despatches her rather swiftly with some oil and crocodiles.

This is a very slight tale, vaguely reminiscent of the old DWM back up strips in that events happen very quickly, it features an alien race seen in the TV series and the artwork is sometimes difficult to make out.

I quite like Adrian Salmon’s artwork for things such as the Time Team pictures and Bernice Summerfield audio covers, but – as with The Cybermen comic strip – I find his art difficult to follow in a full blown comic strip. Much of this story takes place at night which is very atmospheric, but I’m still not endeared to his style of art.

The Doctor acts quite out of character in the way he despatches Thoueris, although admittedly she has already thrown caution to the wind with her murder of an innocent villager.

Ediphis seems like a nice bloke and seems to accept the Doctor’s idiosyncratic ways and, in another universe, may have made a good companion for the Doctor.

Egypt is sparsely presented but it is good to finally see the Nile feature in Doctor Who and to see a normal, small, fishing village.

After our brief trip we leave Ancient Egypt now and move into Ancient Greece for a few forays into myth and legend.