The Shape Shifter

After the somewhat lacklustre ending to the Fifth Doctor’s comic strip run, this story - despite being a continuation of what has gone before - feels like a breath of fresh air.

I think this can be attributed to two things. The first thing is the debut of John Ridgeway as artist. For me Ridgeway is synonymous with the Sixth Doctor’s comic strip adventures as he illustrated virtually all of ‘Ol’ Sixie’s’ DWM stories. It’s a personal thing but I much prefer his art style to that of Mick Austin.

Secondly, this story introduces the character of Frobisher, the shape-changing private eye who ends up tagging along with the Doctor at the end of the story. To a certain section of fandom Frobisher is a truly iconic character. He’s a lot of fun here and, in the short time they spend together, he and the Doctor have excellent chemistry.

And what of the Doctor himself? Considering that this was written before the Sixth Doctor’s on-screen debut, I think that Steve Parkhouse manages to get the Doctor’s character pretty much spot-on. Possibly I’m projecting slightly but I can definitely hear the Sixth Doctor’s voice in my head when I read his part. There seems to be an air of tetchiness to his dialogue that I didn’t get from the Fifth Doctor.

All in all an enjoyable, if somewhat slight story. It ties up the previous era quite neatly and nicely sets up what’s to come.

I checked this comic out for the introduction of Frobisher and I can't say I was disappointed.

The artwork really stands out thanks to the creativity of out titular Shape-Shifter's many forms. His introduction is handled well and there are some fun moments with the Doctor. However, I don't really understand why Frobisher made a deal with the Doctor to begin with. His motivations aren't really explained here for why he wants to join the Doctor or split some bounty money with him when the alien could just have kept it for himself.

Still, you have to give credit to this comic for introducing Frobisher who would go on to be one of the more stand-out companions in Who history. I also liked how this, a Marvel comic, made fun of Disney and copyright law. In retrospect, that is a very ironic little moment.