The Stockbridge Horror written and drawn by: Steve Parkhouse with additional art by: Mick Austin, Paul Neary, and Steve Craddock

 

The Stockbridge Horror is written and drawn by Steve Parkhouse with additional pencils, inks and lettering by Mick Austin, additional inks by Paul Neary and additional lettering by Steve Craddock.  It was released in Doctor Who Monthly issues 70-75 (October 1982 - March 1983) and is reprinted in its original form in Doctor Who: The Tides of Time by Panini Books.

 

Dave Gibbons’ impression on the Doctor Who Monthly comic is something that is immediately felt when looking at the story immediately after he left.  The Stockbridge Horror has Steve Parkhouse doing most of the artwork while the lettering is done by Mick Austin and Steve Craddock.  It feels very much like a transitory art style, with the lettering style changing from issue to issue, making a less consistent look for the story in terms of some of the art.  Parkhouse’s style also feels more shaded with an almost scratchy style in places which is distinct from Gibbons but somehow almost looks sloppy in places for my eye.  Though this is something after an issue or two becomes less of an issue as it becomes more consistent with itself.  Really, it’s just some of the lettering that feels off by the end due to the spacing of the text being inconsistent between issues.  This makes some of the flow of the comic feel off and is clearly a sign of some issues with transitioning into a new artist, Mick Austin who would work on the comic until November 1983 starting with the inks here before taking over as artist in the next story, Lunar Lagoon.

 

The actual plot of The Stockbridge Horror makes the title feel like a misnomer as only the first two issues take place in Stockbridge and the horror is something implied to be from the beginning of the universe.  This does continue Parkhouse’s trend of expanding the scope of the comic stories which has been a lot of fun, while the actual title doesn’t give too much away.  The story opens with the striking image of the TARDIS’ impression being discovered buried under a quarry for millions of years and the burned body of a man, implied to be the Doctor, is found near Wells’ Wood.  This setup is incredibly intriguing, but is where this story’s largest flaw comes in, inconsistency.  The plotline is soon dropped once the Doctor gets involved in the plot as he is staying in Stockbridge without an explanation as to why the TARDIS is stuck, implied in the end to having the timelines rewritten.  The Doctor ends up being on his own for most of the story, being brought in front of Time Lords due to the horror being his fault and widespread destruction of Wells’ Wood.  The imagery is stunning overall, but there isn’t quite a lot with everything going on to make the story as fleshed out as it could have been.  Shayde comes to save the Doctor again and his appearance during the middle installments of the story is fun and makes the horror itself feel bigger than humanity without actually involving any human beings, but he then goes.  It kind of feels like the Doctor is being sidelined in his own comic strip as he is pulled around by the Time Lords, though he does have a hand in wrapping everything up.

 

Overall, The Stockbridge Horror may be a comic strip with some issues but it continues to be leagues above much of the Fourth Doctor’s comic run.  The Fifth Doctor is characterized well and Parkhouse continues the theme of continuing a narrative between stories making this run its own long-running story which is now stretching over a year.  It makes things feel more in line with the television series, and in some aspects more interesting, despite this being a misnomer of a story.  7/10.