Voyager
is written by Steve Parkhouse with art by John Ridgway and lettering by Annie
Halfacree. It was released in Doctor Who Magazine issues 90-94 (June-October 1984) and
is reprinted in its original form in Doctor
Who: Voyager by Panini Books.
Whenever Steve Parkhosue
takes the Doctor Who comic strip to longer stories you kind of know there
is going to be something to keep the plot going. Voyager is perhaps his magnum
opus. Not the longest of his strips,
that’s still the 7 part The Tides of Time, but it is the most
interesting in its worldbuilding and storytelling, continuing what has been a
long running thread since The Neutron Knights. Parkhouse uses the strip to explore the
Doctor’s place as a Time Lord and ancient Time Lord society in ways that the television
show wouldn’t do until the modern series, long after this and several book
ranges laying the groundwork for Ancient Gallifrey. While the plot doesn’t directly relate back
to past issues, this and the volume it is in can be read independently,
thematically it is a continuation and exploration of the Doctor done through
surreal landscapes set at a planet at the edge of the universe controlled by a mysterious
figure. The pacing of the story is
brilliant, being contained to five parts published in five issues, all about
ten pages which Parkhouse uses admirably.
John Ridgway’s art has this sketchbook quality that creates the surrealism
that permeates this idea. Much of the actual
story is told through dialogue in the middle parts before the Doctor is trapped
with Frobisher waiting in the TARDIS (where a character defining moment comes
for the Whifferdill). The dialogue is
from Astrolabus, the villain of the piece to whom this story serves as an introduction,
a Time Lord who influenced the development of Alexandria, its lighthouse being
his TARDIS and the interior setting for much of the story.
The Voyager of the title
is a ship which fell off the edge of the world, appearing in the dreams of the
Doctor in the first issue where he is tied to the wheel a la Dracula,
and again at the end where it is frozen solid in ice. On the ship are star charts which Astrolabus
demands, becoming the McGuffin for what will become Parkhouse’s final few comic
stories. Astrolabus as a character has
this threatening presence and an implied omnipotence which really makes out the
ancient Time Lord society to be more godlike a la The War Games. This is a very nice return to form for the
Time Lords as by this time on television they would have become the boring
bureaucrats of the Tom Baker and Peter Davison era. Astrolabus doesn’t actually do much in this
story except the manipulate the environment so it must be praised on Parkhouse
for making him such a memorable villain in the first of what will be three
appearances. Parkhouse also creates an
interesting relationship between the Doctor and Frobisher. While they have had a few travels together at
this point, there is still this rockiness to the relationship. They haven’t grown to be friends and there is
the implication that the Doctor doesn’t really want to have Frobisher as a
companion. Or at least he doesn’t want
to be upstaged by Frobisher, which is very easy for the penguin to do. Despite not having much to do in this story,
Frobisher is given so much character.
The infamous disguise moment in the TARDIS comes to mind, as well as his
first actions being stealing the Doctor’s coat to put on a snowman while the Doctor
is asleep. There’s such an interesting dynamic
here that clearly is growing towards a friendship that isn’t there yet.
Overall, Voyager surprised
me with how much of a lasting impression it made on me, putting itself in the place
of one of the all time best Doctor Who comics through its stellar use of
characters, distinctive and surreal art, and focused plot that brings together
what will become an iconic TARDIS team closer to something the fandom knows of
today. 10/10.
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