Kane's Story, Abel's Story, The Warrior's Story, and Frobisher's Story by: Alan McKenzie with art by: John Ridgway and letters by: Annie Halfacree

 

Kane’s Story, Abel’s Story, The Warrior’s Story, and Frobisher’s Story are written by Alan McKenzie with art by John Ridgway and lettering by Annie Halfacree.  They were released in Doctor Who Magazine issues 104, 105, 106, and 107 (August, September, October, and November 1985) and are reprinted in their original form in Doctor Who: Voyager by Panini Books.

 

The collected edition of Voyager cuts off with a four-part arc with individual issue titles an no overall title which transitions to the strip for the first time bringing in a television companion in Peri Brown and moving away from having a single writer with Alan McKenzie leaving the magazine in the middle of the next story which John Ridgway will finish writing.  Kane’s Story, Abel’s Story, The Warrior’s Story, and Frobisher’s Story all contribute small elements to a greater whole while being self-contained, picking up on a lot of the ideas introduced in Funhouse and expanding the cosmic horror into melding with an evil human empire.  The Skeletoids are the alien race which are terrorizing the galaxy that the Doctor, Peri, and Frobisher must defeat.  Alan McKenzie is again writing under the pen name as he did with Funhouse due to still being the editor when these stories were commissioned.  It’s still McKenzie’s style and there’s clearly an attempt to make one final mark on the strip before he leaves the strip completely.

 

Kane’s Story is essentially the setup of the state of the galaxy, with the Skeletoids dominating the two great empires of Daleks and Cybermen and making their way to the third, the Draconian Empire.  The Doctor and Frobisher crash on the outskirts of the conflict where they meet Kane, an ex-professor of phenomenology and his story is one where we get the first shades of the works of H.P. Lovecraft.  Lovecraft’s work would often have an academic in some pseudo-scientific field and this story is no different, but these shades are only further intensified in the following issues.  The backstory makes the Skeletoids a credible threat and once the story moves off planet to New York, 1985 we bring Peri on board as a way to help.  McKenzie writes passerby reactions to the Doctor’s arrival as perhaps the most interesting the comic strip has, thinking he must be an actor or a clown especially with that coat.  That coat wasn’t ever really commented on in television stories which makes for an interesting little additive.  Now there are some flaws, some of the pacing of the second half outside of the story doesn’t help it work as a frame story and Peri is characterized weirdly at the top as she’s apparently working as a secretary and quits.  8/10.

 

Abel’s Story is the installment where the Doctor doesn’t really appear but that isn’t actually an issue in this one.  Yes, the final page or so has the Doctor, Peri, Frobisher, and Kane all in the TARDIS travelling towards the planet Xaos which will be the setting for The Warrior’s Story while we follow Abel Gantz, an alchemist who is lost in space and mutated with telekinetic abilities trapped underground and being led to the Valley of the Gods where a prophecy of six representatives will gather to save the universe.  The mutation of Abel Gantz directly calls upon Lovecraftian imagery, as well as the blending of alchemy with some semblance of science.  Add on top of that the previous issue’s exploration of psychic powers at the start of the story makes for an interesting story.  This is also the issue where John Ridgway’s artwork perhaps shines the most as it is allowed to go into the horrific abstract places of cosmic horror that should be praised and injecting emotion into the abstract.  9/10.

 

The Warrior’s Story explores Draconian culture, continuing a lot of the ideas, as the Warrior is Kaon, one of the Draconians from War-Game which greatly assists in the cohesiveness of the last few stories, though that is still in the future for Kaon.  Kaon’s an interesting character and McKenzie does some interesting things in regards to fleshing out the honor system of Draconians, he is making his way to the Valley of the Gods for his own honorable purpose and to fulfill the prophecy.  This is the story that fully explains the prophecy as well as explores the fact that forces are converging at the Valley to defeat the Skeletoid menace.  It’s simple, but executed so well that it just works.  9/10.

 

Frobisher’s Story finally brings us back to the perspective of the Doctor, that being the one real flaw of the previous two issues.  The six champions are gathered and there is a big battle against the menace to destroy them while the forces of the universe repel them.  There is such scale in this story, something that Steve Parkhouse was also able to do but did it in such a different way that McKenzie’s vision is one that hits different.  Frobisher as the point of view character for the story is a stroke of genius as the companion has been the breakout character for the strip, being fondly remembered to this day despite leaving the strip in 1987 and only having sporadic appearances since.  He still managed to appear in an audio drama.  The actual defeat of the Skeletoids and the explanation of the prophecy falls just a bit flat, the prophecy is just a plot device and the six characters included don’t really have a unique reason for being involved in the plot.  It easily could have been the Doctor, Peri, and Frobisher on their own with the other characters just being there.  It’s still a great little installment.  8/10.

 

Overall, this grouping of four stories manages to end the Voyager collection on a high continuing the strong streak that has made up the Sixth Doctor’s time in the seat of the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip and closes an era as The World Shapers begins the tradition of rotating authors every story.  8.5/10.