Exodus and Revelation!
are written by Alan McKenzie with art by John Ridgway and lettering by Annie
Halfacree. Genesis! is written
and drawn by John Ridgway from a story by Alan McKenzie and lettering by Annie
Halfacree. They were released in Doctor Who Magazine issues 108, 109, and 110 (December 1985,
January, and February 1986) and are reprinted in their original form in Doctor Who: The World Shapers by Panini
Books.
The World Shapers starts like Voyager ends, with a multi-part
story with individual issue titles but no overall title. Exodus, Revelation!, and Genesis!,
are three issues which end Alan McKenzie’s time with the magazine just before
everything changed and several years would be spent alternating writers until
Alan Barnes and Scott Gray came in to tell the adventures of the Eighth Doctor
in comic form. This is also a story that
involves the writer, Alan McKenzie, leaving partway through so artist John Ridgway
has to take over for finishing the third and final installment. Each of the three installments take their
names from the books of the bible beginning with the second book, final, and
then ending with the first for some odd reason, however, this really doesn’t
have a whole lot of significance to the themes or really anything in the
stories. Exodus is up first and
opens with a very good start, mainly being confined to the TARDIS on which the
Doctor is working, Peri is looking for somewhere to store some clothes, and Frobisher
hates being the Doctor’s assistant as he has to pass him tools. A familial refugee from Sylvanair phase
through the TARDIS wall and are come across by Peri and the Doctor promises (after
some convincing) to give them some food and send them on their way. The idea of a planet whose crops are failing while
the ruling and educated classes do nothing for those beneath them is a perfect
setup for a small Doctor Who story, the only thing really not working is
the Doctor’s mood being much closer to the version seen in The Twin Dilemma
than the last story televised, Revelation of the Daleks. Peri and Frobisher play off each other very
well and it works nicely to setup the story with what’s essentially an act one
in the three act structure. 8/10.
Revelation! fares even better with the Doctor, Peri, and Frobisher
travelling to Sylvanair where one Professor Verdeghast is strangled from
behind, the TARDIS materializing in the same locked room with the professor
just as people are coming to discover the body.
This is an issue set in a castle where a Captain Krogh takes pity on the
Doctor, Peri, and Frobisher letting them, mainly the Doctor investigate with
the other doctors and professors in the castle.
Sadly there is one thing holding this mystery back, mainly that McKenzie
doesn’t actually do anything with Peri and Frobisher in the issue, they’re just
kind of there while we follow the Doctor which is something that doesn’t bode
well for the strip going forward as having a three person TARDIS team in a
small comic strip (page wise) means that there is a good chance that this will
become a recurring issue. Ridgway’s art
is perhaps its best in this issue in particular as there is some body horror
with a scarred professor used as a red herring for the real villain of the
piece and the big reveal that it is the Cybermen behind the death of the professor
and other scientists in this castle looks beautiful. The 1980s Cyberman design really does lend
itself well to the style of the comic strip especially with some intricacies
that Ridgway’s pencils and inks really come together. 9/10.
The story concludes in Genesis!
which is sadly the weakest part. The
story shifts focus to a standard Cyberman story where it is revealed that a Cyber-ship
crashed on Sylvanair and Dr. Sovak, an old and frail scientist, has been
working tirelessly to amass an army of Cybermen, the implication being that the
other scientists have been converted as well as peasants who have been
disappearing. The actual Cybermen story
is nice for a single issue while Peri and Frobisher get a few good lines but are
still absent (though the final twist is Frobisher is stuck as a penguin for the
foreseeable future). The Cybermen are at
least better portrayed here than they were in Attack of the Cybermen. The problem comes with the complete dropping
of the plotline of the Doctor helping the regular people of Sylvanair which was
the inciting incident, it only getting a throwaway mention at the end. This really takes away from what could have
been the perfect end to a prolific editor/writer’s era but it kind of drags
things down from brilliant to just a decent enough outing. Luckily with Ridgway taking over scripting duties
for this issue there aren’t any problems with the art, it is intricate and
again plays nicely off the body horror of the Cybermen. 7/10.
Overall, Exodus,
Revelation!, and Genesis! may be a story of diminishing returns
despite starting out brilliantly but it does close an era nicely and manages to
continue with the Sixth Doctor’s Doctor Who Magazine comic run’s genuinely
great era that deserves the place it holds in fan opinion. 8/10.
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