Technical Hitch by: Dan Abnett with pencils by: Art Wetherell, inks by: Cam Smigh, and lettering by: Stuart Bartlett

 

“Technical Hitch” is written by: Dan Abnett with pencils by: Art Wetherell, inks by: Cam Smith, and letters by: Stuart Bartlett.  It was released in The Incredible Hulk Presents issue 5 (November 1989) and is reprinted in its original form in Doctor Who: Nemesis of the Daleks by Panini Books.

 

Once again this is a Doctor Who comic strip with a good idea at its center but very little substance because of the short page count.  This is the fourth story published in The Incredible Hulk Presents, the second and final from Dan Abnett who would continue writing for Doctor Who Magazine on and off in the early 1990s.  “Technical Hitch” has one idea at its core, a man traveling in deep space has been put in virtual reality to psychologically survive the journey and the computer has malfunctioned.  It has left him alone and he is slowly going mad, though not the type of insanity that lashes out and becomes violent.  The Doctor arrives, assesses the situation, fixes the computer, and then leaves.  There are five pages for the story to be told and Abnett does at least attempt to be lighter on dialogue as to not get bogged down so the art by Art Wetherell and inks by Cam Smith can be interesting, but there is not a lot of actual depth to the story.  An artificial reality coming from a computer is something that was on the minds of Doctor Who writers, the New Adventures would actually use this as a setting for several novels, especially early in the line.  There is likely little connection between what The Incredible Hulk Presents is doing compared to the New Adventures, Abnett never contributed to any of the Doctor Who book ranges until well into the revival.  “Technical Hitch” struggles because it does little with the actual premise outside of presenting it, the resolution happening as soon as the idea is put on the table and this makes for less engaging reading.  There is also a lack of identity that makes this Doctor Who, fitting in with earlier strips featuring the Seventh Doctor making him a largely passive side character in his own strip.

 

Overall, “Technical Hitch” isn’t bad and there is potential for an interesting plot were Dan Abnett given more than five pages to tell a story.  It is yet again falling down the same problems as the other The Incredible Hulk Presents strips, and doesn’t have strengths to make up for it leaving a mediocre experience.  5/10.