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AUGUST 2009

One thing that Doctor Who comics always do well is mixing up classic elements

of the television show. Sometimes they can go overboard, but often they get it just right. And Cold-Blooded War is one of those that gets it right.

It’s always fun seeing one of the ‘new’ Doctors meet a ‘classic’ monster or alien, and here the Doctor and Donna land on Draconia, during a time of great upheaval. There’s a new Emperor, you see; or rather, an Empress. This isn’t something that has gone down too well with all parties on Draconia, leading to attempted assassinations and terrorist attacks, led by the scar-faced Fusek Kljuco; a shamed ex-soldier. Not only that, but, since Draconia has recently joined the Galactic Federation, the Ice Warriors have been sent in to help impose order, and now they’re threatening martial law (is that pun intentional, I wonder?)

Having Donna involved in this story

is a great idea. Since the crux of the

adventure is about female equality,

who better to bring in than ‘Lady

Chiswick?’ She’s certainly not a

woman who’s going to abide by the

rule that females mustn’t speak in

the presence of males on Draconia.

Having the Draconian women clad in

burqas, and sparking the story off with

a terrorist bombing on a Federation starship is pretty brave; there’s a none-too-subtle

comparison being made here to certain Islamic groups. Still, that’s not necessarily a bad

thing, and science fiction has often been the perfect medium for examining contemporary

issues.

While Donna stirs up trouble in the royal court, the Doctor finds his long-standing position as a Draconian noble of no help, and is chucked in a cell, where he meets Agita, a young girl, daughter of none other than Fusek himself. Her brief turn as a sidekick works well, although the tragic ending of the story does play on the emotions a bit heavily for such a brief tale.

Altogether though, this is fine tale, ably illustrated by Adrian Salmon. I’m often ambivalent about his work, but here he’s certainly on top form. He can really nail classic aliens, as his illustrations for Doctor Who Magazine’s “Time Team” articles have shown. We even get cameos from both an Alpha Centaurian and an Adipose, just to lighten the mood. Good

stuff.

Copyright © Daniel Tessier 2010

Daniel Tessier has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

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