Sunday, November 29, 2015

Doctor Who: Nemesis of the Daleks (Volume 15)


  

 Abslom Daak: the Dalek Killer. The only man in the known galaxy who chose the death penalty over saying 'Sorry.' He's also the only other person that brings fear into the hearts of the Dalek race other than the Doctor. 

 (Madman Fun-Fact: Until last season's episode 'Time Heist', Abslom Daak was just a character in the comic books. But when his face popped up on a screen of known criminals at large on a data screen- he joined Doctor Who Canon. Read the stories that inspired that little Easter Egg in this edition: Nemesis of the Daleks.) 

   In this collection, the Dalek Killer meets the Doctor for the first time in an adventure filled with carnage, excitement, and lots of tiny tanks yelling 'EXTERMINATE!' Accompanying this multi-part story is Daak's origin along with an epic adventure in which Daak rounds up his team of Dalek-killing mercenaries.

    Along with the Daak stories are about a dozen Seventh Doctor adventures which range from deadly serious to down right goofy. There was maybe only one or two stories that I didn't like but as a whole, there were tons of time-travelling/ mind-bending plot twists that Doctor Who is known for. 

   Another awesome addition to this anthology was a couple of backup features. One segment is arranged like they were data files printed from the TARDIS or UNIT. The second feature is a director's cut style commentary behind all of the stories in this volume. Both were very entertaining and informative about the creative process of British comics.

   Featuring art and scripts by Richard Starkings (Elephantmen), John Tomlinson (John Constantine: Hellblazer) and others, Nemesis of the Daleks was an enjoyable read. It was also very British. To my knowledge, all of the stories in the collection have never seen print in the States before (except for a couple that appeared in the pages of Doctor Who Magazine.) Most appeared in a weekly Hulk comic or an anthology of Marvel licenses based on TV shows like GI Joe. 

   Published by Panini UK LTD, the same company that put out those collectible sticker albums when we were kids, volumes like this can be found in the US but they are hard to come by. I found mine copy at a used bookstore. It is only the second such volumes I've ever found in about 10 years of searching. But Amazon has just about the entire run of Doctor Who British reprints featuring your favorite incarnations of Timelord, available for about $15-$20 each.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
  

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