Words: James Hudnall

Art: Luis Rivera

Lucky Comics, downloadable now

Devil’s End is the target of more evil machinations – but luckily the village has its defenders…

There’s been renewed interest in the 1971 Doctor Who tale The Daemons in recent time, with the arrival of The Daemons of Devil’s End from Reeltime Pictures, and its tie-in material courtesy of Telos Publishing. And now we have the start of a new comic book series with its pilot issue released as a free download for Free Comic Book Day earlier this month.

Olive Hawthorne is aware that Devil’s End can be the focus of otherworldly forces, and she’s now got a couple of young helpers… although when a problem does arrive, it’s not actually them who go to investigate, but her own astral form. Doctor Scorpio is on the hunt for a relic from the 1970s and has to be stopped – either with magic or by less arcane ways.

The comic’s an odd mix visually, with very old cars apparently in common usage alongside a modern cellphone, and both American and British spellings used for the word Defence. There’s not enough time in the 11 pages to really get to know much about any of the new characters – although we do get an interesting backstory for a certain gargoyle – and there’s an interesting use of “my” in the narration that hints at a larger plot behind Doctor Scorpio.

Verdict: There’s enough here to whet the appetite but needs to establish a USP quickly for an ongoing series to succeed. 6/10

Paul Simpson