Writer: Mark Griffiths

Artist: John Ridgway

Cutaway Comics, out now

Trapped in his black hole prison, Omega is interfering with events on Minyos.

Perhaps understandably a lot of focus for this second line from Cutaway (following the successful launch of Lytton last year) is on the return of artist John Ridgway to the Doctor Who universe. His work on the Sixth Doctor strips gave them an epic feel that set the series apart from its TV counterpart, and 35 years later, it’s very clear he’s not lost his touch in the slightest. There’s a scope to the artwork, complemented by Andrew Orton’s colours, that lends Mark Griffiths’ tale more scope.

And it’s an intriguing tale. All we know canonically about what happened on Minyos is its mention in Underworld, and Griffiths shows us a society that has both benefitted and been disadvantaged by its dealings with the gods (aka the Time Lords). There’s lots of questions by the end of the first part (not least about why what we see happen in the final pages comes as such a shock), and I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes next.

Cutaway have also added an extra tale as a back-up strip, using another Bob Baker creation. Nightmare of Eden is not one of my favourite stories but that’s more to do with the execution and acting than the concepts at its heart. Ian Winterton’s script feels overpacked with incident for six pages, selling its own high concept amid the adventure. The corollary is that Martin Geraghty’s art similarly feels packed – but the second page is hopefully indicative of the pacing for the remaining parts.

Verdict: Two very different tales from the extended Doctor Who universe are well worth your time. 7/10

Paul Simpson