Evening's Empire [COMIC/1991.10.31]

★★★★☆

  Doctor Who has never been shy to explore heavy topics, themes many would find uncomfortable to face. Evening's Empire is perhaps one of the forerunners of this niche group of serious, disquieting adventures with its story so intrinsically linked to abuse and bullying and refusing to shy away from addressing them. It's also a product of the 1990s, with the depiction of a fictional nightmare world of muscular male fighters and women forced to wear revealing clothes as "slaves" in which Ace is trapped in for most of the comic. This may be seen as a flaw for some, and I'm not here to argue with them; I do think, however, that these depictions serve the message of Evening's Empire and manage not to be exploitative (i.e. the comic never seems to glorify anything shown). 

  In all my life as a Doctor Who fan, I don't think I've encountered an adventure that hits that discomforting wake-up call spot quite the way this comic does. I don't know if something like this would've gotten the green light from the BBC had Doctor Who not been axed in 1989, but seeing as Andrew Cartmel was heavily inspired by graphic novels from comic alumni such as Alan Moore, this story feels very much at home in this medium. The most outstanding part of Evening's Empire, of course, has to be Richard Piers Rayner's illustrations — they're works of art, inked and colored with such care and detail. The imagery here is absolutely haunting, and all the more beautiful for it, and it's yet another case of the comic medium being used to its full potential to deliver emotions and messages that words sometimes cannot.

  Seeing as how this was a continuation of the themes of TV Doctor Who, the Seventh Doctor is a cold, detached man who isn't above using trauma as the ultimate weapon to defeat the monster. There is no mercy in his eyes, covered by the shadows from his furrowed face... being a victim of parental abuse does not excuse the act of inflicting pain and abuse upon others, and this is perhaps the most important message of all, represented by the one of the most bone-chilling victories the Doctor's ever achieved. Ace is a fully-fledged human being at this point, feeling all the pains we would feel if we were in her situation; drugged and kidnapped, and forced into clothes she hates to appease a ruling force, she has the bravery to tell the Doctor that no, she's not okay... but in time, she will be.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  Evening's Empire is a deeply discomforting comic, and one filled with such twisted beauty and emotional turmoil. I'd even go as far as to deem it one of the boldest stories in Doctor Who, tackling topics that aren't — and shouldn't be — dealt with lightly. Cartmel is careful, imaginative and driven, and therefore achieves his goal of creating a piece of Doctor Who as a mature, challenging story that makes us confront the darkest shadows in our world. Absolutely, unbelievably good.