Endgame [COMIC/1996.9.26 ~ 12.19]

★★★★★

  The Eighth Doctor has a fantastic run of stories in the comics, and this is where it all starts. Endgame kicks things off with a bang by using the comic medium to its limits: the Celestial Toymaker shows up, and for once his mind-bending machinations are brought to life with stunning visuals from Martin Geraghty. Just look at these illustrations -- just for how creative these panels are, Endgame is a serious contender for the best Toymaker story to date. He's as devious, petty and dangerous as he should be, and it's a nice touch that the Doctor turns the Toymaker (and all his bad character traits) against himself to defeat him. 

  Endgame has loads of imagination and creativity to spare, and that's how I like my comic adventures. When stories use the medium to their advantage and show events and crazy occurrences that can only be represented in comics (see: the panel below), they become something truly special. This is an epic 'series opener' that incorporates familiar elements (Maxwell Edison and Stockbridge) to create an entirely new and exciting story, all while introducing a new Doctor (it'd only been four months since the TV movie) and a brilliant new companion. Can we talk about Izzy Sinclair for a bit? It's no surprise that I have a great fondness for her -- she's one of my all-time favourite Doctor Who companions, after all -- and although she doesn't have a lot to do in this story, she's still a joy to watch. Based on my ramblings up to this point, I'd say that Endgame is one bloody brilliant comic that anyone interested in delving into Doctor Who comics should try out.