The Neutron Knights [COMIC/1981.12.10]

★★★★☆

  For a one-part sendoff for the Fourth Doctor in Marvel Comics, this thing is way too good. The Parkhouse/Gibbons duo continues to impress as they create this beautiful nightmare scenario, an enticing mix of medieval and science-fiction that I find pleasing to both the mind and the eye. I'm a huge fan of these comics in their original form, but even I have to admit that the colourisations bring so much to the table, especially in a story that goes for spectacle and imagination. I love the Doctor arriving at the heart of the battle, in a desperate situation where he is thrown into the limelight and he has to improvise to save as many people as he can. I also like how the comic adds a sense of finality to itself by acknowledging the run's end, while also teasing future arcs and characters that may or may not come to fruition. Cheeky beggars.

  The Neutron Knights displays practically everything I love about Doctor Who comics, especially its tenure in Marvel Comics: it wows readers with spectacle, it excites with hushed whispers of the future and excites even more by not providing answers, and its colours are utterly marvellous. In my mind, these Fourth Doctor comics are some of the best runs of stories Who has ever had, and it's a testament to the talents and dedication of Steve Parkhouse, Dave Gibbons and co. at Marvel Comics. If Arthurian legends summoning the TARDIS through sheer will, giant and grotesque engines and knights wielding swords of fire don't excite you, something is very amiss indeed.