Fire and Brimstone [COMIC/1997.4.10 ~ 7.31]

★★★★☆

  If you're going to do an end-of-the-world epic Dalek shoot-'em-up where 'reckless abandon' is the keyword, Fire and Brimstone offers a pretty darn good display. You've got interesting story connections to The Keep (through which the Doctor's actions are seen to have consequences), an incredibly detailed and expansive command of space and design courtesy of Martin Geraghty and Robin Smith's illustrations, and even the spider Daleks from the cancelled Leekley Dr. Who thing. What it lacks in stepping outside the conventions of large-scale Dalek stories, it makes up for with its sheer conviction to be the best in that subgenre. There are panels in this comic (especially after the halfway point when things get to an electrifying pace) that scream for attention, that are simply beautiful. Daleks swarming in space, plenty of explosions and exterminations, a Doctor-spirit reaching critical mass and exploding... you really have to read it to believe it, it's gripping stuff.

  It's a shame that some people pass on Dr. Who comics, so sure of themselves in the notion that the comic medium can't offer the depth and/or thrills that other mediums of Who can offer. I don't think that's true; comics can frequently display incredible nuance, poetry and excitement with splendors and epic events only ever really possible in drawings; Fire and Brimstone is Who at its most heart-racing and stunning, and it's yet another strong entry to the Eighth Doctor/Izzy series.