Publisher: Titan Comics
Writer: Nick Abadzis
Artist: Rachael Stott and Leonardo Romero
Release Date: 12th August 2015

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I have a confession. Whilst other children were pouring over Roald Dahl books, I was immersing myself in the lore of Ancient Egypt. My obsession was so great that to this day I still have a tiny silver Horus statue on my bookcase. So when the latest issue of the Tenth Doctor started featuring pyramid spaceships and an alien race called the Osirans, you’ll understand if my objectivity went slightly out of the window.

The sole inhabitant of our looming black spacecraft is finally revealed in this issue as the Seeker: an ancient AI intent on recovering all remnants of her long-dead masters. She seeks the Key on Earth (i.e. Dorothy and her new chum) and threatens worldwide obliteration if her demands are not met. In a fit of conscience, Dorothy ‘powers up’ and like a moth to a flame, the Seeker captures both Dorothy and Gabby to join the Doctor, Cindy and our cult members on-board the alien craft. As ever with Who, the Seeker’s underlying purpose remains a mystery, but we’re given enough nuggets to chew on to keep our interest.

As to be expected with the introduction of a new alien race, the exposition comes thick and fast but it’s neatly handled by Abadzis, who cleverly wedges in tidbits of information between the characters’ snarky exchanges. Cindy really comes to the fore in this issue as the ‘light relief’, even cheekily calling Cleo plus-sized. The pace, whilst not as high-octane as the last issue, never falters and by the end, we’re provided with a fantastic set-up for the next few issues. Just beware non-science nerds – unless you’ve studied physics or swallowed ‘A Brief History of Time’, some of the science in this one may get a tad too technical. However, luckily we have Cindy on-side to dumb things down for us.

If, like me, you enjoy panel-upon-panel of strange worlds and cool spaceships, you will absolutely feast on the accompanying artwork for the Osirans’ backstory. The rendering of the Gods and the Ancient Egyptian stonework is sublime. In fact, at this point, if Abadzis, Rachel Stott and Leonardo Romero would like to create a spin-off comic exploring the mythology of the Osirans, I’d happily be on-board.

If possible, I’m even more excited for the next issue than I was last time. In my eyes, Abadzis and co. can do no wrong.

Rating: 4/5.

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INTERIOR ART
[Click to Enlarge]

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The writer of this piece was: Claire Stevenson
Claire Tweets from @cookie___raider.

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