Doctor Who: The Forgotten #6 (of 6) – (IDW – Lee / Yates)
It’s Timelord vs. Timelord in this final issue as The Doctor takes on the Clockwork Droids and the Robots of Death! But, weakened and disorientated, can the Doctor really beat him this time? Or will he need a little help from each of his prior incarnations… and a variety of previous companions including Sarah Jane, Harry, Kamelion and Adric?
The short version of things is: Was it fun? Yes… Was it Satisfying? No!
At last, the villain is revealed and his plots are laid out. And it was very much a letdown. Who has been manipulating the Doctor’s consciousness and sending him on trips down memory lane? The Master? A reincarnated Davros? How about an alternate reality Timelord? Nope, some lame d-level stowaway alien who accidentally gets access to the TARDIS matrix, or some such mumbo-jumbo like that. The writing over the long hall has been glorious and fun. Overall, this series has been fantastic. It’s been very suspenseful and kept the reader waiting for the next issue. And now the curtain of mystery is pulled back and a psychic bug is the one who has been taking pop shots at the Doctor inside his own psyche. Well, once the good Doctor understands what is going on, the bug is no match for his ability to take charge inside the matrix. For really no good reason except show and comic book drama, the Doctor brings out all of his incarnations to challenge the insectoid, who of course doesn’t give up and loses and is eventually melted away from that psychic-reality. It is a great deal of fun watching the Doctor interact with a slew of his former assistants and former selves, but as of the last frame, it is much ado about nothing.
The art in this last issue was nothing less than sloppy and atrocious. Not nearly up to the level of the previous five issues. I don’t know what happened, maybe they were under a rush… but in this case it would have been worth the wait for art worth looking at.
On the plus side, the magnificent cover by Ben Templesmith is worth getting a print of and framing.
Issue Grade: C
Series Grade: B+
