“Doctor, table for five and one huge thing.”
Doctor Who Classics Series 5 #2
IDW Publishing (April, 2013)
originally published in Doctor Who Magazine #s148-150; 1989
“Invaders From Gantac!” WRITER: Alan Grant ARTISTS; Martin Griffiths & Cam Smith LETTERER: Gordon Robinson EDITOR: Richards Starkings IDW CREDITS COLORIST: Charlie Kirchoff EDITOR: Denton J. Tipton DESIGNER: Amuri Osorio COVER ART: Matthew Dow Smith
The titular invaders have come to Earth seeking a treasure…that’s on a different planet. The Doctor teams with a homeless man to send them packing. Remember when that happened back in 1992?
What they got right: Most of the compliments I’d give this story is that it’s better than the one in the previous issue. The Doctor looks close enough to Sylvester McCoy to see him as the Seventh Doctor, the aliens look better than they did last issue, and it’s not death for the sake of death. For the most part. The way the Yaga (the head of the Gantac) is defeated has been done before but the twist still works well enough that you didn’t see Chekhov’s Gun until the trigger’s pulled.
What they got wrong: There’s such a thing as having too strict a rule structure, and while that’s the point they’re being led by an egotist who can’t get over the fact that he has the wrong planet. So he’s a moron. And they need “the Yaga” to survive. This is a species doomed to fail.
Recommendation: A fair enough story that’s worth a look.
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