The Good
"Tide and Tide"
The Doctor heads to a planet where the inhabitants don't value life because the world they know is coming to an end.
The first Doctor I was introduced to, when my dad made me watch the show with him in the late 80s, was Sylvester McCoy, so I have a very soft spot for this Doctor in my cold, blackened heart. Anytime I see something with McCoy in it as the Doctor, I've already got a dumb smile on my face. That being said, this is by far one of the darkest and deranged stories out of a Doctor Who comic. "What about the Weeping Angels or the Master's first appearance in the new series?" While those are some pretty dark stories, nothing is more bizarre than watching a bunch of creatures kill each other, left and right because they have no value for life. They're not evil creatures though. That's just their culture. This was a very cool story and a cool look at how we value life.
You can tell the art is from the late 80s, but it still hold up. The pencils and inks look great, even for today. What we get new, for this reprinting, is colored pages done by Charlie Kirchoff. He does a great job at giving this story some new life with some great color work. It's not distracting and it really makes the pages pop. He did a fantastic job on this story with what he had to work with.
"Follow That TARDIS"
A couple of thugs hit a TARDIS with their car, so the Doctor and the thugs follow the rogue TARDIS through a series of disastrous events.
The story is fun and zany, which was also a bit of it's downfall. The story works really well on the page. It's short, but it's paced extremely well and gives the reader a very smooth ride. Again, this story is also pretty dark at times, like when they nuke a planet, and I like seeing that bleakness mixed with the zaniness here.
The Bad
"Tide and Tide"
I didn't have any real problems with this story. This is probably one of my favorite Doctor Who comic stories I have ever read. It was brilliant. Although the story comes off dated because it's from 24 years ago, it was amazing.
"Follow that TARDIS"
This story was way too silly for my liking. It was a like a zany goofball comedy. It reminded me a lot of every Benny Hill show episode I've ever seen, minus the random women in lingerie. The idea that these two suited gents caused all these major, disastrous events was pretty funny, at first, but it quickly lost its charm and became a tad cheesy.
One of the characters in the suit has a Ying Yang button on his fedora hat. All it did was remind me of my childhood, during the late 80s/early 90s of how everyone was obsessed with that symbol.
I really hated how the artist drew the beards on these characters. It looks like a 70s Saturday morning cartoon show. It is just straight, black lines down the character's face.
The Verdict
I was really surprised with this issue. I've read a few of the Classic series books in the past, and either they're bad or just ok. This was overall a great and fun read. If you're a Doctor Who fan, you'll really enjoy these revamped stories from the old Doctor Who magazine. "Tide & Tide" may be the stronger story, but "Follow that TARDIS" was a fund read. Major props to colorist Charlie Kirchoff who did a great job on this issue.
"Tide and Tide" - 5/5
"Follow that TARDIS" - 3/5
Overall - 4/5