I do not find a fist thumping air pumping moment coming along very often in Doctor Who comics (Or in any comics for that matter.) but the recent issue of The Eleventh Doctor Adventures Yeat Two #15 was as close to having just such a moment. I am not one who is inclined to air pumping gestures of any kind. I have just never been comfortable with the historic precedent for such things and what they usually signify. Salutes of any form usually end in some one getting hurt.
No, I am talking about a moment of pure joy that expresses itself in a spontaneous reflex when you cannot but help yourself and think "Boy, They Got That Right.". Such was the case with the creative team of Si Spurrier and Rob Williams and artist Simon Fraser with the story Physician, Heal Thyself. The culmination of a complex story arc that literally ends with a bang..and a bang.. and a bang,bang,bang,bang..
Abslom Daak finds himself in Dalek Killer paradise.
Its a pretty twisted idea but then he is a pretty twisted character.
Abslom Daak will also serve as a reminder of just how creative an artist the late Steve Dillon was.Abslom and the Cyberman With A Soul. They are almost mythic characters to readers of a certain vintage.The denouement of this story would surely have made Steve smile and for that reason alone it stands out as being worth completing. The 5oth Anniversary episode of Doctor Who was a perfect celebration of what New Who has come to mean to people. This story arc is also a bridge between the worlds of Doctor Who as it is now and those far off days of a weekly Doctor Who magazine and comic.It seems like such a trivial thing when weighed up against the huge loss of Steve but our days are made up of such trivial things. He was held in such high regard not just for his talent as an artist but also because he was such an exceptional human being. Smart, witty and with a rebel's twinkle in his eye.
The kind of Right Stuff you cannot fake.
(From my sketch book.)