In Review: Doctor Who: Once Upon A Time Lord

Synopsis: In Once Upon A Time Lord, In order to survive the fiery Pyromeths, Martha Jones must spin three sensational yarns about the Tenth Doctor and his greatest adventures with old and new foes alike!

The Story

In this story the Doctor warns Martha Jones about an ancient race of aliens called the Pyromeths who feed off of stories. While visiting a fairground on a planet to sample a soft drink that uncannily tastes exactly like Ginger Ale. The Doctor and Martha get separated and Martha winds up being captured by the Pyromeths and needs to keep telling them stories in order to maintain her survival. Only the catch is. The story she is telling them is actually happening in real-time as the Doctor goes to the end of the Universe in order to save his companion.

The Artwork

Christopher Jones and Matthew Dow Smith combine as artist and colorist and do a pretty decent job of things as we get taken on a whirlwind tour of Doctor Who’s monsters and villains. I loved the panels of the Sycorax Admiral as he tried to capture the big fish, which he sees as the most valuable fish in the universe. And the image of the Doctor and an alien sea captain holding onto the tardis for dear life was brilliant fun.

However, by far the best image in this book was the look of the Pyromeths who basically look like balls of fire with faces on. They’d be a cool villain to see on the TV series. RTD, I hope you are reading these comics.

Overall

This is a fun book, which is kind of a do-over of Last of the Time Lords from the third series of Doctor Who where Martha is telling stories of the Doctor’s adventures. Only in this instance, it isn’t to create a mythology about him that people can get behind. But instead, it is to buy them both time so the Doctor can save her from the Pyromeths.

In short, Dan Slott brings us a fun story with a few clever twists and turns that reference classic stories from the past of Doctor Who. Indeed the Osirans from The Pyramids of Mars are used in a fun and clever way.

Overall. This is a fun book that both classic and modern Doctor Who fans will enjoy.