‘Doctor Who: The Lost Dimension #8 – Omega’ Review
Written by George Mann, Cavan Scott | Art by Mariano LacLaustra | Published by Titan Comics
Two things can make or break a mini-series. Having a great concept, to draw the reader in, and both knowing when to end the story and making the conclusion good enough to justify the time and money the reader has invested. Not rocket science, but true enough. For me, The Lost Dimension hasn’t ticked the first box, being a tad too rambling, with a poorly established threat. It has relied too heavily on the novelty of multiple Doctors, and as much as I still enjoy that it is becoming a little too familiar now to carry a weak storyline. Coming into this book though, I was optimistic this final issue could save at least some of this story. Cavan Scott and George Mann are fine writers after all.
If you still need a long recap now, you are reading the wrong book, but for everyone else a brief one. We ended up in present day Bristol you recall, with the Ninth, Tenth, and Twelfth Doctors all together, plus Jenny the Doctor’s daughter, Bill, and Nardole. Oh, and a huge white hole in the sky threatening to kill the entire planet as a zombie like virus takes root in major cities across the globe. Well, at least the three Doctor’s are swinging into action, applying all their resources….actually no they aren’t. They are bickering like children. Hundreds of years old children, but children nonetheless. Great to watch though, superbly perfect dialogue.
When the egos settle down, the plan is to position their multiple TARDIS’s around the Earth, use their gravitational fields just enough to shift the planet and release it from the white hole’s grip. Great plan. Just a slight hitch. It seems multiple TARDIS’s have fused together, thirteen in total, leaving the TARDIS in a very unstable condition. The solution? Seek out the multiple control rooms, from the different Doctor’s, and try and stabilise her using them. The Tenth Doctor and Jenny get closest until a white void appears and the Eighth Doctor pops out, telling them all to get out the TARDIS immediately. That plan is looking a little shaky right now.
The Eighth Doctor managed to escape the void with the help of the other trapped Doctor’s, who created a dimensional bridge. The Twelfth Doctor decides there is no other option than to use Jenny’s bowship and enter the void. Doctor’s Nine and Ten also come along for the ride. Enter they do, and a reunion of sorts with The Eleventh Doctor, alongside all the other Doctor’s trapped in the void. Without giving it all away, turns out The Doctor himself, one of them, and his TARDIS, one of them, are to blame for everything. Telepathically linked, they have been trying to remove chaos from the universe, which basically means destroying it. Things sort of spiraled out of control.
Best way to combat a rogue TARDIS and (not intentionally) rogue Doctor? Combine all the other Doctor’s and TARDIS’s together to ‘persuade’ it of the error of it’s ways. It works, and the threat is ended enough that everything across multiple times and places return to normal. Sort of. Nice to see all the companions safe and well too. Sort of. Nothing is ever cut and dried with The Doctor after all. It’s a happy end though.
Sort of.
I loved this issue. In one issue it perfectly captured what this event should have been all along. The entire issue was like one long money shot, with multiple Doctor’s bickering and teaming up all over the place, being both the hero and villain ironically. Cavan Scott and George Mann wrote a perfect script, packed full of action, puns, with perfect characterisation and dialogue. They juggled all the pieces on the board superbly as well. The art, by Mariano LacLaustra, was excellent throughout. As well as those fantastic splash panels, especially the multiple Doctors one which should be framed, the humdrum panels were equally well drawn and paced. The likenesses of all The Doctor’s, except The War Doctor funnily enough, were near perfect. The visuals were just superb, full stop.
A fantastic issue to round out a storyline that most definitely had its ups and downs. No quibbles here though, an excellent wrap up all round and an issue no Dr. Who fan should miss.
***** 5/5
