Doctor Who Classics #6

The latest Doctor Who Classic Series featuring the Sixth Doctor, Peri, and his penguin private eye companion Frobisher comes to an end as the threesome head to the planet of Zazz for the Lorduke's 21st birthday bash. However, on arriving on the planet they run into the Lorduke's brother, an exiled mad scientist who believes he can escape the planet's gravity by use of a rocket powered by an erupting volcano and who unintentionally has released a plague of self-replicating robots who could quickly overrun the entire planet.

Taking the TARDIS back in time The Doctor discovers the history of the self-replicating robots who have adapted and evolved into a full civilization over 20 generations from a single repair robot that crash-landed on the planet's moon thousands of years before.

Using what little he has at his disposal, including the volcano rocket, and taking a page from the Pied Piper of Hamelin, The Doctor devises a crazy but workable solution to the problem.

Playing very much like an episode of the original Doctor Who series, "The Gift" gives us an alien race similar to Earth of the Roaring Twenties, an absurd ending, and a hell of a lot of fun in-between. Plus its got the most underrated Doctor and a talking penguin for a companion. That's pretty cool. I might have to go back and pick up a few more of these issues. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]