1 Cydney, her eyes wide. She doesn’t FANS VICTORIOUS need to tell me what it looks like. Editorial by Nick Smith ‘She made me a great one,’ says Bran- don cheerfully. ‘If it was colder, I’d be wearing it.’ Since we’ve been working in 40-degree heat, he’s smart to leave it at home. We smile and move on to anoth- er subject. So, I’m thousands of miles from my birth town of Bristol with people I’ve only known for a few weeks and yet we have this connection, a TV show that seems as well-travelled as the TARDIS. From South Croydon, England to Cor- sicana, Texas, Doctor Who is in the zeit- I’m currently working as a Production geist, with fans everywhere Manager on a movie in East Texas. I say this, not to brag – I’m a glorified When DWAS Publications Officer Rik office boy with a walkie talkie – but Moran graciously asked me to become because Doctor Who helped bring me the new editor of Cosmic Masque, I here, instilling a passion in me for visu- looked forward to connecting with al storytelling, film and telly-making. some fellow Whovians and sharing my passion for the show. I did not know After a long day of filming, I’m eating that everyone I talked to for Cosmic pizza in Napoli’s, a downtown joint Masque would all have a deep connec- with a bar next door that’s also called tion to the show, whether it was excep- Napoli’s. I’m with the Wardrobe Super- tional cover creator Grahame Robert- visor, Assistant Camerawoman and a son, writer Jody Houser and artist Rob- couple more crew. The locals give us a erta Ingranata of Titan comics, or Court- glance or two but leave us be. I’ve got ney Jarrett, the Birmingham Game Mas- a TARDIS T-shirt on and the Associate ter of ‘A Dalek Awakens’. Producer Cydney says to her boyfriend Brandon, ‘look what he’s wearing.’ Her Rik describes Cosmic Masque as ‘about man Brandon, the movie’s Special being a fan.’ To me, that means a maga- Effects guy, holds up his keychain for zine that feels communal. Nerdy. Gen- me and the metal fob says he’s a Time erous. Gushing. Inclusive and goose- Lord. bumpy. All those feels crop up in this issue, which has an eclectic mix of ‘You should see Brandon’s scarf,’ says memoirs, reviews, interviews and fic- 2 tion. It has a transatlantic flavour, since I’ve reached out to British and Ameri- CONTENTS can writers for their views on Who. Although the Doctor’s new televised adventures are in a holding pattern Time Lord Victori- right now, the contributors have plen- ous #1 Review 4 ty to write about. As fans, we can im- merse ourselves in the multiplatform Discussing Who marvel that is Time Lord Victorious; Podcast 6 read comics, revisit classic noveliza- tions and get stuck in escape rooms. The Black Archive: The Robots of Death 9 Time Lord Victorious is the culmination Review of an incredible amount of work and Time Lord Victori- 10 creativity. While it remains to be seen ous Panel whether all its threads will tie together successfully, Who-lovers everywhere Jody Houser & Rob- will have fun finding out. I hope you erta Ingranata Inter- 12 have fun reading this issue too, with or views without a multicolour winter-warming scarf spooled around your neck. Time Lord Victori- 15 ous #2 Review Nick FICTION 18 COSMIC MASQUE XII A Wonderful Time 50 Editor: Nick Smith Fiction Editor: Stephen Hatcher Time War 4 Review 51 Front Cover by Grahame Robertson A Dalek Awakens Layout by Paul Winter Interview 53 Published by the Lytton #1 Review 56 Doctor Who Appreciation Society 57 All content is © For the love of Tar- relevant contributor/DWAS get No copyright infringement is intended CONTACT US: DWAS, PO Box 1011, Horsham, RH12 9RZ, UK or email: [email protected] www.dwasonline .co.uk 3 3 that I could do the latter, and while the Time Lord diagram of all the releases to come in the front of the comic still confuses me Victorious 1 Comic slightly, I’m happy in the knowledge, that the books, comics and audios will Review by Jordan Shortman do for me. With Time Lord Victorious now finally Author Jodie Houser doesn’t keep us kicking off, despite a rocky start to the guessing what’s going to happen here year and creator, James Goss’ fear that for very long, and although some it would be cancelled altogether knowledge of the previous Tenth Doc- thanks to COVID-19, Titan Comics have tor comic adventures will please long- kicked off the Tenth Doctor’s role in term readers of Titan Comics, it the multi-media story with its first is- doesn’t mean that new readers will be sue of Time Lord Victorious with a sto- confused. Rightly so, Houser keeps the ry called Defender of the Daleks. focus on events here, not what came before, making the book instantly I’ll admit, when I first saw the many readable to newcomers. releases for this new story, I was a little credulous. Did it mean I would The Tenth Doctor wakes in the TARDIS have to buy everything to understand to find that he is alone and only he what was going on or could I dip in and remembers the Time War. He quickly out at my leisure? The good news is finds himself surrounded by Daleks everywhere he goes including planets we’ve seen before in the comics as well as what looks like Elizabethan England. When he finally stops run- ning, he poses the question, why has- n’t he been exterminated. The follow- ing exchange leads to the Daleks say- ing they’ll destroy the TARDIS leads to one of my favourite lines from the book where the Doctor warns them, if they do that, he’ll make the Time-War look like a tea party. Houser’s charac- terisation is so perfect that you don’t doubt he couldn’t do it for a moment. It’s the first of many brilliant moments for the Tenth Doctor here. No time is wasted in going to Skaro, and artist Roberta Ingranata gives us an impressive visual of the Dalek city, clearly based on the view Missy and Clara had in The Magician’s Appren- tice, but it’s a fantastic visual on its 4 not good exactly, but taking away their motivation to kill everything because they realise all of creation have a com- mon enemy. The Prime Strategist is urprisingly sassy for a Dalek too, add- ing to the great dynamic it has with the Doctor. And Houser puts in a nice trib- ute, intentionally or not, to the famous cliff-hanger from Episode 3 of Death to the Daleks, with something once again on the floor. Like Houser’s excellent characterisa- tion, Ingranata draws a perfect Tenth Doctor, effortlessly capturing his iconic look and putting him in a number of recognisable Tenth Doctor poses, which not only are fun to look at but also make you think about which epi- sode some of the poses come from. For me, the weakest part of this comic came from the realisation of the Hond. own and makes for a great double Which is a shame as Houser makes it page image. Also excellent is Ingran- feel like some massive threat, giving ata’s design of the Tenth Doctor’s the Doctor a line about how it was a TARDIS, complimented perfectly by myth to make children go to sleep. The the colouring from Enrica Eren Angio- final page sees the Hond finally real- lini, and one wonders if they took stills ised and it looks like a cross between from the television series, the visuals Batman’s Clay-Face and Scooby Doo’s are so good. Tar Monster. I wasn’t too impressed but this is its first appearance and I’ll Also brilliantly realised are the new reserve much judgement until I can design for the Daleks who look like a see what it does in the second issue. perfect cross between the classic and But even so, it’s a minor quibble for new era designs. And the Dalek Em- what is otherwise a great first issue. peror is a nice nostalgic look at Re- membrance of the Daleks while giving If you’ve never read any of Titan Com- it a nice modern touch with the gold ics output, first of all, I’d say give them paintwork. For metal pepper-pots, a try, there are some great stories Houser gives them some excellent there, especially those with the Classic characterisation too and Goss’ crea- Doctors, and Time Lord Victorious tion of The Prime Strategist, who fills would be a brilliant place to start. It in the Doctor an interesting compan- doesn’t require any knowledge of what ion for this miniseries. It’s an inter- came before and can be enjoyed as a esting thing to do, making the Daleks, brief interlude in the Tenth Doctor’s 5 Discussing Who Podcast by Kyle Jones My name is Kyle Jones. I consider my- self a lifelong fan of Doctor Who hav- ing been introduced to the Doctor in the mid-1970s. As with most in the US during that time, my introduction came in the form of the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith on the local PBS station.