1 Welcome to issue VII of Cosmic Masque. Yes it’s hot on the heels of issue VI—kind of like the old saying about buses, you wait ages for one and then two come along right after each other. This gets Cosmic Masque onto its new schedule, with three issues throughout 2019, in March, June and September, with the Annual due De- cember/January. Celestial Toyroom continues monthly of course. COSMIC MASQUE 1 1977 Inside this issue we have a nice selec- Our facsimile of the original Cosmic tion of reviews and fiction not to men- Masque from 1977 is available to buy tion an exclusive interview with Re- from our eBay site—click here to view Generation Who convention organiser Oni Durrant. The cover is a excellent piece of artwork by Marshall Tankers- ley. If you get the chance to check out his stuff, please do. I’m very grateful for the pieces he has submitted to us here at DWAS. If there’s anything you’d like to send in, whether it be artwork, fiction or feedback you can get in touch by email to: [email protected] or even by post. We love hearing from you. Grant and Ian have got to have a little break for this issue, lucky fellas! Hope- fully they don’t mind me hijacking their publication for a bit. Enjoy this issue. Rik 2 There are four variants of issue one to collect, with covers by Alice X Zhang, Will Brooks, Christopher Jones and Si- mon Myers. Titan Comics: Some will pick up the cover that they Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor particularly like, others will collect all four. As for me, I’m just waiting for Titan Comics’ line of Doctor Who issue two. I need to know what hap- books have so far done an excellent pens next! job of capturing the essence of the era of Doctor Who that they are repre- senting and ‘Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor’ issue one is no exception. Andrew Cartmel (Doctor Who Script Editor 1987-1989) delivers an excellent script which captures the characters superbly. The artwork by Christopher Jones and Marco Lesko is gorgeous, stunning and beautiful and deserves to be in a gallery. This story takes place following the Big Finish ‘Lost Stories’ series and has a little ‘previously’ section at the begin- ning, to provide a catch-up. However it’s not essential that you’ve listened to them in order to enjoy the comic. The Counter-Measures team from Re- membrance of the Daleks make a re- turn as supporting characters. It’s good to see them again and observe how they now interact with Ace and the Doctor. Visit Titan and see the Doctor Who range by clicking here Fans of Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor will revel in this story and be taken back to Click here to buy from Amazon UK this enjoyable period of the show’s history. 3 concur and couldn’t have said it better myself. The issue is absolutely gor- geous. My only negative is that the main cover isn’t to my liking, and jars Titan Comics: with the rest of the issue. Having said Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor that this issue has 13 variant covers to choose from so if like me, the main I am a big fan of art and comics so I’m one isn’t to your liking, choose anoth- always cautious when I’m going to re- er. I’ve gone with Rachel Stott’s cover, view a comic book as I am very critical. as I am totally in love with her artwork. However following my initial read of If you’re a Doctor Who fan who has issue 1 of The Thirteenth Doctor issue never read the comics, this is the per- 1, I was impressed and thought I’d fect time to start. If you’re a comic have a quick gander at reviews else- book fan who never got into Doctor where. Blogtor Who said: Who, this book will smoothly guide you into one of the greatest fictional “What makes this first issue really universes in existence. Either way, this shine is the seamless translation of the is one book newcomers and old fans Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, and Graham from alike are sure to enjoy. screen to page. Rachael Stott and Enri- ca Eren Angiolini’s artwork, in conjunc- The Thirteenth Doctor comics are off tion with Jody Houser‘s writing, per- to a great start, I look forward to these fectly capture each of these characters’ continuing adventures. likenesses and mannerisms. Every pan- el in this issue is breathtaking, thanks to Angiolini‘s vibrant colours and Stott‘s incredible attention to detail. The talent of this creative team shines through particularly strongly in their rendering of the new TARDIS control room. Somehow it appears even more beautiful and ethereal than it does on screen. We see that the new console features a twenty-sided die, which more geeky readers such as myself will recognise as being used in games of Dungeons and Dragons. It’s a small detail that brilliantly captures the Thir- teenth Doctor’s wonderful nerdiness.” I’m quoting this because I completely 4 5 Visit Titan and see the Doctor Who range by clicking here Click here to buy from Amazon UK tive plastic case to avoid scratches and dust etc. The certificates are numbered so you know where in the chain your coin is. This coin is the first official collectible Doctor Who coin. Produced by the If the NZ Mint continues with these, I New Zealand Mint, it celebrates series hope they can live up to the standard 10, the Twelfth Doctor, and key charac- set here. ters from the 2017 series: Bill, Missy, the Master, Nardole and the Cyber- To buy in the UK click here. men. The coin is presented in a modern, styl- To buy in New Zealand and world- ish case which incorporates images of wide, click here. the TARDIS. The matching, numbered Certificate of Authenticity is inside— 10, 000 have been produced world- wide. Holding this box in my hand, it is a wonderful creation and beautifully dis- played. You can remove the coin and certificate if you wish. It is in a protec- 6 and snatched him away from the last seconds of Gallifrey into the space- time vortex. As the Doctor stared at the console room ceiling, he still heard the The Doctor of War stumbled through screams. Fire. Cities shrouded in the Gallifreyan desert towards the smoke. Civilisations torn. Planets splin- TARDIS. In the final few steps his legs tered, death and destruction raging threatened to fail him altogether, and through time and space. He forced his he flung his arm towards the blue box eyes shut to block out the nightmare to steady himself. Home. After endless visions, but there was no escape. Will war, horror, and destruction, he was it never end? finally home. The back of his throat Time passed in disjointed chunks as he clenched painfully tight, and, bent al- slept or slipped into unconsciousness, most double, he vomited into the and then stretched out to fill eons as sand. he stared into the void. Eventually, his No more. The Time War was over. body demanded attention. Water, He dragged his sleeve across his food, care. He shut himself down and mouth, but nothing could wipe away refused to open his eyes. The pain the acrid taste of this bitter victory. A barely faded. The screams would not deep ache burned in his chest as he stop. pushed the door open. The coolness of “No more!” He flung his hands over his the console room should have been a ears as he lay feverish on the floor of comfort after the relentless heat, but his ship. there was no comfort for him. Not to- After an indeterminable amount of day, not ever. He’d used the Moment time his body was so weakened that to stop the most destructive war in all he thought—even wished—death creation: Time Lords against Daleks. would take him. More than anything And he’d killed every last man, woman he wanted oblivion, not the great and child on Gallifrey to do it. cheat of the Time Lords, starting over He sank to his knees on the console again in a burst of golden light. room floor. He deserved nothing but Even as his hearts longed for eternal damnation, burning forever in this box, silence, he was jerked to his feet like a alone. His chest was dull and heavy, as marionette, power crackling through if a metal fist had cracked his ribs open nerve endings, torrents of chemicals and was squeezing on what remained raging through his veins. of his hearts. He fought. “No! Let me go,” he im- Could he die of broken hearts? The last plored the universe. But, deep down, of the Time Lords sank to the floor and he understood. The universe had plans resolved to find out. for him yet. The heat started in his fin- The TARDIS, contrary and unreliable as gertips, and then crawled up his arms. she often was, saw her thief in pain, This was his punishment. The not-girl 7 with the name of a flower had told him the day. He found himself striding to- so. He was doomed to live, and hear wards it. Maybe he could at least get the screams of Gallifrey’s children over some peace and quiet. and over.