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The teenage Miranda is abducted by a UFO and named Empress
of the Universe, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Fleets,
Custodian of the Artefacts, Mistress of the Four Keys, Head
of the Galactic Bank and Absolute Ruler of the Known and Unknown
Planets. Not bad for a girl with no GCSEs...
In my review of Lance Parkin's Doctor Who novel Father
Time, I described how much I loved the character of Miranda,
the Doctor's adopted daughter in that book. How sad I was
when she went her own way into time and space. When she was
mentioned in the subsequent novel The City of the Dead,
I took the opportunity to express how much I'd like to read
about her again. Well, BBC Books never answered my prayers,
but Comeuppance Comics has - by giving Miranda her own six-issue
series.
The UK-based company is keen to point out that this publication
is not primarily intended as a Doctor Who spin-off,
and is accessible to a wider readership. That said, there
are a couple of sneaky visual gags that allude to the famous
series. You certainly don't need to have read Father Time
in order to appreciate this comic, though Miranda's calm
acceptance of both the existence of extra-terrestrial beings
and her new status as galactic ruler might seem a little strange
to the uninitiated. On the other hand, non-Who-fans
will not have a problem with the fact that the first two pages
of this issue ought to take place over a period of three days,
according to events in Father Time, rather than the
mere 24 hours described in the comic.
But
I'm splitting hairs. Writer Parkin does a commendable job
of establishing the concept and character of Miranda without
alienating Who fans or confusing new readers. His script
exhibits a wry sense of humour, as is demonstrated in the
aftermath of an assassination attempt against the new Empress
- it transpires that she managed to sleep through several
previous attempts. I did find the decision to dress Miranda
in her old school uniform a tad kinky, however.
I'm slightly less convinced by Allan Bednar's artwork. A great
deal of it is intricately detailed, but several of his human
faces and figures look out of proportion for no good reason
that I can see.
However,
that has not deterred me from eagerly awaiting issue 02.
Richard
McGinlay
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