Land of the Blind (comic story): Difference between revisions

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{{real world}}
{{real world}}
{{ImageLinkComics}}
{{ImageLinkComics}}
{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|range = DWM comic stories{{!}}DWM Comics
|number in range = 83
|image= Land of the Blind.jpg  
|image= Land of the Blind.jpg  
|series=[[DWM comic stories]]
|series = [[DWM comic stories]]
|doctor= Second Doctor
|doctor= Second Doctor
|companions= [[Jamie McCrimmon|Jamie]], [[Zoe Heriot|Zoe]]  
|companions= [[Jamie McCrimmon|Jamie]], [[Zoe Heriot|Zoe]]  
|enemy= The [[Vortexians]]
|enemy= [[Vortexian]]s
|setting= [[Denossus]]
|setting= [[Denossus]], the [[Time Vortex]]
|writer= [[Scott Gray|W. Scott Gray]]
|writer= Scott Gray  
|editor=[[Gary Gillatt]]
|editor = [[Gary Gillatt]]
|artist= [[Lee Sullivan]]
|artist= [[Lee Sullivan]]
|colourist=
|colourist=
|letterer=[[Scott Gray|W Scott Gray]]
|letterer=[[Scott Gray|W Scott Gray]]
|publication= ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' [[DWM 224|224]] - [[DWM 226|226]]
|publication= [[DWM 224]] - [[DWM 226|226]]
|release date= [[16 March (releases)|16 March]] - [[11 May (releases)|11 May]] [[1995 (releases)|1995]]
|release date= 16 March - 11 May 1995
|cover date= [[12 April (releases)|12 April]] - [[7 June (releases)|7 June]] [[1995 (releases)|1995]]
|cover date= 12 April - 7 June 1995
|publisher= Marvel Comics UK
|publisher= Marvel Comics UK
|format= Comic - 3 parts
|format= Comic  
|prev= Change of Mind (comic story)
|prev= Change of Mind (comic story)
|next= Up Above the Gods (comic story)
|next= Up Above the Gods (comic story)
}}{{comic stub}}{{you may|Country of the Blind (short story)|n1=Country of the Blind}}
|epcount = 3|reprint=Land of the Blind (graphic novel)
}}{{comic stub}}
{{you may|Country of the Blind (short story)|n1=Country of the Blind}}
'''''Land of the Blind''''' was a [[Second Doctor comic stories|Second Doctor comic story]] featuring [[Jamie McCrimmon]] and [[Zoe Heriot]]. It was originally published in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]''.
'''''Land of the Blind''''' was a [[Second Doctor comic stories|Second Doctor comic story]] featuring [[Jamie McCrimmon]] and [[Zoe Heriot]]. It was originally published in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]''.


== Summary ==
== Summary ==
''to be added''
The Doctor visits a planet that has been sealed off from the rest of the universe.


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
''to be added''
The TARDIS arrives in a spaceport on [[Denossus]], but for some reason its engines continue functioning even after it has materialized. As the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe explore their surroundings, a young woman named Anna attempts to destroy the shield generator in the centre of the spaceport, but only manages to attract the attention of the [[Vortexian]]s who now rule Denossus. The Doctor tries to intervene on her behalf, but the Vortexians politely arrest him and sentence him to five seconds in [[the Speculum]] -- an ordeal which normally destroys the victim's mind. Anna's father-in-law, Max, explains to Jamie and Zoe that the Vortexians sealed off the planet from the rest of the Universe twenty years ago, and have ruled it ever since; his son, Anna's husband Luther, was recently placed in the speculum for attempting to destroy the shield generator. The Doctor, however, survives the speculum, and recognizes the force within as the Time Vortex -- which leads him to realise where they really are.
 
Upon being released by the Vortexians, the Doctor and his friends set up a trap for them, and catch them in mid-transit when Anna lures them by trying to destroy the shield generator again. While the Vortexians are trapped, the Doctor switches off the shield generator's holographic sky- projection to reveal that the spaceport has in fact been removed from real space-time altogether and suspended in the Time Vortex. The Vortexians intend to unite all races in harmony under their rule and had transplanted Denossus into the Vortex as a test of their abilities. They break free of the Doctor's trap and attempt to arrest Anna, but Max deliberately shouts a racial epithet at them, causing them to administer a shock to his nervous system as punishment. But his ageing heart can't stand the shock and he dies, telling the Doctor he knew what he was doing. The Doctor points out that the Vortexians have broken their own moral code by killing Max, and the Vortexians punish themselves by restoring Denossus to its place in the Universe and departing.


== Characters ==
== Characters ==
Line 34: Line 40:
* [[Jamie McCrimmon]]
* [[Jamie McCrimmon]]
* [[Zoe Heriot]]
* [[Zoe Heriot]]
* [[Luther Ronayne]]
* [[Anna (Land of the Blind)|Anna]]
* [[Max Ronayne]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
* [[Denossus]] was captured and taken into the [[Time Vortex|space/time vortex]] by the [[Vortexian]]s over twenty years prior to the Doctor's arrival.
* The Doctor is put on [[The Doctor's trial (Land of the Blind)|trial]].
* The Vortexians considers Jamie and Max calling them "[[sassanach]]s" to be potentially [[racist]].
* "Speculum" is an old word for [[mirror]].
* The Doctor captures the Vortexians mid-[[transmat]] in a [[static interference funnel]].
* The Doctor captures the Vortexians mid-[[transmat]] in a [[static interference funnel]].
* [[Denossus]] was captured and taken into the [[Time Vortex|space time vortex]] by the Vortexians.


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* The name, design and background notes for the Vortexians came from Paul Fisher, the winning designer in ''Doctor Who Magazine's ''Design a Monster competition. The winner was announced in ''Doctor Who Magazine'' 224.
* The name, design and background notes for the Vortexians came from Paul Fisher, the winning designer in ''Doctor Who Magazine's ''Design a Monster competition. The winner was announced in ''Doctor Who Magazine'' 224.
* The runner-up monster designs also had cameos in the same strip. They were the [[Zrontak]]s, designed by [[Richard Burnell]], the [[Insoid]]s, designed by [[Jason Powdrill]] and [[the Pharoah]]s, designed by Justin Askham.
** The runner-up monster designs also had cameos in the same strip. They were the [[Zrontak]]s, designed by [[Richard Burnell]], the [[Insoid]]s, designed by [[Jason Powdrill]] and the [[Pharaoh (species)|Pharaohs]], designed by [[Justin Askham]].
* This is not the first competition where the winning monster was presented in a Doctor Who comic strip story. ''TV Action + Countdown ''ran a Design a Monster competition in 1972 and the winning design, from [[Ian Fairnington]], the [[Ugrakk]]s, were presented in the Third Doctor strip ''[[The Ugrakks]]''.
** This is not the first competition where the winning monster was presented in a ''Doctor Who'' comic strip story. ''TV Action + Countdown ''ran a Design a Monster competition in 1972 and the winning design, from [[Ian Fairnington]], the [[Ugrakk]]s, were presented in the Third Doctor strip ''[[The Ugrakks]]''.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
''to be added''
* The Doctor and Zoe recognise [[transmat]] technology. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Seeds of Death (TV story)|The Seeds of Death]]'')
 
=== Cameos ===
[[File:Land of the Blind Annual monsters.jpg|thumb|right|[[Doctor Who annual|Annuals]] cameo panel.]]
This story's large crowds feature many cameos, notably featuring several cameos from the early [[Doctor Who annual]]s. [[Lee Sullivan]] would later draw similar crowd cameos in ''[[Bazaar Adventures (comic story)|Bazaar Adventures]]'' and ''[[Liberation of the Daleks (comic story)|Liberation of the Daleks]]''.
* The audience close-up in the arena scene in Part 1 includes (from top left to bottom right) a [[Go-Ray]] from [[COMIC]]: {{cs|Enter: The Go-Ray (comic story)}}, a [[Monoid]] from [[TV]]: {{cs|The Ark (TV story)}}, and a [[Zrontak]] and a [[Pharaoh (species)|Pharaoh]] as runners up in the Design a Monster competition. In the wide-shot of the crowd, a [[Mechanoid]] and a [[Dalek]] can be seen, as well as what appears to be {{w|Michelin Man}}.
* The street crowd in Part 1 includes a [[Kandalinga (species)|Kandalinga Fishman]] from [[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Fishmen of Kandalinga}} and a woman with a [[Starfleet]] hoodie. Additionally, an [[Insoid]] is seen in the background of one panel in this scene, another Design a Monster runner up.
* The arena audience in Part 2 includes a Mechanoid, a Go-Ray, a [[Menoptera]] and a Dalek.
* A flashback in Part 2 includes a [[Quark]] in the background.
* The arena audience in Part 3 include a [[CyberFaction]] [[Cyberman]], an [[Ice Warrior]], a [[Zarbi]], a [[Robot Yeti]], and [[RoboCop]], as Sullivan had been a frequent artist for a RoboCop comic in the early 1990s.
* As the Doctor and friends leave the arena in Part 3, they pass four characters from non-''Doctor Who'' comics, including [[Mandrake the Magician]].
* One panel in Part 3 has a crowd entirely of aliens from the ''Annuals'', composed of (from left-to-right):
** A [[Stagg]] from [[PROSE]]: {{cs|Terror on Tiro (short story)}}
** [[Deemon]] from [[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Sons of Grekk (short story)}}
** three [[Ethereal (The Cloud Exiles)|Ethereals]] (the third is on the far right) from [[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Cloud Exiles (short story)}}
** A [[Baggolt]] from [[PROSE]]: ''The Cloud Exiles''
** A [[Rostrow]] from [[COMIC]]: {{cs|Mission for Duh (comic story)}}
** A [[Glacian]] from [[PROSE]]: {{cs|Justice of the Glacians (short story)}}
** A dimension-explorer of the [[Life Force]] from [[PROSE]]: {{cs|A Thousand & One Doors (short story)}}
** One of [[Robot police (Happy as Queeg)|Queeg's robots]] from [[PROSE]]: {{cs|Happy as Queeg (short story)}}
** A [[living matter reservoir]] from [[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Singing Crystals (short story)}}
** a [[Kandalinga]] from [[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Fishmen of Kandalinga (short story)}}
** A [[Korad]] from {{cs|Peril in Mechanistria (short story)}}
** A [[Voord]], who first appeared in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Keys of Marinus (TV story)}} but also made an appearance in the annual short story ''The Fishmen of Kandalinga''.
** A [[Natarl]], which appeared on the contents page of ''The Dr Who Annual'', originating in the 1959 film {{w|Battle in Outer Space}}
** The [[Robot King (Robot King)|Robot King]] from [[COMIC]]: {{cs|Robot King (comic story)}}
** An insect which appears to be a [[Zarbi]], who first appeared in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Web Planet (TV story)}} and again in [[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Lair of the Zarbi Supremo}}
** Both a humanoid [[Yend]] and a shapeshifting Yend from [[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Sons of the Crab (short story)}}
** Two burly [[Sensorite]]s with their appearance from [[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Monsters from Earth (short story)}}
** A [[Kaark]] from [[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Playthings of Fo (short story)}}.
 
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}


[[Category:Second Doctor DWM comic stories]]
[[Category:Second Doctor DWM comic stories]]
[[Category:1995 comic stories]]
[[Category:1995 comic stories]]
[[Category:Three part comics]]
[[Category:Stories set entirely in the Time Vortex]]

Latest revision as of 03:59, 8 September 2024

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You may be looking for Country of the Blind.

Land of the Blind was a Second Doctor comic story featuring Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot. It was originally published in Doctor Who Magazine.

Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor visits a planet that has been sealed off from the rest of the universe.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

The TARDIS arrives in a spaceport on Denossus, but for some reason its engines continue functioning even after it has materialized. As the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe explore their surroundings, a young woman named Anna attempts to destroy the shield generator in the centre of the spaceport, but only manages to attract the attention of the Vortexians who now rule Denossus. The Doctor tries to intervene on her behalf, but the Vortexians politely arrest him and sentence him to five seconds in the Speculum -- an ordeal which normally destroys the victim's mind. Anna's father-in-law, Max, explains to Jamie and Zoe that the Vortexians sealed off the planet from the rest of the Universe twenty years ago, and have ruled it ever since; his son, Anna's husband Luther, was recently placed in the speculum for attempting to destroy the shield generator. The Doctor, however, survives the speculum, and recognizes the force within as the Time Vortex -- which leads him to realise where they really are.

Upon being released by the Vortexians, the Doctor and his friends set up a trap for them, and catch them in mid-transit when Anna lures them by trying to destroy the shield generator again. While the Vortexians are trapped, the Doctor switches off the shield generator's holographic sky- projection to reveal that the spaceport has in fact been removed from real space-time altogether and suspended in the Time Vortex. The Vortexians intend to unite all races in harmony under their rule and had transplanted Denossus into the Vortex as a test of their abilities. They break free of the Doctor's trap and attempt to arrest Anna, but Max deliberately shouts a racial epithet at them, causing them to administer a shock to his nervous system as punishment. But his ageing heart can't stand the shock and he dies, telling the Doctor he knew what he was doing. The Doctor points out that the Vortexians have broken their own moral code by killing Max, and the Vortexians punish themselves by restoring Denossus to its place in the Universe and departing.

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The name, design and background notes for the Vortexians came from Paul Fisher, the winning designer in Doctor Who Magazine's Design a Monster competition. The winner was announced in Doctor Who Magazine 224.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cameos[[edit] | [edit source]]

Annuals cameo panel.

This story's large crowds feature many cameos, notably featuring several cameos from the early Doctor Who annuals. Lee Sullivan would later draw similar crowd cameos in Bazaar Adventures and Liberation of the Daleks.

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