Back to the Sun (comic story)

Back to the Sun
Doctor:	Third Doctor
Main enemy:	Volcano creature
Main setting:	Station 40, Wales, 1970s
Key crew
Publisher:	Polystyle
Writer:	Dennis Hooper
Artist:	Gerry Haylock
Release details
Number of parts:	4
Printed in:	TV Action 116-119
Release date:	5 May - 26 May 1973
Reprinted in:	DWCC 24
Format:	Comic
TVA comic stories
← Previous	The Threat from Beneath
Next →	The Labyrinth

Back to the Sun marked the return of the Third Doctor to TV Action after a three-issue, one-month absence — one of the longest gaps in the pre-Marvel era in Doctor Who comic strip history.

Summary

At the request of the government, the Third Doctor investigates Station 40, a new solar energy complex in Wales. He soon discovers that its director, Sir Nigel Lomax, is in the thrall of an alien life-form.

Characters

• Third Doctor
• Sir Nigel Lomax
• Roger Perritt
• Peter Tait
• The Minister
• Volcano creature

Worldbuilding

• Sir Nigel is an expert on volcanoes.

Notes

• Thanks to Jean-Marc Lofficier's The Terrestrial Index and John Ainsworth's echo of it in DWCC #3, it became fashionable to represent the title as kcaB to the Sun. However, as can be seen in the image at right, the word "Back" is actually mirror written, not reverse-ordered. Thus, although frequently styled as kcaB to the Sun, it is more accurate to think of the name of the story as Back to the Sun, and to note the artistic license taken by the letterer in both the original printing and the reprinting in DWCC 24.

Original print details

(Publication with page count and closing captions)

• TVA 116 (2 pages) Next week — a powerful invasion threat!
• TVA 117 (2 pages) More trouble for the Doctor, next week!
• TVA 118 (2 pages) WHAT IS SIR NIGEL'S SECRET PLAN?
• TVA 119 (2 pages) DR. WHO FEATURES IN NEXT WEEK'S BUMPER STORY!

Continuity

• The Doctor previously faced similar fire-based creatures. (COMIC: Trial of Fire)

External links

• kcaB to the Sun at the Doctor Who Reference Guide