Living in the Past (short story)
Living in the Past was a short story in DWM 162. It was the first appearance of Ace in DWM fiction. Morever, it expanded on an explanation offered in Train-Flight for where she had been for the several years that had elapsed since her introduction on television — namely, that she had been living in the Cretaceous period of Earth's pre-history.
It and the three other short stories featured in issues of DWM (Scream of the Silent, The Infinity Season and Teenage Kicks) were unusual cases of DWM prose that was narratively continuous with the DWM comic strip. The events of this story were particularly so, being prefigured by the earlier comic story Train-Flight, and following on from Doctor Conkerer! as per a caption below its final panel.
Summary
The Doctor arrives in Mongolia during the Cretaceous period to pick up Ace, whom he had dropped off there. Along the way he encounters a pit of Dholes and an alien slave who has escaped from a nearby construction site. Ace arrives with a herd of assorted dinosaurs to trample the site, destroy it and free the slaves.
Characters
Worldbuilding
- While looking for Ace, the Doctor sees a tsintaosaurus, a dsungaripterus, a protoceratops and a velociraptor.
- Ace leads thousands of dinosaurs, including ankylosaurs, tyrannosaurs and bactrosaurs, to trample the alien construction site; she herself rides an alioramus.
Notes
- This was the first appearance of Ace in a Marvel UK publication. Ace's comic debut, however, wasn't until Fellow Travellers, the following month.
- Illustrations are by Cam Smith.
- Steve White is credited as dinosaur consultant.
- Ogrons is misspelled as "Orgrons."
Continuity
- Ace first expressed a wish to visit the Cretaceous in TV: The Happiness Patrol.
- The Doctor first mentioned that Ace was visiting the Cretaceous in COMIC: Train-Flight.
