Doctor Who review: Monstrous Beauty #3 ties up the Time Lord Victorious comic nicely

The Ninth Doctor has to save Rose and escape from Vampires in the final part of Doctor Who Magazine’s Time Lord Victorious story, Monstrous Beauty!

Last week saw the final part released of Monstrous Beauty, the Ninth Doctor’s own Time Lord Victorious story as told in the comic section of Doctor Who Magazine. There were two things I was rather curious about this installment: one, how well it would wrap up the storyline, and two, how well it linked with the overall multi-platform event. It has to be said, the way the latter was handled was definitely surprising.

But first of all, let’s talk about Monstrous Beauty on its own terms. Continuing directly from last month’s installment, the Ninth Doctor has found Rose – but this time, has he found her too late? The Doctor has to save his companion from a fate worse than death, while also trying to escape the attentions of not one but two powerful armies.

As a result, the final installment of Monstrous Beauty is definitely an action-packed one. Scott Gray throws a lot of ideas for cool spaceships and monsters at the reader, and John Ross’s artwork does a great job of bringing it all to life. On top of that, all the threads from the previous two installments are tied up nicely, and we get a story that feels complete on its own terms.

Monstrous Beauty does connect to the Time Lord Victorious event. But perhaps not as directly as you might expect.

Image Courtesy Titan Comics

Standalone…

This last fact really surprised me. Considering how The Knight, The Fool and The Dead ended, and considering that we know that both the Ninth and Eighth Doctors will be facing their future self in the upcoming novel All Flesh is Grass, I thought I knew how this story was going to end: a huge cliffhanger to make fans want to purchase the latter novel when it’s released next month!

But what we get is much more surprising. When I say that the story of Monstrous Beauty is tied up, I mean it. It doesn’t have a cliffhanger leading into a story in another medium. It’s surprising, but also rather pleasant. One thing that we’ve heard about Time Lord Victorious is that fans can enjoy each story released across the many ranges on their own terms. I had been doubtful of that – especially as its very title is a quote specific to the Tenth Doctor – but Monstrous Beauty has done a great job of working on its own terms.

More from Winter is Coming

• For All Mankind finally gives us information in Episode 405, “Goldilocks”
• Watch a stunning VFX breakdown of The Wheel of Time season 2
• Of course Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) thinks Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) should rule Westeros
• Confirmed: The Last of Us season 2 will air in 2025
• Final season of Star Trek: Discovery will have “a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of fun”

…but connected

That’s not to say there’s no link at all to the upcoming novel. But it’s not one that’s too obvious, and in fact, it’s one that you have to look very carefully for. It’s subtly implied that the whole of All Flesh is Grass happens literally between two panels, at least from Nine’s perspective. Not between pages, but panels. Like I said, it’s subtle, but it’s there. It’s a great moment that shows just how much attention to detail has been put into Time Lord Victorious. At the same time, it also shows how much everyone has worked hard on making individual stories work well on their own terms.

If you’re looking for something that will end on an exciting cliffhanger into a big multi-Doctor event, then you might be disappointed by Monstrous Beauty. But if you’re looking for a fun, action-packed story featuring Vampires, then you’ll have a lot to enjoy with this one, especially if you’re a fan of Christopher Eccleston’s iconic Ninth Doctor. Overall, Monstrous Beauty is an extremely solid story.

Have you been reading Monstrous Beauty? What did you think of it? Were you surprised at how it connected to Time Lord Victorious? Let us know in the comments below.