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Faction Paradox, an ongoing series
from Image, has a curious history. While this is its
first appearance in comics, the idea has been around since
writer Lawrence Miles' 1997 novel Alien Bodies.
The editorial describes that as a "BBC
sci-fi novel", and goes on to mention that the Faction also
turned up in some other BBC books. The two words which
the editorial seems keen to avoid are "Doctor" and "Who."
Years after the show went off the air, the BBC continued to
licence and produce a ton of Dr Who novels, which from what I
gather became increasingly nuts over time. Oddly enough,
at least from a comics standpoint, the writers who contributed
to those novels seem to have retained their rights in the
original characters who they contributed. The result has
been several books such as this - Dr Who supporting characters
spiralling off on their own, unable to mention exactly where
they came from because the characters aren't available, but
moving on to a bizarre sort of afterlife.
Or, in the case of Faction Paradox,
perhaps an entirely new life divorced from its roots in BBC
Publishing. This book seems consciously intended to
appeal to a wider audience than just the hardcore Dr Who
faithful - and indeed, as they promise, no knowledge of
previous stories is required.
The year is 1774, and King George has got
visitors at his court. Faction Paradox have turned up
for the first time in a while in the hope of re-establishing
their influence in the court. What they're not
mentioning is that the previous Faction Paradox story involved
most of them taking a serious kicking in a fourth-dimensional
war. And there's not actually that many of Faction
Paradox left - so in terms of influence, they need him more
than he needs them. But of course, he doesn't know that.
Meanwhile, the Russians inexplicably turn up with a mammoth,
and the Americans have brought something that doesn't belong
in a post-mythological world at all.
It's a weird set-up issue, but a
surprisingly entertaining one. It's nice to see from the
editorial that this is indeed going to remain a story about
"human ritual during the American War of Independence" and
that it will not be turning into a big fight scene. It's
all a little more skewed and warped than that.
Art comes from Jim Calafiore. His
work's a little stiff but it certainly succeeds in
establishing the atmosphere of the court, and making the
Faction members look somehow at home even while being
blatantly out of place.
It's a odd book, but very readable - and
nothing remotely like Dr Who, by the way. Worth a look.
Rating: A-
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