"It's Time I Was Going" by Tim Roll-Pickering 6/10/98
The Neutron Knights is one of the better one parters from this period in the DWM strip’s history, and a wonderful ending to the fourth Doctor’s pencil-and-ink adventures. With a strong strip from Steve Parkhouse, aided and abetted by some of Dave Gibbons’ finest ever artwork, an era goes out with a bang--literally!
Ever since his debut with The Deal, Steve Parkhouse’s strips attempt to turn the strip into a strong set of linked stories, all taking place in one universe. With The Neutron Knights, the pace of development increases, with the introductions of Merlin and Catavolcus in a lead in to The Tides of Time. There are several loose ends and questions left at the end of this story, as well as two glimpses of the future--a knight on the skyline and Merlin’s departing warning to the Doctor about the future--leaving the reader intrigued and anxious to read the next part of the story.
Whilst The Neutron Knights is not in the first division of Doctor Who comic strips, it is not far behind, along with stories such as Fellow Travellers. The fourth Doctor’s last year in the strip suffered heavily from Marvel UK’s misguided belief that readers disliked long stories, and so led to a succession of one and two parters that were mostly poor, although there were a few flashes of brilliance such as Spider-God and End of the Line. The Neutron Knights begins the full scale improvement on the strip, and is a strong enough story in it’s own right. 9/10