Once Upon a Time-Lord (comic story)

Once Upon a Time-Lord was a Sixth Doctor comic published in Doctor Who Magazine. It is notable for having several pages written out in story form with accompanying comic panels. With its end, it concluded both the Voyager and Astrolabus themes that had started in this incarnation's second strip, Voyager.

Summary
On the trail of Astrolabus, the Sixth Doctor and Frobisher find themselves in a land of make-believe where nothing is real.

Part 1
The Sixth Doctor heads into the Cabinet of Astrolabus to retrieve Frobisher. As the Doctor exits the TARDIS, he is attacked by a dark rider who attempts to kill him, but who rides away after the Doctor ducks. The Doctor finds Frobisher, who insists the Doctor come and meet his "friends", but the Doctor resists, saying that he doesn't trust Astrolabus, and warns Frobisher that he believes that the reality they are in isn't real.

Meanwhile, Astrolabus watches them from inside a carnival, where children watch the Doctor and Frobisher. Astrolabus instructs them to put on their "thinking caps" so that they can control the story.

In the forest, with their lives now reading like a storybook, the Doctor and Frobisher meet Brock, who gives Frobisher a worm. They soon come under attack, and the natives try to cook and eat Frobisher. However, Frobisher is saved by Tarzan.

After escaping, Frobisher feels like he's not in control, and the Doctor urges him to try and find answers in the castle. Meanwhile, Astrolabus urges the children to think up "something really dangerous", and sure enough, a gigantic troll begins attacking the Doctor and Frobisher, and they make a run for the castle

Part 2
To be added.

Characters

 * Sixth Doctor
 * Frobisher
 * Astrolabus
 * Brock
 * Little Red Riding Hood
 * Tarzan
 * Voyager

Continuity

 * A direct continuation of COMIC: Polly the Glot, the Doctor is still on the hunt for the kidnapped Frobisher.
 * The Doctor is still haunted by thoughts of Voyager's threat to end all of existence unless his star charts are returned. (COMIC: Voyager)
 * In the final panel, a group of miniature penguins are seen. These penguins reappear in COMIC: Kane's Story, COMIC: Party Animals and COMIC: Time & Time Again.
 * The Doctor has previously been to a land where fictional characters were real in TV: The Mind Robber.

Behind the scenes

 * John Ridgway has confirmed that the Black Rider who attacked the Doctor was meant to be one of the Nazgûl from The Lord of the Rings.