The Greatest Gamble (comic story)

The Greatest Gamble was a backup comic strip published in DWM 56 on 13 August 1981 by Marvel Comics and written by John Peel.

THe comic strip marked the first appearance of the Celestial Toymaker since his debut in the 1966 Doctor Who serial The Celestial Toymaker as well as the debut of Gaylord Lefevre, who would later return in the 1996 BBC Past Doctor Adventures novel Divided Loyalties.

Plot
In the Old West, Gaylord Lefevre — a professional gambler — is travelling the Mississippi in a paddle steamer, playing a game of cards until he shoots a man whom he suspects of cheating. He encourages the remaining opponents to not allow the "unpleasant episode" to ruin the evening and to continue, but a man in robes — the Celestial Toymaker — approaches Gaylord, asking for a private game in his cabin, which he eagerly accepts.

However, Gaylord is not lead to a cabin, but, as the mysterious man confesses, to his Toyroom. They pass a group of frozen people, which the man merely claims are his toys, and enter into another room to sit down to play. Gaylord blindly enters the game of cards without caring what is at stake, although becomes uneasy as an audience appears around them, though his feelings are quickly overcome by the desire to best his opponent, to win. Before long, Gaylord's luck begins to turn bad despite still being ahead of the man, so after a few more hours, they agree on a halt, and the Toymaker leaves the room.

Gaylord attempts to mark the cards to provide himself with an advantage, but unbeknownst to him, the Toymaker is fully aware of his actions and alters the cards to disrupt his illegitimate tactics. Some further hours later, the duo resumes the game, but Gaylord's arrogance is immediately depleted when he discovers his hand contains four jokers. He draws his revolver on the Toymaker and fires, enraged that he had been cheated yet the bullet merely falls to the table; the Toymaker controls this domain — gravity included — and proclaims that the game is forfeit and that he must pay.

An unknown amount of time passes in the Toyroom. The Toymaker leads a Roman soldier towards a new game, passing Gaylord, now a toy among many.

Characters

 * Celestial Toymaker
 * Gaylord Lefevre
 * Roman soldier

North America

 * The Mississippi is the longest river in North America. In the Old West, travelling its length takes a long time, so people find ways to pass the time, such as romancing, fishing, talking, and gambling.

Gambling

 * Gaylord earns his living at the card table.
 * The Toymaker claims that he wants to try his fortune at a game of cards.
 * Gaylord and the Toymaker use gambling chips in their game.
 * Luck is fickle.
 * Gaylord means to "even the score" by using a sewing needle to mark the cards.
 * Before the Toymaker's alterations, Gaylord's hand contains three aces and his contains 2 queens.

The Toymaker and the Toyroom

 * Both Gaylord and the Roman soldier assume the Toymaker's toys are statues.
 * The Celestial Toymaker is immortal, wily, and bored.
 * The Toymaker claims that he wasn't cheating, but following a new rule — that cheating was acceptable — that Gaylord had created.
 * Time has "little meaning" in the Toyroom, and days, weeks, or years may have passed between the Toymaker's games with Gaylord and the Roman soldier.

Rome

 * The Roman soldier exclaims "Jupiter" upon entering the Toyroom, having come from some barracks.

Original print details

 * Publication with page count and closing captions


 * 1) DWM 56 (4) End

Reprints

 * Coloured and reprinted by Marvel in DW84 20.

Continuity

 * Gaylord Lefevre appears again in 1996 novel Divided Loyalties.