The Soul Garden (comic story)

 was a comic published in Doctor Who Magazine in 2017. It was notably the first story in the magazine to feature Bill Potts as a travelling companion to the Twelfth Doctor, as well as Bill's overall first appearance in comic books, as the publication of part 1 predated her debut in Titan Comics' Free Comic Book day special and the main Twelfth Doctor line. It was, furthermore, the first multi-part story to feature Bill.

Part one
The Twelfth Doctor and Bill land on Titan in a specific location at a specific time, which allows them to see a perfect view of Saturn, Bill's favourite planet. Using the moon's low gravity to their advantage, the two swim through the air away from the TARDIS. Unexpectedly, the atmosphere is disrupted as a land-ship thrashes by, causing Bill and the Doctor to lose control.

Rescued by the ship, the ship's first mate Sandi Costello introduces the ship as the Beagle. The Doctor soon discovers the voyage's funder, Rudy Zoom, a figure that he had met on a previous adventure. Travelling to the bridge, the group meets the bickering leaders of the group: captain Bernard O'Neill and the psychic Lady Takashi.

Lady Takashi seeks to explore Titan because she had sensed an alien presence on the planet in a deep sleep. Shocked that an entire expedition has been funded because of a woman's dream, the Doctor joins the team. The Beagle begins sailing on the liquid methane river, and after several hours, they discover a hidden cavern.

Inside the cavern mouth, they discover a domed off area, and inside the dome they find a garden with proper atmosphere corrections, as well as heat and gravity alterations. The Doctor heads to the centre of the garden, where he finds two dead trees - the only dead things in the whole location.

The team are suddenly attacked by a robot called the Keeper which views them as foreign elements to be weeded out. The group scatters, and by the time that the Doctor has deactivated the robot with his sonic screwdriver, Bill has been knocked out by one of the plants. Suddenly grabbed by several tentacles, the group finds themselves face-to-face with a group of living plant creatures, who intend to consume the humans.

Characters

 * Twelfth Doctor
 * Bill Potts
 * First Mate Sandi Costello
 * Rudy Zoom
 * Captain Bernard O'Neill
 * Lady Takashi
 * Keeper
 * Samuel Taylor Coleridge
 * Oksanna
 * Sythorr

Original print details

 * (Publication with page count and closing captions)


 * 1) DWM 512 (12 pages) Next: The Dreamspace!
 * 2) DWM 513 (12 pages) Next: Death of a Dreamer!
 * 3) DWM 514 (12 pages) Next: The Parliament of Fear

Continuity

 * Bill and the Doctor wear atmospheric density jackets, as the Doctor insists that they are more efficient and comfortable than any space suit. The First Doctor and Ian Chesterton had previously worn them on Vortis. (TV: The Web Planet)
 * The Doctor claims that the jackets are built out of an atmospheric converter (TV: The Poison Sky) and a comfy suit.
 * While gliding on the low-gravity Titan, Bill gleefully notes that travelling with the Doctor isn't always "sea monsters in the Thames and killer Emoji robots." (TV: Thin Ice, Smile)
 * The Doctor calls the passing humans, whose ship has disrupted Titan's atmosphere, "pudding-brains". (TV: Deep Breath, Robot of Sherwood, Face the Raven)
 * Under her atmospheric density jacket, Bill wears the same shirt that she had previously on a human colony planet. (TV: Smile)
 * Bill once again mentions Doctor Strange. (PROSE: The Shining Man)