The Deep Hereafter (comic story)

The Deep Hereafter was a comic story published in Doctor Who Magazine. It was written by Dan McDaid.

Summary
The Tenth Doctor and Majenta Pryce visit a forgotten colony that resembles a gangster-ridden Earth city in the 1930s, only to find themselves investigating the murder of a fish-headed private eye.

Plot
On the planet New Old Detroit, which is a bit of a slum, a fish-like alien named Johnny Seaview has been shot six times. He falls as the TARDIS materialises. The Tenth Doctor and Majenta Pryce find him near death, lying on the ground. Johnny tells the Doctor there is still time to save the city; he found the world bomb, but was caught. He dies.

There is sudden gunfire. The Doctor and Majenta run away from it. They find Johnny Seaview's offices. The Doctor scans through his notes and finds that Johnny nearly had solved the case. An elegant lady walks in. She insults Majenta and Majenta walks out the room. The Doctor tells the woman Johnny is dead and asks if she is "Winter Palace", a code name. She confirms she is. The Doctor tells her she was a suspect in the World Bomb case. Her face splits open, revealing she is an android. A little man walks out of her face, the size of a hand. Majenta walks in and picks him up. She knows his name is Tinny Danza. She puts him in a mug and threatens to drown him. He tells her the world bomb is the biggest weapon in the whole city. After Seaview found the bomb, every low life in the city wanted him. Danza thinks it was Red Morgan who killed Johnny.

Elsewhere, Red Morgan is with a little green alien with six "arms". The green man is a lawyer. They say goodbye. The Doctor and Majenta follow Red Morgan, but hear shooting and find his body in an alleyway. The Doctor finds a gun pointing at his head. He turns to find a man called Half Nelson pointing it at him. Nelson had a transmat accident; his other half was beamed away. Half Nelson and his gang take the Doctor and Majenta away in their underwater car.

At the world bomb, they are attacked by Hecto Shellac. He says he wants to retire and with the world bomb he can keep the gangsters off his back. He is unmasked as the killer. The Doctor struggles with him. Danzo, who is hiding in the Doctor's jacket pocket, punches Hecto. The Doctor pushes the world bomb.

They all appear in a grassy, peaceful world envisioned by the Doctor, and he advises Hecto and the others to "try not to mess it up this time". The Doctor and Majenta leave in the TARDIS.

Characters

 * Tenth Doctor
 * Majenta Pryce
 * Johnny Seaview
 * Hecto Shellac
 * Half-Nelson
 * Tiny Danza
 * Red Morgan

Worldbuilding
to be added

Story notes

 * The first page of the comic strip carries the title "Comic Book Section: Action Adventure Time Travel", in a format similar to that of the Will Eisner comic strip series The Spirit.

Continuity
to be added

The Deep Hereafter