It's rare that we look into webcomics here. In fact, in all the years The Good the Bad and the Insulting has been running for, this is the first time one has received a proper review. There are two reasons for this. The first is that most of the big ones (barring one exception we will get to one day) are well known and have been better reviewed elsewhere. The other is that many are years spanning sagas, more than a few of which have yet to end.
To try and summarise their full strengths, qualities and ideas all in one piece would be a difficult thing to compile. Certainly, one could cover a general view of the comic as a whole, but it would lack the depth and detail it deserves. The Second Empire sidesteps both of these issues, as it's not only criminally overlooked but it ended some time ago. Plus, it helps that it's associated strongly with a franchise we often look into - Doctor Who.
Synopsis
Doctor Who: Second Empire sounds like a failing in the making: Turn the Daleks into the heroes. By rights, this should have been a recipe for disaster, and yet Mechmaster - writer and graphics artist - managed to make it work, by both tweaking past details and using a continuity often overlooked these days: The early Daleks comics.
The story follows Black Dalek General Xenol of the First Conquest Army. Xenol is one of an older generation and has begun to realise that the Daleks are becoming weaker with every passing decade. As their genetic code is altered by the Emperor, they become increasingly subservient and drone-like. Relying more and more on slave species and their own computers, they are decaying from within even as they conquer new territories. The final straw for Xenol is when his new recruits arrive, and he realises to his horror that they have been denied names in favour of alpha-numeric codes.
Along with the Empire's chief scientist Yttral and First Captain Anzollo, they instigate a rebellion to reclaim their future from the tyrant Golden Emperor.
The Good
The very idea of humanizing the Daleks seems ludicrous in more than a few ways. A big part of their appeal is as unrepentant killing machines, after all. What nuance or detail is offered by stories is usually presented to give them a different "flavour" of villain each story. The thing to remember here is that the comic still treats them as villains, but they're a lighter shade of grey. The Daleks of this story have individual quirks. friendships, rivalries and personalities which helps to define them from one another. The fact that they have names at all makes them infinitely less drone-like, and it gives them more of a human factor. The added bonus is that, throughout the comic's run, they are typically pitted either against the Emperor's forces, or unfeeling mindless machines.
The personality quirks alone quickly establish that this is following a very different continuity from the television show, and it's going in its own direction. While the TV stories frequently get the odd nod or mention, the impression is that this is a universe without the Doctor and that Davros wasn't quite able to finish his work. We even get an answer to that latter point partway through the story. The best part of all of this is that it's able to convey much of this world-building without veering away from the central tale, either through discussions or arguments at various points. This makes it very familiar to old fans yet also very distinct from previous fan-works.
it's also a testament to Mechmaster's skills as a designer and writer that he manages to make so many of these Daleks distinct from one another. Yttral's unique eye-stalk allows him to be quickly picked out from the crowd while retaining a familiar body type, and Xenol's black designs stand out even among familiar types. There's certainly colour-coding at work here to make certain characters stand out from others, but there's also a boundless creativity when it comes to the Dalek bodies themselves. Many designs have been lifted from various eras, comics or events, have been mixed from various shells or in a few cases are wholly new. Through this, Second Empire avoids the issue of the series becoming little more than a sea of mono-coloured pepper pots zapping away at one another.
Even without the benefit of the creative graphics, the actual personalities of the figures involved are bold, likeable and extremely notable from one another. While you do end up with the odd character who can be mistaken for another - largely due to a lack of appearances - most of the time you can quickly pick out who is talking and when. Yttral's scatter-brained nature, Xenol's habit for speechmaking, Anzollo's risk-taking enthusiasm and Grexnarl's anime-esque exaggerations stand out through the simple dialogue. While these might sound simple, and they admittedly are to a degree, it means that you instantly know who is talking and when. Even when several characters share the same body type, it's difficult to lose track of just who is speaking at what moment.
The comic is also notable for its ability to benefit from large-scale battle sequences and some surprisingly spectacular visuals at times. While the admittedly somewhat basic CGI might seem crude, it nevertheless manages to capture the retro aspects of 60s designs while opening itself up to more modern technology. Along with also working well with the more colourful aspects of the setting, the ease in which it displays large-scale events and countless figures more than makes up for some of the overly smooth textures. The comic frequently displays dozens if not hundreds of Daleks at a time, and even when it doesn't you can count on some very active and highly details panels. From multiple interceptors chasing a single saucer through a nebula to the control console intensive throne room of the Golden Emperor, there are times when you should stop and simply admire what's going on. Something you can easily do thanks to the comic's brisk pace.
While Second Empire could have easily been bogged down by details, concepts and facts, it rarely manages to drag at any point. Even when it is focusing upon massive scale action - such as the major conflict between the two Dalek forces - there's always enough action going on to keep you invested. The dialogue is usually detail or tactics heavy, but it's kept light enough that you never get lost in the details. It's enough to give the larger scale action more substance and depth, and it allows some of the more complex military manoeuvres to still have some impact. While it doesn't reach military science fiction levels of detail a-la Honour Harrington, it's still enough to give it more of a general edge over most stories. This prevents the sheer level of combat, the constant action and heavy engagements, from falling to the Michael Bay or JJ Abrams sin of becoming white noise.
Perhaps the best part of the comic overall is now it manages to blend humour and drama without missing a beat. The comic is surprisingly heavy on jokes, from playing up character quirks to many of the more insane moments stemming from their war machines. The comic is able to easily skirt back and forth between a gag and surprisingly effective drama with the ease rarely seen outside of an Edgar Wright film. Plus, some reference heavy moments notwithstanding, it does also manage to balance one against the other with few difficulties. Unfortunately, this doesn't always work.
The Bad
Along with being humour heavy, Second Empire is also extremely reference heavy. This actually isn't a bad thing in of itself, as it doesn't go full Family Guy and make an aside every two pages. Nor does it quite pull a frequent "Hey, see what I did there!?" bit to try and reinforce points when they're not needed. That said, more than a few do stand out as being oddly immersion breaking. To give a quick contrast, a chase between several fighters and a lone saucer works despite a few Star Wars references as it serves a later point. The same goes with a surprisingly effective shout-out to the Prisoner, and even an Aliens visual gag partway through the tale. When handled individually, these are fine and cause no issues at all, but there are points when the comic can end up presenting them back to back, one after the next. Furthermore, a few others exist purely for the sake of making the gag itself and prove to be surprisingly irritating. A big visual one is when a Dalek shows up with a Godzilla tail (no, really) or a rather big Warhammer 40,000 one, it's much harder to accept and move on.
The comic also falls into a few webcomic sins, such as how there are definite moments where it tends to overflow with dialogue. These moments are thankfully rare, but frustratingly they tend to arise at the worst of moments. For example, the technical conversations or more heated exchanges have the habit of bumping up sentences of word balloons to full paragraphs at times. Something which isn't an issue usually, but when it's in the middle of a full action sequence or even an interesting major plot twist, it's easy to find yourself skim reading through it. It creates these odd lumps of text where things slow down, and simply considering bypassing them wouldn't be unforgivable given how often this happens toward the end of the story.
Second Empire also suffers from a few issues in terms of narrative cohesion and control. For one thing, introductions and conclusions tend to be a major failing at times, when you can end up struggling to decide who to follow. The two main characters are introduced with little real establishment of their history, or even details behind their past actions. The same goes for the Golden Emperor, but because these three appear on the first panels it's easy to forgive. That said, when it pushes to add in the likes of Aychemex with little previous history, it's much more difficult to swallow. Grexzol becomes a recurring character with a few major moments, but outside of the prequel comic which was added later on, he had no introduction at all. Even a few of those there at the start, such as Grexnarl are difficult to pick out for some time due to some surprisingly sproadic appearences. The fate of a large number of Daleks is left unanswered by the story's end as well, to the point where a few effectively disappear off-panel, despite what seems like a full finale.
The actual story itself, while interesting in concept, tends to lose some steam when it is pulled away from the action. Or, at least, it seems that is what Mechmaster thought, as there are very few moments where the tale slows down or even pauses between battles. You might get a dozen pages or so, but often this is in preparation for an attack or to introduce a new technology. For all the conversations made and points brought up, the story never seems to pause long enough to highlight a few differences between how the two groups of Daleks might operate. Sure, we know one prizes individuality and qualities which are not suited to drones, but we gain little insight into what the Second Empire is seeking to accomplish between the attacks. There's very little time spent delving into the bigger questions, or even just showing the Daleks between their main functions.
Moreso than anything else however, after the last of the main conflicts are finished, the comic unfortunately drags itself out for an extremely long duel. It's a solid and engaging fight at first despite the bulbous body types involved, but after a point it's difficult to become fully invested in it. It's obvious how things will end and, combined with the sheer volume of dialogue, this makes it one of the comic's weakest parts. Even when it is tied up, there's a borderline deus ex machina which arises, and the comic only just averts thanks to some clever foreshadowing earlier on. While you can see some logic to the finale itself, both in theme and concept, that doesn't prevent it from feeling like a letdown, as it follows on from several of its strongest moments.
The Verdict
Second Empire is far from perfect, and it's easy to see why someone might dislike it. You definitely have to be a Who fan of a certain mentality, and be patient with it at times. What's more, it can be easy to roll your eyes at some of the more ridiculous moments where the comic goes shout-out heavy. Even with that in mind, however, the comic still offers plenty of engaging action, a new take on an old villain and plenty of fantastic visuals.
Even when the story does fall prey to its weaker aspects, it's easy to keep going due to its brisk pace, as you know something fun will be along very soon. Plus, and it has to be said, the more effective jokes quickly override the bad ones when it works best due to their volume. Even if you don't like one, there's usually a good one you can count on showing up a few pages later.
If you're open to the ideas outlined in the synopsis and have no issues stomaching a few too many shout-outs, then Second Empire is well worth a read. It's short enough to go through in a single day if needed, and the major narrative arcs are very easy to follow even if you're just flicking through the story. While personally, I would suggest starting with the prequel sub-comic known as Trapped in Amber, you can still use the main comic as a solid starting point for the series.
Overly critical.
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