DOCTOR WHO: CIRCUIT BREAKER – PART OF AN ALL-NEW MIXED MEDIA ADVENTURE!
August 22, 2026
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Synopsis: The Doctor travels to the war-ravaged world of Skaro as she battles the Daleks with the fate of their Kaled forebears at stake!
The Story
The Fugitive Doctor continues her mission to return artefacts to their proper time and place, and this time the mission takes her to Skaro, the homeworld of the Daleks.
Landing in one of the planet’s many underground installations, she comes across the 100 or so remaining Kaled people, who have created a farm of sorts within the complex, centred around a very unique greenhouse. It’s here that we meet Kaled scientist Fliss, who designed and built the greenhouse but has learned that the Daleks have found them and are breaking through their limited defences.
Knowing that fighting is futile, Fliss decides not to tell her people and instead let them enjoy one last blissful day together. That remains her plan until the Doctor arrives and introduces herself.
Fliss tells the Doctor that there was another Doctor who tried to save them before the Daleks took over, but they failed. The Doctor convinces Fliss and her people to head for another complex, which involves travelling to the surface and sneaking through a Dalek factory in order to reach it.
Fliss goes along with the plan, which ultimately allows the Doctor to return the final artefact to where it belongs.
Artwork
Roberta Ingranata and Sami Kivelado a solid job with the artwork in this book. I particularly loved the panels where we see the Kaled people running in terror as the Daleks fly above them, picking them off. Also impressive is how well the art team reproduces the classic extermination effect, where we see the victim’s skeleton highlighted in a flash of light before they fall to the ground.
Also well realised are the Dalek Handmines and the general bleakness of Skaro’s surface. Visually, it feels very close to what I remember from Genesis of the Daleks, the first Dalek story of the Tom Baker era, which this story serves as something of a follow-up to, albeit from the perspective of a much earlier Doctor.
Extra kudos go to colourist Valentina Bianconi for her work on this.
Overall
This was a really enjoyable read, particularly given that it is told from the point of view of a Doctor that the Daleks are completely unaware of and, crucially, remain unaware of. Although the Fugitive Doctor does have some interactions with them, these are very limited, and she never reveals who she really is.
Also fun was the brief callback to the classic Doctor Who story Genesis of the Daleks, as the events of this story take place after that adventure. It adds a nice bit of continuity without overwhelming the story or turning it into a parade of references to the past.
9.5
Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker #2
- Covers
9.1 - Story
9.5 - Artwork
9.8 - Lettering
9.4 - Colours
9.8
Ian Cullen
Ian Cullen is the founder of scifipulse.net and has been a fan of science fiction and fantasy from birth.
In the past few years he has written for ‘Star Trek’ Magazine as well as interviewed numerous comics writers, television producers and actors for the SFP-NOW podcast at: www.scifipulseradio.com
When he is not writing for scifipulse.net Ian enjoys playing his guitar, studying music, watching movies and reading his comics.
Ian is both the founder and owner of scifipulse.net
You can contact ian at: ian@scifipulse.net
