Star Trek: Holo-Ween #3

In my review of issue #2, I mentioned that this Halloween set comic is a sequel to an earlier story published by Wildstorm. I had also declared that I had never read that story before and I would need to check my collection to see if I have that issue or not. Well, it turns out that not only do I have a copy of it (as part of a trade collection), but I've read it too! 

Boy, am I dumb. Or man, I have just read so many comic books over the years that I'm starting to forget some of the stuff I read. Or both! That's one reason I do this blog; to help me keep up with my readings as a sort of journal. It's from looking through my archives that I discovered that I have read that previous encounter with Redjac... and I liked it! (Though I probably should read it again to help like this 4-parter a little more.)

Issue #3 sees Picard, Riker, Worf and Troi altered both physically and mentally as monsters to intercept the hostages being held by Redjac on the Enterprise holodecks. They'll need to hurry as they've only got minutes to spare before the mind-changing process results in irreversible brain damage. Meanwhile, with the entire starship on lock-down, a blast from the past manages to beam aboard ship and offers some expertise on dealing with the evil entity.

The story got better while the art got worse. There's a couple of scenes where I swear Joe Eisma just kinda phoned it in. Some pages are full of elaborate details. Then there's one panel where instead of Worf looking like a Gill Man, Eisma kinda just finishes the back of his head and torso to resemble a T-rex. And I'm talking purple dinosaur version, not one from Jurassic Park!

The identity of the mystery character was spoiled already by their appearance on the last issue cover. That's what I get for waiting for all 4 issues to come out before I read the whole thing. Can't blame IDW for that. But why did the editing team not say something to the diminishing quality of the artwork? Were they too busy keeping the story itself up to par? Or could it be, as suggested by other Star Trek comics fans, that the editing team is so small that they can't devote enough quality time to the glut of Star Trek books being published at this day and time?

I hate seeing IDW in such dire economical straits. But if they don't fix things soon, the publishers won't be in business as those naysayers are some really nasty vocal talking heads and those so-called fans would much rather see IDW fail that rise from the ashes like a mighty phoenix.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.