Star Trek: Holo-Ween #4

The first ever 4-issue Star Trek Halloween miniseries comes to a close. As you can see from the cover, Commander Scott is our mystery character from the last issue. Fitting, since Scotty was the main character in TOS episode 'Wolf in the Fold', which introduced the character of Redjac.

Speaking of blasts from the past, the obscure, but oh so important Next Gen villain Redjac brings back from the dead was killer!

The whole concept of this tale being set around Halloween seems all but forgotten until the last page. I understand that by having Picard and other members of the crew being altered to look and act like monsters of Earth lore was meant to be a tie-in to the holiday. But I say that unless it was Redjac turning them into monsters, that spooky seasonal element is diminished by having the crew members be transformed with their consent. 

Honestly, I think it would have worked better if Q was involved. 

This last issue was okay. Issue #3 was much more thrilling. This closing chapter was kinda ho-hum. Not very much suspense and the meeting between Scott and Redjac was downplayed. In fact, the assault Redjac carries out on Scotty on the cover doesn't even happen in this issue!

I'm glad to see Mr. Scott get closure on the Redjac affair. Lots of issues from DC and IDW reflect how much the whole episode traumatized the engineer. But the dish of revenge Scott serves against the entity is luke-warm at best. 

The art seemed to have gotten back to the baseline level of quality. Maybe Joe Eisma was just under a tight deadline with issue #3. Chris Sequeira's storytelling slumped. The ending could have been more exciting. But I think the limit to how much you could do with Redjac has been reached. 

I'm definitely hoping for another weekly Halloween story from IDW. I just hope we'll get something different. Another realm of the Star Trek universe would be fine. Staying away from Redjac would be perfect. Ideally, I'd like to see some other franchise get the Halloween debut treatment.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: Holo-Ween #1

For the first time ever, the Star Trek franchise has a Halloween special. Over the past 50 years, many episodes hasve had creepy elements to them and there might have been an issue or two of a Star Trek comic set during Halloween. But there's never been a book directly tied to the chilling autumn holiday... until now! 

Taking place aboard the Enterprise-D, Star Trek: Holo-Ween is a weekly 4-issue miniseries. After a harrowing trip though a solar storm, the nerves of the Enterprise crew are shot. Electrical systems are going haywire and the ship itself took quite a beating. Sensing the tension of the crew, Counselor Troi plans to help all aboard to release some of that steam with an inter-species celebration of Halloween.

Before Troi can put on the festival, members of the crew and their their families begin disappearing. The site of the disappearances is in the proximity of the holodecks. Commander Data heads down to deck nine in hopes that the disappearances are just the result of yet another mechanical malfunction brought upon those solar disturbances. Unfortunately, the answer is even more sinister when Data comes face-to-face with an ancient evil that has infected itself with Borg technology!

IDW Publishing used to do an annual weekly miniseries in honor of Halloween. Those titles were called Tales From Vader's Castle and set in the Star Wars universe. It was a neat way to celebrate Halloween in a franchise that doesn't have Halloween. I'm glad to see that after losing the rights to Star Wars, IDW continues their weekly Halloween story tradition here with Star Trek. It's a tradition that I want to see more of next year and further down the road. Only I hope that the publisher either focuses on other elements of the Star Trek universe, like Deep Space Nine or Voyager. Or even better, utilize properties such as My Little Pony, Ninja Turtles or bring in a new franchise that has never received the Halloween comic treatment. Above all, I just want some variety.

This opening chapter was rough. The syntax was all wrong. None of the characters read like themselves. And there were a lot of rough chops to the dialogue. Apparently everyone was in such shock from the solar storms, nobody could really complete a thought, much less a sentence. Writer Chris Sequeira is from Australia. Maybe that has something to do with it because I did think some words were misspelled. Maybe they're just written in Australian slang.

Some fans have really criticized the art. Not just of this story but all the Trek books by IDW. I didn't think Joe Eisma's work was all that bad. It's minimalist, for sure. And okay, not every panel of iconic Star Trek characters looks photo-realistic. But if I was to have to rate between the writing and the art, of which one was worse, I'd have to say that some serious TLC needs to be applied to the script. 

I love the cover and it's variant. The main cover by Francesco Francavilla is killer!

A okay start that could've been much better.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Death of Nancy Drew #1

The idealistic storybook lives of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys is over. Brothers Joe and Frank are at odds with each other. Their father was killed by a dirty cop. Nancy's father turned state's evidence and lost his law license. The town of River Heights is in serious economic peril if the new company from China bypasses them for another burg. But this is nothing compared to the death of one Nancy Drew, female super-sleuth!

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Death of Nancy Drew #1
Written by Anthony Del Col
Art by Joe Eisma
Published by Dynamite Entertainment
Rating: Teen Plus
Retail: $3.99

The Death of Nancy Drew is a sequel to Anthony Del Col's previous Dynamite team-up of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. Following up from 2017's The Big Lie, things definitely went from bad to worse. And as Joe Hardy investigates Nancy's mysterious death, the teen detective begins a slow spiral into paranoia for he's convinced that the accident was no accident!

The artwork in this series is covered by Joe Eisma. The Morning Glories artist goes full noir in this series, thanks in very large part to colorist Salvatore Aiala.

Fans of gritty reboots like Riverdale, or even the new Nancy Drew series on TheCW, will love this new mystery series from Dynamite Entertainment. Writer Anthony Del Col (Kill Shakespeare) has already riled up fans of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys by killing off one of the most beloved characters in teen fiction. In this first issue alone, not only is Nancy Drew no more and the Hardy Boys are no longer a team but other characters from young adult novels are seeing their lives upended.

For example, the Bobbsey Twins, whom I didn't know were even affiliated with Nancy, Joe or Frank, find themselves facing poverty after their father loses his business due to some questionable practices. Whose next on Anthony Del Col's hit list; The Box-Car Children? Encyclopedia Brown? It's seems like nobody from our childhood who solved mysteries is safe!

Speaking of childhoods, this is a teen and older rated series. This a quantum leap from those original chapter novels first published in the 1940s and 50s. This is a Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mystery is that is little bit more grown-up.

This series is dropping at the perfect time. A new release in the second wave since comics returned, those of us who have been closed up inside their homes for nearly 2 months will have a chance to exercise our brains in this intriguing mystery. This new miniseries will make you ponder. Everything you thought you know about the teen mystery sleuths of your youth is wrong!

Can you solve the mystery before it's too late?

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Death of Nancy Drew #1 will debut in print on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.