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 #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.

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.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Annual #6 (Covergence, Part II)

 Mister Spock and Data awake to find themselves pulled out of the timeline. Seeking a way to escape, the pair come across other time-stranded prisoners, including a Nausicaan, a Romulan statesman from pre-Federation time, and Captain John Harriman!
    Meanwhile, back in their perspective times, the crews of the Enterprise-A and D things aren't quite as they seem. The Devidians have manage to alter the timeline but it's still in flux. Both crews are able to determine where their missing crew mates are and converge on a joint rescue mission in order to rescue them and put time back in it's correct place. Only, since the two crews are in different time periods, they operate slightly out of sync with each other. 
    It's the ultimate team-up of Star Trek Universes that isn't a team-up. Featuring a slew of cameos, guest-stars, and Easter eggs- it could only be done via a comic book!
    If you love Star Trek, even in the slightest- you have to read this one: even if you aren't a reader of comic books!
    Essential Stuff!

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: Annual #6 (Convergence, Part I)

 Gary Seven appears on the Enterprise-A only to be murdered by a mysterious foe. Plus, Spock has been kidnapped! In Seven's stead is a woman named Isis, that claims to a fellow time agent of the Aegis. She claims that a race of aliens called Devidians are trying to alter the time line so that the Federation will fall to the Romulans!
   Meanwhile, in the 24th Century, the crew of the Enterprise-D are attacked again by the Devidians, where in their latest assault, they kidnap Mr. Data. 
     It's a two-part crossover that involves characters not just from the original series and the Next Generation but the movies and even fan fiction! Written by novelists Michael Jan Friedman and Howard Weinstein, it's an ultimate Star Trek lovers dream! Featuring a beautifully painted interconnecting cover, this was the first half of one of the best Star Trek stories that I have ever come across and I'm counting all of the series and films combined!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating:10 out of 10 stars.

Star Blecch: Generation Gap #1

  

    A dollar comic? Yes, please!
    A Star Trek comic? Absolutely!
    A Star Trek parody comic? Shut the front door! I'm all in!!!

   Star Blecch: Generation Gap is a collection of stories that skewer every facet of the Star Trek from the original series to Deep Space Nine- and everything in between.

    The title story, based on the Star Trek: Generations film that introduced Captains Kirk and Picard to each other, was the worst story. When I first started reading this, I wondered why it kept jumping all over the place. I finally realized that this story was set-up like a MAD Magazine parody in which it's more about roasting the conventional norms than trying to tell a cohesive story. Thankfully, that's not the case with the rest of the book.

    My favorite story was the Deep Space Nine adventure. Maybe I was a little biased as DS9 is my favorite of the Trek shows. But it really was the cream of the crop.

   Trek Teens, a yarn in which the crew of the Enterprise is portrayed as 50s high schoolers and Trek Babies which combines the original series with the classic 80s cartoon Muppet Babies, rounded out the top three. 

   The oddest thing about this issue is how it was packaged. You'd think that this was a collection of all new material. Well, it's not. Except for the Generations feature, the rest of the book is comprised of parodies reprinted from other Parody Press offerings. In the back is a reprinting of all the covers of the other PP Trek spoofs. Since I was pleased with a majority of this comic, I figured I would add those books to my wish list.

    Well, my curiosity got the best of me and I'm glad it did. I went online prior to this review and discovered that most of the Trek material found in all of those books are comprised in this volume. Only the DS9 parody, Deep Space Diner seems to have more original Trek material within. (Thank you, mycomicshop.com for coming to the rescue and helping me save some cash on this!)

   Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Enemy Unseen

This Wildstorm Comics collection is devoted to the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series as well as the theme of unknown adversaries. This volume contains 2 mini-series and a special. They range from the last season of the series up to right around Star Trek: Insurrection.

In Perchance to Dream, the Enterprise-D is called to perform security duties for a newly elected governor of a distant planet. When the official’s sexual orientation is called into question, it’s up to Worf and his security team to fend off scores of would be assassins. But it’s up to Capt. Picard and some blasts from his past to save the day when the Enterprise is attacked by a virus that causes violent delusions.

In Embrace the Wolf, the original series (and even the DC Comics from the 80s) are paid tribute with the return of Redjac (or is it Redjack? I’ve seen it both ways.) The spirit of Jack the Ripper has its sights on destroying this new Enterprise if then inhabitants of the planet below don’t nuke it first. Only an adventure with Data resuming the role of Sherlock Holmes in the holodeck will save the Enterprise from sure destruction.

Lastly, in the Killing Shadows, Picard, Data, and the half-Romulan Sela are trapped on a planet of intergalactic ninjas. With ninja infiltrating the Enterprise-E, can Commander Riker and Troi unlock the secrets of this deadly clan before the away team’s time is up?

All three stories were very good. But what surprised me was that I liked the Redjac story best! Wolf in the Fold is my all-time least favorite Original Star Trek episode. The DC story was a stinker as well. But this tale was awesome! I’d read it again.

Perchance to Dream wasn’t half bad. It’s a thriller with a moral and it’s classic Gene Roddenberry. It starts a little slow but left me wishing it wouldn’t end for at least another 50 pages.

Killing Shadows started really good and then just got weird. There’s something called “The Void” that motivates these ninjas who look human one minute and alien the next. I couldn’t tell what the void was any more than could I tell if the art was inconsistent or supposed to look that way.

Overall, this is a really good collection of tales that are a must for fans of Trek.

Worth Consuming

Rating:
Perchance to Dream: 9 out of 10 stars
Embrace the Wolf : 10 out of 10 stars
The Killing Shadows: 7 out of 10 stars

Overall rating: 8.667

Reading Rainbow- the Free Comic Book Day Edition

"Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Gorn Crisis"

On Deep Space Nine, the Federation went to full scale war with the J’emm Hadar. But, during this multi-episode war, the Enterprise never popped up. So, what happened???

This graphic novel seeks to answer that question by having the Enterprise E crew seeking out the assistance of the Gorn in the epic war occurring at DS9. However, some Gorn feel that the race has gotten weak and is seeking revenge for the damage Kirk did to the Lizard race’s reputation (and manhood) during the classic episode “Arena.”

There’s lots of threads to this storyline that incorporates at least 3 different Trek series. The art and re-design of the Gorn is very good. The likenesses of the Enterprise crew is questionable.

Overall, a very good story and a thrill-a-minute read!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.