Star Trek Annual 2023

I haven't been reading IDW's Star Trek. It's an all-star series that takes place sometime after the events of the last episode of Star Trek: Voyager, with Benjamin Sisko returning from his time with the Bajoran prophets. Captain Montgomery Scott has designed a revolutionary starship, the Theseus. It has a warp core that utilizes a contained neutron star and the entire computer system is a neural link-based network that runs through the entire craft.

In this 2023 annual, Mr. Scott receives a distress call from the one person he would never expect in a million years: Captain James T. Kirk! The engineer had designed a holographic fail safe to activate if ever the Theseus's computer was in danger of failing. To help Mr. Scott best address the issue, the program took the form and consciousness of Kirk and is advising him to destroy the computer core. 

Sisko believes that there is something more behind the computer's seeming deactivation protocols and advises his team to get to the ship's central CPU to isolate the problem. Suddenly, the crew is split up. They find themselves on not just different Federation ships, but in different timelines with classic and modern crew members with a dwindling timer on the ship's self-destruct.

The only series missing is Lower Decks, unless there's someone from that animated series in the background, but illustrated to look real life. A great anniversary issue. Or it would be if 2023 was an anniversary year for Star Trek. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 4

Today's feature Advent is rather intriguing. In fact, it's marketed how I think all Advent calendars should be advertised. 

The Star Trek Borg Advent calendar promises 24 days of holiday themed collectibles and accessories. But just what those items are, I couldn't tell you. That's because in every listing I have seen for this Advent calendar, the promotional pictures don't show you any of the goodies! And I say hurray for that!

Ads that show you everything you get in the assortment just ruins the Advent surprise for me. Double for the Advents that shows the entire contents on the back of the box. I like that the Borg Advent is done up as a massive black cube, just like the ships that house the Borg on various Star Trek franchises. Efficiently packaged, you have to pull one of 4 sleeves out of the Borg ship to find the correct day in order to receive your Star Trek themed prize. 

I really wish more companies would advertise their Advent calendar like manufacturer Eaglemoss has done. I'm okay with the packaging and the seller post showing an example of one item that awaits inside the box. Two tops. But to show everything laid out like the spoils of war is just too much of a party pooper for me and it puts me off buying them as much as I want them! I almost want to pay the $85 MSRP to find out what's inside. I said 'almost!'

It's taken every bit of resolve to not cheat and look up what lies in store with my Batman Advent calendar. Speaking of which, I wonder what I got today...

Twisted Toyfare Theatre, Vol. 6

I splurged on a second volume of Twisted Toyfare Theatre. This volume features an introduction from professional wrestler Rob Van Dam. I didn't realize that he was such a geek. Had I, I might have been a fan of his.

I'm noticing in this volume several names pop up. Matthew Senreich and Tom Root among others. Add Seth Green to the list and you might be saying ' Oh, yeah. These are the guys behind Robot Chicken!' That means that TTT is either the father of the Adult Swim series or it's the TV adaptation. That's really interesting considering that DC Comics actually threatened to sue Toyfare for using their characters in satirical ways for TTT but on Robot Chicken, with Cartoon Network being a Warner Bros. property, DC Comics works were skewered almost in every episode. Just goes to show that anyone is willing to have a good sense of humor if they get paid for it. 

As with all the other volumes I have read, there's just too many segments to pay adequate attention to. Daredevil takes actor Ben Affleck to court for the hero's portrayal in the Daredevil movie. Hulk and Spider-Man attend a showing of Episode II: Attack of the Clones while fans also get a chance to see what Star Trek III: The Search for Spock would have been like if it took place in the Star Wars Universe. We see deleted scenes from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and then take a tour of Cobra headquarters after dark, when everybody should be long asleep.

'The Official Handbook to the Twisted Toyfare Theatre Universe' was as usual, a delight. But those 'Slideshow' one-pagers that take screenshots of classic cartoons and rework them into skits was something that the editors should have buried long ago. I feel shame that I ever was a fan of Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors...

The main segments were great. A really neat glimpse at the genius behind Robot Chicken. But those creative forces should stick to using toys for the jokes. Riffing on classics just wasn't in their wheelhouse.

Sadly, this will probably be the last volume I'll be able to get my hands on. Volumes 8-11 are out of print. Apparently, the print run was really small as sellers are asking prices that I'd expect to pay for an Action Comics #252. Maybe I'll get lucky some day. But it will probably be a while before that happens.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

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 #2

Redjac is back! The ancient evil entity that was once the dreaded Jack the Ripper in Victorian England, has taken control of the Enterprise-D. Using Borg nano-technology, Redjac possessed a crew member and then began taking users of the Enterprise's holodecks captive. Redjac has also reprogrammed Commander Data and turned the android into a perverse version of the Frankenstein monster.

In attempt to free the hostages, Picard, Worf, Riker and Troi undergo plastic surgery to appear as the monsters Redjac has used to entrap and torment those stuck in the holodecks. The high ranking officers have also allowed Dr. Crusher to alter their brain waves to not just act but to think as the horrors they represent. This should prevent Redjac from detecting their presence. The caveat: Picard and the others only have 30 minutes to save their fellow shipmates or their brain patterns will be forever altered, resulting in permanent brain damage!

Issue #2 was much better than the opening salvo. The writing was better. The plot made a lot more sense. And the art improved. The likenesses of Riker as the wolfman and Worf as a sort of Klingon Gill Man were fantastic. Franken-Data was pretty cool too. 

I remember Redjac from one of my least favorite TOS episodes. However, in this story, Redjac refers to a past history with the Enterprise-D crew. I know that Redjac never appeared on Next Gen, as I've seen every episode. So what was the villain talking about. It turns out that this IDW story is continuing from a Wildstorm comic that pitted Redjac against Data previously on the holodecks in the middle of a Sherlock Holmes program. This also explains why Redjac has a major beef with Data.

Unfortunately, I have never read that story. Maybe I have it in my collection and don't realize it. I'll have to check.

A much better second act with improvements all around. You don't have to know of Redjac's history with the Federation. But it helps.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 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.

Looney Tunes #272

A while back when I reviewed an all-Stupor Duck issue of Looney Tunes, I closed my post asking DC for an all-Duck Dodgers issue. Well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad!

Derek Fridolfs penned an all-new Duck Dodgers epic with the semi-heroic mallard being sent on a mission to the future to find a rare element. However, the time machine has a glitch and instead of sending Dodgers to the future, it sends him to medieval times. As Duck Dodgers keeps tinkering with the faulty time machine, our hero risks changing the time line; thus potentially preventing the existence of Earth's defense forces from alien invaders!

The reprint story at the end of the book, also by Fridolfs, sees Duck Dodger's sidekick, the Eager Young Space Cadet, getting promoted. Now he's Duck Dodger's superior! Of course, our 24 and 1/2th Century hero is NOT happy about this!

Sandwiched between the two Duck Dodgers stories is a classic Looney Tunes parody of Star Trek. From 1994, this Ivan Cohen story is a riff on everyone's favorite Star Trek movie, The Wraith of Khan! Seeing your favorite Looney Tunes characters dressed in the maroon uniforms was great and I loved the flashback scene of characters in those TOS tunics. 

Okay, so we didn't get 3 stories starring Duck Dodgers. Instead, we got an all-space parody issue and I am completely okay with that! That Star Trek send-up was hilarious! I guess if DC is paying any attention to my blog, I'm going to make another wish. I want an over-sized 80 or 100 page special of nothing but all-Christmas themed Looney Tunes stories (No reprints, if possible!) If DC isn't reading my Madman rants, then I guess I can dream, right?

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: The Newspaper Comics, The Complete Comics Vol. 2: 1982-1983

When I reviewed Volume 1, I said that it was unlikely that I'd ever get my hands on the second book any time soon. Volume 2 is listed as out of print. The cheapest copy I could find was $110. That was just too rich for my blood. Then my wife made a very good point: with the book being out of production, the asking price is only going to go up and up. I happened to have about $80 in Amazon trade credit. So when deducting that from the asking price and adding tax and shipping, I only paid about $40 out of pocket, which was still $10 less than the original MSRP.

The stories of Volume 2 continue with the Enterprise on the trail of a Klingon cruiser. Kirk and crew must intercept the vessel to prevent an escalation in the war between the Federation and Klingon Empire. This leads the Enterprise crew to a planet inhabited by cyborgs with the Klingons the latest victims of the planet's Overmind super-computer conversion process. 

Other than the story being a bit long, it was rather good. Plus, I seemed to have gotten my money's worth as it appears that its addition to this book is a must have story among Star Trek fans. That's because the tale called 'Restructuring is Futile' is considered by many to be the unofficial origin of the Borg! (Though I think that the story from TokyoPop's Star Trek Manga series is a more definitive origin tale.)

There are 10 stories, making for a total of 20 comic strip stories through 2 volumes. Thomas Warkentin only pencils one story. In my mind, he's the definitive Star Trek strips artist. Ron Harris, pencils the first 3 or 4 stories. He's almost as good as Warkentin. Ron Harris uses proper shading, includes great backgrounds into the panels and does very good representations of the actors. Although, they look more like themselves from TOS and not TMP. 

Towards the end of 1982 going into 1983, the series was in decline. Not just in terms of quality but with a number of readers. Only a handful of newspapers continued to run the strip, even after the amazing success of Star Trek II: The Wraith of Khan. Yet, the artists chosen to replace Ron Harris are no Ron Harris and definitely not in the league of Thomas Warkentin. I've seen high school and college newspaper artwork better than what you see in stories 15-19. Heck, I think I could have done a better job than whoever penned (definitely not penciled) story #16! 

Okay- so the artwork diminishes. However, thanks to the addition of Gerry Conway as head writer, every story was a ton of fun. Fans of Larry Niven will want to get their paws on this book as well. Niven's most famous species, the feline Kzinti, guest-star in the story titled 'The Wristwatch Plantation' for a Star Trek/Man-Kzin War crossover! And man, am I a sucker for a crossover. 

The magic of the Star Trek newspaper strip wasn't lost from Volumes 1 to 2. The stories were far more superior to the quality of such TOS stinkers like 'The Way to Eden' and 'This Side of Paradise.' In terms of visual quality, I think the even the worst Star Trek episode was more visually appealing than those middle stories.

Bittersweet to say good-bye to these stories. Star Trek comics, covering any series, is just a type of sequential art comfort food to me. But I am glad that the series ended when it did. I don't think I could afford a Volume 3!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

They Called Us Enemy (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

I met George Takei in 1986. I was 8 and I had spent almost all day waiting to meet him and Walter Koening at a video store signing in Cary, NC. While Walter was busy being hugged and kissed by a bevy of fans, George was very nice to spend extra time talking with my dad and me. He talked about upcoming TV shows he was guest-starring in. He listened as I told him that 'The Naked Time' was one of my favorite Star Trek episodes, to which George proclaimed was one of his too. I told him how sorry I was to see the Enterprise explode (in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock) and Takei hinted that he might be behind a new console very soon. 

Then it was time to meet Walter Koening and he could not have been more distant to me. I immediately became a George Takei fan. In those nearly 40 years since, I may not have agreed with his politics, methods or style 100%. But I never lost my respect for him because he took time to respect me that day in Cary. 

In 2019, George Takei recounted the tragic affair of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II in the Top Shelf published graphic novel, They Called Us Enemy. Assisting Takei in his personal recollection of his family's 3 year plus imprisonment under the suspicion of being Imperial Japanese spies were Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott. The Takei story is essentially told from 3 perspectives: George as a young child who saw the episode as a frightful camping experience, George as a young man struggling to understand his father's ability to allow his family to be imprisoned while wanting justice for all, and George as a much older man who lived to see the American government apologize for the passing of Executive Order 9066 and later allow the actor/activist chances to talk to others about the atrocities. 

The American government has made great steps to apologize for internment. Yet it seems for every step forward, our nation takes a couple steps backward. For example, towards the end of this memoir, Takei discusses Fred Korematsu's 1944 Supreme Court lawsuit on his internment. Korematsu sued for the right to remain free of the camps and lost 6-3. Then in 2018, the Supreme Court reversed Korematsu V. United States all the while simultaneously providing 5-4 favor in the ruling of Trump Vs. Hawaii, which allowed the government to restrict Muslim immigration into the US. 

At one point in the book, Takei recounts how years later he was invited to the ancestral home of Franklin D. Roosevelt. At Springwood, Takei was invited to speak about the wrongful action of imprisonment of Japanese Americans on the 75th Anniversary of EX 9066. George Takei points out that 'only in America' can someone who was wronged by a world leader actually get to discuss the issue in the very house FDR (George's jailer!) was born and raised in! While Takei admits that America provides great freedoms unlike many countries on earth, it still has a long way to go to get things right.

The artwork was by Harmony Becker. Using black and white art with gray shading, They Called Us Enemy was drawn in the Manga style.

They Called Us Enemy was nominated for several awards, winning in both the American Book Award and Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work in 2020.

Completing this review completes Task #41 (A Memoir) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

 

Star Trek: The Newspaper Comics, The Complete Comics Vol. 1: 1979-1981

Celebrating a forgotten period of Star Trek comics. From 1979-1983, select newspapers nationwide carried the further adventures of Kirk, Spock and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew in comic strip form. Unlike the Gold Key Comics version or Marvel's short-lived run of adventures, the Star Trek comic strips are the rarest of the rare because most newspapers decided instead to run the Star Wars strip along with the continuing escapades of Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon in the funny pages.

Set immediately after the events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, this book covers the next 5-year mission, which coincidentally is being explored right now in the IDW Publishing miniseries Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Echoes. These 23rd century episodes are full of Klingons, with their new head ridges, along with many of the races introduced in the 1979 Robert Rise flick such as Arcturians, Saurians and Zaranites. But sorry Next Gen fans, not a Romulan in the bunch!

This joint IDW/Library of American Comics collaboration was published in 2012. I didn't even know this thing existed until I saw a post about this in one of the Star Trek Comics groups I am a member of on Facebook. I learned about this collection from Rich Handley, who wrote the foreword and helped with the editing, from a post. Thus, in the manner of complete transparency, I am not in any way being compensated for a review of this book. (Unless Rich follows through on the No-Prize I requested when I found an error in one of his story recaps.)

The main genius behind many of these stories is Thomas Warkentin. He provides nearly flawless older representations of the Enterprise crew. It's forgivable that Lt. Ilia appears in the first story, despite having died earlier in her lone canon appearance during The Motion Picture. The quality of the stories, the artwork and just how in character everybody is is top notch! 

After about a year, Warkentin left the strip. He was replaced by Sharman DiVino and Ron Wilson. The stories were just as good. The art was just as stunning. Only for some reason, both Spock and Kirk have been de-aged to look like their 1960s incarnations while Uhura, Scotty and the rest remain their middle aged selves. 

Both this volume and volume 2 are out of print. Amazon at least still has a few copies of this edition left at the original cover price of $49.99. As for the companion piece, it's really expensive. Not just on Amazon but everywhere that claims to have a copy. $119 and up! No joke. And no way I'm going to ever get my hands on a copy for that price, right?

If you do go searching for Volume 2, it can also get a little confusing. Eaglemoss, which is a publisher out of England, released the entire 1979-83 run of the strips in 3 volumes. They can be purchased on eBay for around 25-40 pounds. Not sure what the dollars to pounds conversion rate is. And since I already have volume 1, I'm not about to go that route. Plus, with UPS about to go on strike, I'm afraid if I order from the UK, it'll be the 23rd Century before I receive them.

A great read of long lost tales exploring the final frontier! Including a fantastic look at the ST:TMP McDonald's Happy Meal boxes that featured comic strip art by Thomas Warkentin!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Star Trek: Defiant #1 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Spinning off of IDW's 2022 Star Trek series, Star Trek: Defiant is almost like a dream team. The ship is the USS Defiant, fresh off the Dominion War that occurred in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The Captain is the Federation Klingon officer, Worf. His crew is composed of Ambassador Space, B'elanna Torres, Ensign Ro and the evil android Lore! Not to mention the numerous cameos of fan favorite characters who make the comics of the Star Trek Universe finally feel like an interconnected community.

K'ahless II, the cloned founder of the Klingon Empire, has gone rogue. Leading a group of fanatics called The Red Path, K'ahless has declared himself the one true God! His zealots in response, are killing off the other god-like creatures that occupy the universe. The Red Path's most recent murder was of the crystalline entities that Lore used to destroy the colony on Omicron Theta on an early episode of The Next Generation.

In order to prevent another war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, Worf's mission is clandestine. The Defiant has been reported stolen by Marquis separatists, with Ro Laren accused as having escaped prison and commandeered the Defiant. Worf's intentions are pure, not only as he tries to stop K'ahless from spiraling the Alpha Quadrant into a blasphemous holy war, but because Worf's son Alexander is one of the zealots of the Red Door!

Star Trek: Defiant is Eisner nominated writer Christopher Cantwell's first foray into the Star Trek franchise. Artist Angel Unzueta defects from Marvel's Star Wars books to pencil his Star Trek debut.

Familiarity with its sister series will help readers understand this opening salvo. Unfortunately, the main and variant sketch covers of this book spoil the big reveal at the end of this issue. Early reports project that Star Trek: Defiant will last 7 issues and that the events of the ongoing Star Trek will correspond with this miniseries in a 5 part crossover storyline titled 'Day of Blood.'

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #49 (Is trending on the comicbookroundup.com top 20- Ranked 4th) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Star Trek: The Key Collection, Vol. 3

Volume 3 does see some vast improvements in the artwork and coloring in terms of technical merit. The representations of actors William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and others by Alberto Giolitti continue to be second to none. Well, I take that back Nevio Zuccara, who drew several issues in Volume 1, is just as impressive on the likenesses. But things are still far from perfect on the Enterprise. 

The bridge still looks like the cockpit of the Space SHUTTLE Enterprise with everyone crowded around a tiny view screen. The phasers used by the crew are varied and futuristic. But they are not Federation issue. And while the visuals of the crew being transported is starting to look more like what you'd see on the original TV show, the transporter room looks like it is off to the corner of the main bridge, instead in another part of the ship. 

Captain Kirk finally is portrayed wearing an orange/tan looking tunic. But everybody else, including Sulu and Chekov, who makes 2 brief first appearances, are still wearing green. Bones is finally in blue. But I don't think anybody knows for sure what color tunic Scotty is supposed to wear as he's decked out in blue, green and red in different issues of this series. 

It doesn't look like Len Wein was involved in the scripts at this point. The Swamp Thing co-creator's name isn't listed in the credits at the beginning of this book. In fact, nobody is credited as to have written these stories and that's a shame because many of them were very, very good. 

A Taj Mahal in space! Space Mummies! Kirk on trial for assisting iron poachers! A war between two tribes of teens as Spock races across the galaxy to find a cure for a deadly disease! A brat becomes the leader of his planet after his father is murdered by an unknown assailant. Machine/tree hybrids run amok! All very good stories, though I also saw a couple of these stories when they were TOS episodes 'Court Martial' and 'Miri'. 

Also, I refuse to believe that Captain Kirk doesn't know what a black hole is. Granted, his ignorance was used as a plot device to help educate readers as to what this anomaly in space is. But Kirk shouldn't have been the character used for this scene. 

The space Taj Mahal story is also notable for its artwork of an all-new crew member. The Federation historian Dr. Krisp, is assigned to unravel the mystery as to why almost anyone who visits the intergalactic shrine never returns. Dr. Krisp looks amazingly like Julie Newmar (Catwoman on TV's Batman)! Not sure if Giolitti or Zuccara drew that issue, as Gold Key didn't give artist credits. But BRAVO nonetheless. 

This is my last hurrah with the Checker reprints of the Gold Key books. I've already read volumes 4 and 5. Unfortunately, the publisher went defunct after Vol. 5. That means I still need issues 43-61. IDW released 5 hardcover volumes of these books. But they only went to issue #30 and the last edition was published in 2016. So, it's going to bargain bins and affordable back issues in order to complete my read of this entire innovative series that was a constant work in progress.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: The Key Collection, Vol 2

I really enjoy reading the Gold Key Star Trek books. True, they are filled with errors, inaccuracies and glitches. But they are still amazingly creative stories that bring the original Enterprise crew back to life.

When I reviewed Volume 1, I noted that the tunics worn by Kirk and Sulu were green and not gold. While Captain Kirk did wear a ceremonial tunic that was green, that shirt is not the worn being worn by him in these books. Then I read an article on Mental Floss. 

A couple of days ago, I learned that the 3 tunics worn by the crew of the Enterprise were supposed to be the colors of red, blue and GREEN! However, due to the lighting of the sets, the green uniforms came out appearing as yellow/tan on screen. I've got some mild color blindness issues, especially with green. Thanks to that online article, I now understand why it feels like my brain was always playing tricks on me when I watched classic Trek. I always felt like when I looked at Kirk or Sulu or Chekov, I was seeing 2 colors at once and I really was!

As for some of the other errors, I don't think I can excuse them anymore. In the forward of the previous volume, the editors remarked on how many of the problem with the early Star Trek books was the fact that artist Alberto Giotlitti and Nevio Zaccara both had never watched the show. They mostly had stills from the series and props to work with in order to craft the artwork. This is why Gold Key printed Kirk's tunic as green- because it was! However, we're now covering books 9-16 and it's 1970-71. The artwork problems should be fixed by now!

The Federation phasers look more like a Klingon disruptor. Spock's ears are the size of my feet! And for some reason, Bones' tunic is green instead of medical officer baby blue. And Scotty isn't wearing his engineering reds. The bridge of the Enterprise- it looks impressive but it's not the Enterprise. The very act of transporting from ship to planet also looks really different- cool- but different. But since none of the artists ever watched the TV show, I can't fault the creative license. 

I will say that the likenesses of the main characters are second to none. By issue #16 of Marvel's Star Wars series, the art team still couldn't get Luke Skywalker to look like actor Mark Hamill. By issue #16 of this old school series, not only does Spock look like Leonard Nimoy, I'm expecting him to jump off the page. Alberto Giolitti's work is that lifelike! But not all Klingons look like French wrestler turned actor Maurice Tillet!

As for the writing, I did see a large jump in quality. Len Wein pens these stories and you can tell that he at least had watched the series. I'm not sure if he was a Trekkie as some of Spock's dialogue seems too emotional. But if you really think about it, it's hard to not be emotional. I tried to write some Vulcan appropriate dialogue in my head recently and it's darn near impossible. But everybody else sounds pretty close to their onscreen counterparts. 

This was a fun read. Quite flawed. But it was an enjoyable adventure that I wish to continue by getting my hands on the remaining 30 some odd issues that I don't own.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek Vs. Transformers (Family Comic Friday)

IDW has been doing a line of miniseries based on classic cartoon shows from the 70s and 80s. A GI JOE and a Ninja Turtles book have been huge successes. Now the publisher is gambling on a micro-series based on the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon that ran on CBS from 1983-85. I'm trying to get all of these books and I think none of those 'Saturday Morning Adventures' would have happened if not for this miniseries.

This 2018 story joins the Star Trek and Transformers franchises for the first (and so far) only time ever! Drawn in the style of the 1973-74 Star Trek Saturday morning toon and the original Transformers syndicated series from 1984-87. 

The story starts with the Enterprise intercepting a distress call from a mining colony near the Neutral Zone. Expecting to run into Klingons, Kirk finds the colony under attack by aircraft from the late 20th Century! Adding to the mystery is the massive red and blue big rig that comes out of nowhere to counterattack the out of place planes! 

Oh.... Did I mention that the truck just transformed into a big ole' freakin' robot?

This story was just amazing! It had Arak and M'Ress! Klingons! And writer John Barber and artist Philip Murphy figured out a way to make a Transformer out of the Enterprise!

This story was also kinda sad. Or bittersweet. Star Trek: The Animated Series takes place around the year 2269. That means from 1990 to 2269, the literal hundreds of Transformers whittle down to about 6 Autobots and around a dozen Decepticons. Okay, there could be more. But that's about how many Transformers are in this crossover. So, I'm to infer that a whole bunch of characters died from my cherished childhood memories to about 270 years in the future; all thanks to a needless war for power and energy.

I did love the Easter eggs peppered throughout this book. To get to see the Eugenics war and Zefram Cochran and company from Star Trek: First Contact. Though this is supposed to be a family friendly comic book story, it is a bit shocking to see one of those soldiers from World War III taking narcotics in a throwaway panel. It's a lot like those innuendos that get thrown into Disney films. The kiddoes don't get it. But it's something the adults catch on to. Same thing here. It looks like a dude is picking his nose or something. But really, he's getting high as a kite!

There's something here for the whole family. Whole generations of family. The artwork was utterly amazing. The story was action packed and full of the stuff of dreams. If I had seen Optimus Prime transform into an iconic ship from pop culture history, like the Millennium Falcon or a Cylon raider one Saturday morning, I would have spit my cereal out like an exasperated grown-up drinking coffee when they hear something incredible and then done victory laps around the living room.

I don't think I need to have Star Trek and the Transformers ever meet-up again. But I hope this isn't the end of the animated Enterprise joining forces with other animated entities from my childhood.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: New Visions #5

I've been re-cataloging my collection currently. I'm creating a back-up in case my main archive ever goes away. In this lengthy process, I am coming across some treasured items. I'm also realizing there's a lot of stuff I forgot I had, like this issue from John Bryne's photo-comic series Star Trek: New Visions. 

Taking stills from the original series along with newly created CGI-art, Bryne created a 22-issue issue series that I imagine had to have been a lot harder to create than it looks. With drawing your own comic book, your imagination can run wild. But by basing your visuals on photographs, there's only so much you can work with without being repetitive. And if you want to add action to the images though digital means, there's an even finer line you can't cross without making the changes look fake. That's the massive challenge Byrne has with this issue. 

In the story 'A Scent of Ghosts', Number One from the pilot episode 'The Cage' has returned to the Enterprise. The officer is on a short trip to her newest assignment as the commander of the USS Yorktown. Eventually, the Enterprise catches up with its sister ship. Only, the crew of the Yorktown is missing!

Kirk leads a landing party to the Yorktown. But within moments, Kirk's team begins to vanish as well, leaving only Dr. McCoy left on board to conduct the investigation! As the country space doctor checks through records, both Spock and Number One, along with Scotty, notice that the last encounter the Yorktown crew had was with a ship that the former crew members of Captain Pike are very familiar with. Only, the last time they parted ways, it was as friends. 

Scenes of Captain Pike's original interactions are peppered throughout this tribute to the most unknown first officer in Star Trek history. Considering that John Bryne only had 1 50-minute long episode of character interaction to go on with Pike's crew, I'm amazed at how well a never before revealed tale of the Enterprise was pulled off. Having most of the story set during Kirk's time as captain helped. But still, this was a feat that only a master storyteller could pull off. 

I would have liked to have seen an interaction between the two crews. That's what I thought I was getting from the cover. Alas, they just weren't the case. This omission doesn't make for a worse story. I was just disappointed. 

There's a small back-up feature set during Spock's pursuit of Kolinahr. This tale pays respect to a character whom the actress who played her had passed away just recently in real life. The stunning visuals of Vulcan reminded me of Jack Kirby's collages. Only, these were better. 

I really like this series. It always impresses me how John Byrne made these work. Hopefully, I'll one day find out his process because I am fascinated by the meticulous nature it must have took to make these books.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #15 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The disgraced Cardassian tailor Elim Garak is confronted with his past as an assassin with the Obsidian Order. While on DS9's promenade, Garak comes face-to-face with a face he supposedly killed during the days of the occupation of Bajor. Later that same day, Garak experiences a massive headache that puts him into a coma. 

Rushed to the sickbay, Dr. Bashir discovers that Garak's neural pathways are deteriorating at an accelerated rate. The space station physician has never seen a neurological disease this aggressive and he vows to find a cure. Meanwhile, Garak continues to see the woman he long thought dead before immediately experiencing more violent episodes. With Constable Odo and the rest of Deep Space Nine's security team unable to detect the presence of this living 'ghost', Garak faces his own mortality. These experiences might in fact be hallucinations brought about by a deadly brain disease of which there is no cure!

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #15 was the last issue the series based on the TV show of the same name. DS9 was a part of Marvel's second run at the Star Trek franchise. In 1996, Marvel formed an imprint in cooperation with Paramount Pictures to produce works based on the motion picture studios' catalog. While Paramount Comics did publish a few comics of franchises such as Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible film series, Star Trek was the driving force of the imprint. 

Along with the series based on Deep Space Nine, Paramount Comics also released monthlies based on The Next Generation and Voyager. Star Trek Unlimited was an anthology that featured the Enterprise-D along with adventures of the Original Series crew led by James T. Kirk. Star Trek: Early Voyages went even further back in time and covered the untold missions of the Captain Pike tenure. 

The early to mid 90s was not a safe time for comic book publisher; even one as established as Marvel. With a proven talent like Swamp Thing's Len Wein as Paramount Comics' EIC and talent like Dan Abnett and Al Williamson among the members of this modern day bullpen, the future of Star Trek comics appeared rather bright. Yet, for one reason or another, but mostly decreased sales, the imprint folded by the end of 1998. A miniseries continuing the adventures of the Deep Space Nine crew was promised on the letters page of this issue. However, it along with several other promised projects never came to be. Only Star Trek: Untold Voyages, a 5-issue miniseries focusing on the events between Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan was produced before Paramount Comics folded. The Star Trek franchise would not return to comics for another 8 years with the debut of IDW's Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Space Between.

The script to this issue was penned by Andy Mangels (Star Trek: Section 31: Rogue) with Michael Martin. Pencils by Greg Scott (Fantastic Four: Heroes Return).

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #48 (Last Issue of a Series) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Star Trek: The Manga Ultimate Edition (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

From 2006-2008, Manga publisher TokyoPop produced a trilogy of books based on the classic Star Trek TV series. Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the crew of the original Enterprise were given the Manga treatment in an assortment of stories written by classic Star Trek screenwriters and modern comic book authors. In 2009, TokyoPop was ready to release a 4th edition. Only instead of all-new material, the international publisher held an online poll in which fans voted for what already published tales they wanted to see in a giant treasury of 'Best Of' material.

Star Trek: The Manga Ultimate Edition was over 300 pages of already published material. Incentives to purchase the treasury edition was having the first 2 dozen pages of the opening story 'Side Effects' printed in full color, along with a color insert poster comprise of artwork by cover artist Michael Kelleher.

The first story gives a possible origin story to the definitive foe of the Next Generation era of Star Trek: The Borg. Given that these Manga stories are not canon, it's not an essential story that Trek fans must read. But with that chilling ending that sets up a massive reveal, 'Side Effects' was a spectacular choice to open this fan's selection of Japanese inspired Star Trek reads.

David Gerrold, the writer of the original series classic 'The Trouble With Tribbles' pens the closer. Gerrold's 'Bandi' is a sequel to 'Tribbles' in spirit when the Enterprise picks up a stowaway. During a recent survey mission, a crew-member brings with him a Bandi-Bear; a seemingly adorable creature that looks like a cross between a gummi bear and those bruins found on Grateful Dead t-shirts. A creature that thrives on emotions, when Kirk becomes adamant that no foreign animals be allowed on the Enterprise after the Tribbles incident, the Bandi begins to exhibit hostile intentions towards the crew.

Another story of note was 'Art of War'. That tale was scripted by Wesley Crusher himself- Wil Wheaton! Told from the joint perspective of the court-martials of both Captain Kirk and his Klingon counterpart, this story hints at the eventual peace between the Federation and Klingon Empire. 

Aside from a 2009 volume of material based on Star Trek: The Next Generation (of which a 28-page preview is included in this book), no further Manga works based on the CBS franchise have ever been released by TokyoPop. IDW Publishing has definitely taken over the reins of Star Trek related comics. Meanwhile, TokyoPop has focused on works owned by Disney along with traditional Japanese titles and American inspired Manga works.

Note: If you buy this book on Amazon- BEWARE! Amazon claims that the Ultimate Edition 'Collects the original Star Trek manga trilogy'. That's just not true. This volume is a collection of fan favorites. If you were to buy all 3 volumes, they would equal almost 700 pages. This treasury is 342 pages (28 of which is TNG previews). So you miss out on over half of the available material out there devoted to the classic Star Trek TV series if you decide to purchase this work instead of the 'trilogy'. I made such a mistake and now I am having buyers remorse despite being such a fan of these stories.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars because I really want to read those missing stories!

Completing this review completes Task #14 (A Manga Work) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Star Trek 400th issue

This oversized special marks the 400th total issue based on the Star Trek Universe to be produced by IDW Publishing. In a year that will mark the end of several big name franchises being published by IDW, it doesn't look like Star Trek is going anywhere.

This issue features stories and artwork from just about every sector on the Star Trek Universe. The original series is represented as is the Kelvin timeline. There's a story starring Miles O'Brien that dives into the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and a brief period of time when the Enterprise C was still functioning. We visit Jean-Luc in his after years with a special appearance by a character that I thought was in one place but has returned to another role. (Look, I don't wanna spoil it, okay?) Even the crew of the Lower Decks are represented. Yet once again- NO Star Trek Enterprise! 

Is it too much to ask for a series, let alone just a single 8-page story starring Captain Archer and his crew? I've looked around and around and I just can't find proof that there's ever been a series featuring the Enterprise NX-01. And why is that? Will Scott Bakula not give permission to use his image in a comic? I think that is unlikely as he didn't seem to have any issue with a Quantum Leap comic in the early 90s. Plus, I don't think any of the other characters are big enough stars to merit derailing such a book from getting the greenlight. So why is this series considered to be the crazy uncle nobody thinks about except at Thanksgiving?

Star Trek: Discovery is also covered in this book. But the story is a mystery to me. It stars a character named Kayla Detmer. So far, so good. She's crashed landed on a planet with a Klingon. Again, I'm good. But both Kayla and the Klingon are flying miniature versions of the Discovery and something called a Cleave ship. And why is that? Is it like a shuttle craft? I've seen variant covers of other Discovery characters flying tiny versions of the experimental starship and I don't understand why. If anyone could solve this mystery for me, I'd greatly appreciate it. 

This issue wraps up with a sneak peak at a new series that promises to look ahead to the future. Simply titled Star Trek, this new series explores 2 things I've greatly been looking forward to- the resurrection of Mr. Data and the return of Benjamin Sisko! I'll have to wait just a little bit longer. With a $4.99 per issue price tag, I will wait for the trade. But I will read this! PROMISE!

A good representation of the Star Trek Universe. Not great as it's not a complete representation of the franchise. Plus, there's not a single blurb of thanks or gratitude to creator Gene Roddenberry. Though the late Nichelle Nicols, who passed earlier last year, is given a single page tribute. And there's the fact that I didn't understand all the aspects of the stories based on the newer properties. But that's okay. I'm looking forward to the continuing voyages that IDW has in store for the future.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The 25 Baubles of Pop Culture! Advent 2022 Day 12

Today's Advent is boldly going where no holiday countdown has gone before- it's a look at the Christmas ornaments from the extremely popular sci-fi franchise, Star Trek.

While Star Wars beats the pants off of Star Trek in terms of quantity of ornaments sold by Hallmark, it's the latter franchise that predates the world of George Lucas. The first Star Trek ornament produced by Hallmark was released in 1992. It is a magic ornament representing the Shuttlecraft Galileo from the original series. When plugged into the Christmas lights on the tree, Trekkies could push a hidden button and hear a special holiday message from Mr. Spock himself! Yes, Hallmark managed to get Leonard Nimoy to record a voice-over. They must have paid him a buttload of cash to do it!

Two of my favorite ornaments produced from Hallmark are of a pair of obscure characters. The tri-armed Lt. Arex and feline Lt. M'ress were characters on the short-lived NBC Saturday morning cartoon version based on the original series. Producers wanted to include more alien characters onto the cartoon to make it more visually appealing to kids. This meant that Nichelle Nichols' Uhura, George Takei's Sulu and Walter Koening's Chekov were to be cut from the show. Seeing that both of Star Trek's ethnic characters weren't going to be a part of the cartoon, Leonard Nimoy went on strike. A deal was made and Uhura and Sulu were kept on the crew with M'ress trading duty of coms with Uhura. Arex slid over to Chekov's seat and Mr. Sulu remained as the helmsman. Don't feel too bad for Walter Koening, he was involved on the show in production as a script writer and story consultant.

Anyways, Arex and M'Ress were really awesome characters. Thus, I want to share this pair of 2018 Comic Con exclusives, which due to their limited release are currently valued at $160 for the set.

You can't talk about Star Trek ornaments from Hallmark without mentioning this piece from 2015. Consistently ranked as one of the strangest and most awkward ornaments in holiday history. This ornament depicts the death of Mr. Spock at the conclusion of Star Trek II: The Wraith of Khan. A great moment in sci-fi movie history. But a kinda weird choice for something to hang on your tree what with Spock's skin all burnt and peeling off...

From the DIY department, I bring you this crafty idea. Take your favorite photo of Captain Kirk from the original series, laminate it and stick it inside a plastic globe. Then add several miniature pom poms, preferably of earth tones (IRONIC!). Boom! Instant recreation of the penultimate scene from 'The Trouble With Tribbles!'

Lastly, let's look at the craft made realm of Star Trek decorations for sale on the internet. I chose this pair devoted to Star Trek: The Next Generation's Captain Jean-Luc Picard. First from a seller on Etsy is this laminated print of the good Captain wearing a Santa Cap and  getting ready to pronounce his trademark phrase 'Make It So.' To go with that is this wooden ornament found on Geekxgirls.com. It's a wooden ornament that makes a holiday pun of Picard's famous phrase by instead proclaiming 'Make It Snow.' HA! I love it!