TrekInk: Review – Mirror Images #4 & #5 + New TokyoPop Covers

TrekInk is back and catching up. Today we take a look at the final two issues IDW’s "Mirror Images" series. Of course we know how the Mirror stories end, but how do we get there? Who dies and who lives? Oh wait… we know that too. Still, in this case, it’s the journey, not the destination. Plus we have a look at new covers for upcoming TokyoPop Trek Mangas.

REVIEW: Mirror Images #4 & #5
Mirror Mirror on the wall, who’s the deadest of them all?

As the Tipton brothers bring their Mirror Universe story to a close in the last two issues of the Mirror Images mini-series from IDW, we jump back to the main timeline, away from the Picard story told in the prior issue, and start off with Kirk demanding to know why it’s taking Scotty so long to install the device that he got from the Orions in the last installment of the story. Scott gives his usual response from the regular show, but Kirk reminds us of his differing origins by telling him that he doesn’t want any excuses.

Feeling that his time might be coming to a swift end unless he acts appropriately, Pike gets a communiqué from command and it’s the perfect opportunity for him to send Kirk on a suicide mission, thus rid himself of the big threat. The mission has Kirk on an icy planet investigating the ruins of a wrecked Klingon vessel. The story is told quickly, without many detours or chances to stop and think, and there are, unlike the other issues, surprisingly few unexpected twists and turns, making this the most straightforward of the stories.

If all else fails, stand around in silhouette with cool poses… (click to enlarge)

The final issue in the series picks up where the fourth left off, showing the fall out from the events on the ice planet. This issue is, like the last, a more or less straightforward romp through to the ending. Along the way, it features torture in the agony booth, the first use of the tantalus field, some hand to hand combat, and an assassination – just as foretold in the original episode. The story moves along quickly until the middle of the book, and the rest of the issue covers the climax of the series, but does not feel too prolonged or drawn out.

I’ve noticed that whenever the bad guys say something like this in a B-movie, it doesn’t go well for them… (click to enlarge)

David Messina continues to do the art for the series, just like the first three issues, but Ilaria Traversi only supervises the colors this time around with Giovanna Niro with standing in for color duty instead. To be honest, I didn’t even really notice a change in the colorist, as the moods stick true to the earlier books, and the color schemes are pretty much the same. Like the past issues, the scenes are shrouded in shadow with harsh lighting when lit up. Once the crew gets outside onto the ice planet, the colors jump off the pages, showing a strong contrast to the interiors seen earlier.

Didn’t his mother ever teach him that it was impolite to spy on people?
(click to enlarge)

The last two issues may not have been quite as sharp or exciting as the first three in terms of plot twists or unexpected happenings, but we still get to where we want to be in time for the lead-in to the original series episode in style. The pacing for the series as a whole fit the format very well, and the only major disappointment for me is that it should have been four issues, skipping the “flash forward” to the Next Generation segment in issue 3. Fortunately, that story is not integral to the rest of the series, and can be skipped when the trade paperback is released in February.

MI #4 & #5 covers (click to enlarge)

Overall IDW’s "Mirror Images" was a good series and better than the Tipton’s prior “Intelligence Gathering” series, but their “Klingons: Blood Will Tell” still stands as one of the best complete series in the new Trek comics from IDW.

Pick up Mirror Images series now
Star Trek Mirror Images #4 & #5 are in comic shops now. You can also buy issues directly from TrekMovie’s Comics Associate Thing From Another World and also pre-order the Trade paperback

NEW TOKYOPOP COVERS

TokyoPop has released the cover for their first TNG Manga. "Star Trek: The Next Generation Volume 1" comes out next April and features a number of TNG era stories, including one by "Trouble With Tribbles" writer David Gerrold.

[Available for pre-order at Amazon for $8.79]

TP has also released the cover for their upcoming TOS Manga Omnibus, which combines their three previously released TOS Manga books into a "Star Trek Ultimate Edition." The Ultimate Edition will include exclusive bonus pages and one of the stories will be presented in color, a first for the Star Trek mangas. Here is the new cover.

[Available for pre-order at Amazon for $13.59]

MORE TREKINK COMING UP

Before the year is out, TrekInk will have reviews of the first two issues of IDW’s "The Last Generation" and also a full preview of IDW’s plans for 2009, including new covers and an interview with IDW editor Andy Schmidt, so stay tuned.