TrekInk: Review of Star Trek: Spock – Reflections #4

saavikThe fourth and concluding issue of Star Trek: Spock – Reflections arrived in comic shops this past week. We learn Spock’s purpose for returning to Earth and receive one more lesson from his past, about Vulcans, humans, loyalty and logic. Find out how it all works out in our review below.

 

Review: Spock – Reflections #4

After programming the navicomputer of his transport with a route to Earth that bypasses Starfleet patrols and listening posts, Spock reflects on what it means to be a Vulcan. Lt. Saavik is on the bridge of the Kobayashi Maru. She gives orders to dump the warp core and seven crew members die, prompting a dressing down from a shipmate. Later on she confides her bewilderment to Spock. He reminds her that not everything is a matter of logic. After transporting to Earth’s surface, the cargo he brought home, for the most illogical of reasons, is transported beneath the surface, and Spock is surprised by a visit from a friend, before returning to Romulus to resume his work.

learn
… nor is it about the smell!

Using a very subtle approach, Scott Tipton and David Tipton finally tell us why Spock has traveled to Earth after his brief visit to Veridian III. Along the way, they present one more of Spock’s reflections on the past, touching on the lessons he taught Saavik about working with humans, self-sacrifice, and loyalty. These are the roots of his own illogical voyage to Earth. I like the way this story arc concludes. No phasers or quantum torpedoes. No funny-looking aliens. Just two old friends saying goodbye. I tip my hat to the Tiptons. This mini-series provided one of the most thoughtful and compelling views of Star Trek ever to appear in comics. Nicely done.

home
Home, sweet home.

As in previous issues in this series, David Messina created the layouts and Federica Manfredi did finish work. Manfredi and Arianna Florean inked this issue. Coloring was done by Ilaria Traversi with assists by Chiara Cinabro. Florean and Cinabro are part of 2B Studio. Together, all these folks created a terrific background for Spock’s visit to Earth, Saavik’s awkward encounter with human anger, events from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and a conversation with the Captain of the Enterprise. Spock’s wrinkles never looked so good. Saavik looks good too. Another job nicely done.

In a minor miracle of modern comics publishing and collecting, no gasoline or bandwidth was consumed in search of a retailer incentive cover. Spock – Reflections #4 has only one cover, drawn by Messina, featuring an elderly Spock as seen in Star Trek (2009). I guess this means I can splurge and purchase a copy of the hardcover edition of Star Trek: Countdown, which was also published this past week.


Cover: David Messina

If you can’t find Star Trek: Spock – Reflections #4 on the shelf at your local comic ship, you can order a copy online at TFAW.

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$3.59
backorder
(July)

$3.59
backorder
(August)

$3.59
(September)

$3.59
(October)

The trade paperback collecting this mini-series will be out in January and can be pre-ordered from Amazon. If you missed out on Star Trek: Countdown, the hardcover edition is available now.

 

 

 

Mark Martinez is an obsessive-compulsive Star Trek comics reader and collector. You can visit his website, the Star Trek Comics Checklist for more than you ever needed to know about Star Trek comics.

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Sounds like an interesting read. I’d never read Trek comics before Countdown, which I had mixed feelings about, but I’ll definitely read Reflections if I get the chance.

Any chance of an iPhone download?

is there an incentive cover?

I still mean to be reading this, but boy I’ve got to start. These really look good and it looks like it just keeps getting better.

It seems Comic books may never die, and Star Trek’s popularity in the Comic World sure seems to be helping make that obvious observation remain true. And it seems that they all owe a bebt of thanks to JJ Abrams for benifiting their profession.

I need to get the nero comic books and spocks

We need this for iPhone!!!

This was a beautiful mini series. I highly recommend it. Good respectful treatment of the characters in both story and artwork. It’s impressive that a story spanning Spock’s life manages to make so many significant characters (Sarek, Pine, Kirk, McCoy, Picard) play true.

The wormhole transporter bordered on goofy, but that’s my only nitpick. And honestly it’s no worse than the animated episodes.

TO: #7) The Bear, if you want Star Trek comics for your iPhone go to Google and enter this for a search

“Star Trek” comics iPhone

It comes up with 1.3 million hits.

If that’s to hard for you try this Link

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=off&num=100&newwindow=1&ei=eAfcSr2xEKOsjAfV7djdCA&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&ved=0CAgQBSgA&q=%22Star+Trek%22+comics+iPhone&spell=1&fp=92ba666181073553

If it’s on the Web Google can find it, that is unless you’re searching for how to have the government make sense. Currently that’s illogical and impossible and could crash the Google search system. Even with their 100K+ search engine computers. Note that may not be CPUs Search Engine tasks on Multi shearing computer systems. Then again multi core CPU’s may make it possible.

#8) Rainbucket what would make a Wormhole Transporter hokier than a real one?

If you watched Voyager ideas like this has been used to transport the Holodoctor to distant places. If it be a carrier beam needs to get from A to B to send information to reasemble the energy into matter. And sub space radio travels through wormholes why can not a transporter beam.

Who knows a transporter beam carrier beam could be holding a holographic image of how space is to be organized for matter to be re-assembled from the energy beam when it gets there., How would early 21st Century Science know, we can at this point only transfer the polarity and rotational direction and speed of a single sub-atomic electron around 27 feet. But some thing that simple is far better than smoke signals, but far smaller than ever doing a Human, or someones pet beagle.

But some 200 years ago we really did not know there was Atoms let alone sub atomic particles, or a quark ment more that a plug for a bottle.

These IDW Trek comics have set new standards in Star Trek comicbooks.

Was a very nicely done series. Read no. 4 over the weekend. Captures the spirit nicely.

Hope to see more like these from IDW. Doug L.

Would someone please be so kind as to spoil it for me?

digianswrs@y@@@@.com

My copy just arrived and I just read it. What an amazing series. The creators should be proud. I hope they give us more such stories.