TrekInk: The Doctor, the Captain, the Cybermen, and a double dose of the Borg

Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 concludes and Brannon Braga’s Star Trek: The Next Generation – Hive continues. This week’s fresh Star Trek comics from IDW Publishing are bad to the Borg. Previews, spoilers, and a brief rant ahead. We also have previews of both new comics

 

Review: Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 #8 (of 8)
Written by Scott and David Tipton, pencils by Gordon Purcell, painted art by J.K. Woodward, letters by Tom B. Long, editorial assists by Jacen Smith, edited by Denton J. Tipton

Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 #8 Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 #8 RI

Cover: Art by J.K. Woodward, Cover RI: Art by Andrea Di Vito with colors by Laura Villari

Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 #8 RE, Dynamic Forces

Cover RE: Art by J.K. Woodward with pencils by Gordon Purcell
NOTE: This wraparound retailer exclusive cover will be available from Dynamic Forces late January 2013

Aboard the Cybermen flagship, Worf, Any and Rory fight their way to engineering and disable the ship. Meanwhile, the Doctor, with Picard, Data, and the Conduit, head for the bridge, fighting Borg-enhanced Cybermen all the way. Riker and the Enterprise catch up with the disabled flagship, bearing a golden beam that paralyzes the Cybermen, but not the Cyber-controller. Like his predecessors, the Cyber-controller proclaims that the Doctor will die and while he’s jabbering about his victory, Data and the Conduit overpower the top bot, plug in, and restore the original Borg programming. With the collective restored, the Conduit sets the ship on self-destruct. Escaping aboard the TARDIS in the nick of time, the Conduit announces that Borg cooperation is over and resistance is futile. Worf and Rory promptly space him. The Doctor and his companions take their leave of the Enterprise, while the collective resolves to investigate and master time travel.

The Doctor’s visit with the Enterprise concludes with a bang and a touch of humor familiar to tales about Who and his companions. J.K Woodward and Gordon Purcell did a terrific job with the painted art. The story by the Tiptons nicely captures the flavor of both franchises and sustained my interest over all eight issues. I thought that would be tough to do, but I had great fun reading this mini-series. If you haven’t been reading the individual issues, a trade paperback of the first four issues has already been published and the second volume is due for publication January 2013.

Review: Star Trek: The Next Generation – Hive #3 (of 4)
Story by Brannon Braga, script by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett, art by Joe Corroney, ink assists by Matt Fillback and Shawn Fillback, colors by Hi-Fi, letters by Shawn Lee, edited by Scott Dunbier

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Hive #3 A Star Trek: The Next Generation - Hive #3 B

Cover A: Art by Joe Corroney, Cover B: Photo cover

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Hive #3 RI

Cover RI: Art by David Messina and colors by Ilaria Traversi

And now for a brief rant. I’m a bit confused by IDW’s decision to publish two Next Generation mini-series featuring the Borg, and release them more or less simultaneously. Both stories feature vaguely similar Borg behavior. The collective runs from apparently superior forces to ask Locutus and the Federation for help. Predictably, the Borg turn on the help when the time is right in both tales. I found the Doctor Who crossover entertaining in spite of the Borg. In the third issue of Hive, I’m find myself hoping that the Borg will assimilate everyone and put me out of my misery (oops, I guess they’ve already done it), but Locutus just won’t let it go, even as he dies. He gets Data to do his dirty work, killing Seven and the Queen. Now Data must go back in time to do what? I don’t know. Hive has the veneer of a typical Next Generation story, but it’s confusing to read. The folks who’ve been gnashing their teeth over the ruination of Star Trek by Doctor Who, might be able to get their blood pressure back down to normal levels reading this story, but it’s not working for me. I like the art though. Joe Corroney and David Messina are both having fun with the Borg. I’m glad someone is.

Star Trek 100-Page Spectacular, Winter 2012
Written by Marc Guggenheim, Ian Edgington, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Scott Tipton and David Tipton. Art by Andrew Currie, Moose Baumann, Wagner Reis, Priscila Ribeiro, J.K. Woodward, David Messina and Ilaria Traversi.

Star Trek 100-Page Spectacular, Winter 2012

Cover: Art by Joe Corroney

Also released this week is another bargain-priced sampler of IDW Publishing’s Star Trek comics. This issue contains Captain’s Log: Harriman, Alien Spotlight, Volume 2: Romulans, Alien Spotlight, Volume 2: Klingons and Mirror Images #1. IDW’s 100-Page Spectaculars are a nice way to introduce family or friends to Star Trek comics.

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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Looks very interesting.

First?

The dumbest Trek comic cover of all time?

The Trek/Who miniseries was very entertaining, and the art improved with every issue. The last issue is so nice looking and moves so much faster than the first few issues. Let’s hope for a sequel with the master and Q!

… referring to the Mt. Rushmore Borg one of course.

Yeah, the Mt. Rushmore cover was totally uncalled for. No need for that!

Absolutely ridiculous!

C’MON NOW!! Show some imagination, IDW.

#3
cool idea, i prey they do it

i have loved the cross over comics

That mt Rushmore Borg picture is the STUPIDEST and most embarrassing thing I’ve ever seen.

Are they running short on story lines??

This is getting Borging real fast….Star Trek’s greatest lamest villain…yawnnnnnn…

Arn’t we all tired of the Borg yet? People complain about Kahn being in possibly 2 movies and one episode. The Borg have been in how many now?

I liked the ORIGINAL concept for the Borg – a race that didn’t care at all about the people. They’re only interested in the technology. But, as with a lot of Trek stories, the writers didn’t think ahead and wrote themselves into a corner. So, they came up with assimilation. yay…

There were some interesting stories during the run of the various Treks and I loved the character Seven of Nine. Thought she brought a great dynamic to the cast. I also enjoyed the Dr Who crossover story as I’m a fan of both franchises.

But, back to the Borg – every time I see an episode with them, a specific line comes to mind that was spoken by Guinan in the first conference regarding the Borg in “Q Who” where the exchange is:

PICARD: What happened between your people and the Borg? 
GUINAN: I wasn’t there personally, but from what I’m told, they swarmed through our system. And when they left, there was little or nothing left of my people.
RIKER: Guinan, if they were that aggressive, why didn’t the Borg attack? They could have but they didn’t.
GUINAN: They don’t do that individually. It’s not their way. When they decide to come, they’re going to come in force. They don’t do anything piecemeal.”
They don’t do anything piecemeal – except every single encounter after this one…

I probably missed this, but when’s the next movie comic out? The second mirror universe issue? And after that, are they all the countdowns, or will the movie comics continue also? I seem to recall reading something about an issue telling a Scotty story?

Ok, first things first:

Star Trek: The Next Generation and Doctor Who is a good idea. Borg, not so much. I wish the continuity in the books (The Caeliar) were explored in the comics a little. Maybe adapting that awesome trilogy or something?

I felt the dialogue a little tripe at times in the series. I wrote a craptastic Star Trek/Star Trek The Next Generation story back in high school, and after reading it, I wanted to burn it. Some of the dialogue in the comic reminded me of the dialogue in my story. To be fair though, liked the series. It was good to see an official cross over, though Amy and Rory with phasers? I do not think Picard in his right mind would allow that.

As for the Hive, WTF is this? Did we not see this story once before? And are there NO OTHER villains in the Trek Universe? I have read the first three issues and am not sure about Four. The artwork and dialogue seem haphazard, and not sure it makes much sense.

I think the big difference between the two Borg issues is the Hive storyline is by Brannon Braga. Not to dogpile the guy, but he really seemed to run out of ideas with regard to Trek (and specifically the Borg) some time ago.

@12

Star Trek #16 (the second mirror universe issue) has been rescheduled for 1/2/2013

Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness #1 is scheduled for release on 1/30/2013

The ongoing series will continue alongside Countdown to Darkness

Hive #4 has been rescheduled but no firm release date yet.

15. Thanks, Mark! Cool, glad to hear they’re continuing these. I’d assumed they’d end when countdown started.

Any idea if they’re selling well?

Wait…WHAT did they do to Seven of Nine!?!

You can’t just throw out 4 years of character development in a comic book… While I am a fan of Voyager, I’m sure DS9, TNG, or even Dr. Who fans wouldn’t appreciate seeing one of their characters’ entire character development thrown out the window in a cash-in comic book. The same goes for Voyager.

What’s next? Data decides to remove all of his human-like traits and becomes a logical computer? Spock goes on a vengeful killing spree?

#17

Fairly sure the Hive comic with Seven is taking place in an alternate timeline.

So I’m guessing issue 15 of Ongoing Star Trek will be out on Wednesday?

By the way, Hive seems like some crazy dream that Braga had one night and HAD to write about. It’s almost a shame that this is his baby because it seems so disjointed and backwards as a series. I will lump this in with the many other so-so storylines from tng paperback series.

@ 15 Mark Martinez

thank you for the info, I was wondering the same thing.

I really enjoy countdow comic the last time. I guess we’ll know everything about BC’ character by 1/30/2013

good news ! :D

I’m totally gonna get HIVE in trade if only because I’ve watched literally *hours* of Brannon Braga’s Star Trek and I get the feeling this is what his “final” TNG story woulda been like so, if anything, I wanna read it for that. Have no interest in Dr. Who / TNG and there has been a distinct lack of Borg in my life for a few years so I’m fine if Braga just went completely crazy in this one.

Also, Braga revealed in Twitter that Future Guy from Enterprise was actually supposed to be Future Archer (!) so I hope if he does another IDW series, do Future Guy story.

Archer is Future Guy. Literally, my brain kinda bends at that one.

@#10 – They should feature KHAN over and over until people spell his name correctly!

K-H-A-N…not “Kahn”

Khan.

“I guess we’ll know everything about BC’ character by 1/30/2013”

I wonder if they’ll give us much. Nero’s identity (and Nero himself) didn’t seem to matter much in the last movie. But Harrison seems very, very secret.

I hope that the movie functions well without the comic. The lack of even a a single line of clearer, or just better, set-up kind of hurt Trek 09. There’s leaving things to the imagination without over-explaining, and then there’s just incredible vagueness and “huh?”

Even some line like “it doesn’t matter what happened, I failed” could have left it entirely to the imagination, instead of talking about exactly how Romulus was destroyed at all…

Instead, viewers were left with “Why the heck was one guy, an elderly Vulcan, made solely responsible for saving Romulus?” And that whole business with the supernova destroying the galaxy, which I’m still crabby and disappointed about. Keep science out entirely — rather than using wrong science (or science that sounds wrong without a few extra lines of tedious explanation). Maybe Kirk understood it fine (a starfleet cadet is likely more knowledgeable on space than I am), but it took me out of the darned movie.

Not to be a dick (which, yes, means I’m being a dick) — but I hope they pre-screen the thing for a few science or astronomy geeks. Which doesn’t guarantee anything — the experts disagree on things and recognize far more shades of grey (technically correct but incomplete, theoretically possible) than us dummies who think we know everything.

i’ve done seemingly simple science stories where the top experts totally contradict each other. it’s amazing how much is still guesswork.

@25 Yea, that ‘supernova destroying the galaxy thing was fishy… I always thought there was a lot we weren’t being told… but maybe the answer was within the past of Star Trek… remember in the Voyager episode The Q and the Grey with the Q civil war they said when Q weapons were used it created novae and supernovae throughout all of time and space? Perhaps the Hobus star exploding was one of those Q supernovae, which would explain why it acted the way it did and posed a larger threat… additionally, perhaps the Bajoran Pah-Wraiths, from their extradimensional domain, egged on the star’s supernova to pose not a much more severe destructive threat.

I get the feeling the IDW “Countdown to Darkness” series will be, like, 25% actual stuff about the movie proper (therefore Harrison will still be a mystery when the flick rolls, as opposed to Nero’s entire backstory being laid out before watching “Countdown”) and 75% of the “Countdown to Darkness” simply putting pieces into place leading up to the opening sequence set on the rogue planet that the Enterprise is on. That’s just my feeling.