Kirk And Crew Get ‘Prime-Directed’ In Star Trek Boldly Go #6 – Review and 5-Page Preview

A new scientific discovery threatens the lives of Kirk and company.

Review: Star Trek Boldly Go #6
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Written by: Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott with art by Chris Mooneyham and colors by J.D. Mettler

This is the second one-shot in a row before April’s three-part “Murder at Babel”, with a story taking place in the aftermath of the first Kelvinverse encounter with the Borg. Spock and Uhura are back on New Vulcan, Sulu is the new first officer of the U.S.S. Endeavour, and Commander Valas is still in Romulan custody.

Star Trek Boldly Go #6 cover – art by George Caltsoudas

The science lesson begins early as the Endeavour encounters what appears to be a hypothetical white hole, where instead of matter and energy getting sucked in, it pushes out, allowing nothing to get inside. This sent me spiraling into a proverbial black hole of Hawking Radiation as it relates to white holes and how wormholes are created. But I digress.

If this is indeed the first white hole ever encountered, it would be a monumental discovery for the Federation. Intrigued, Kirk orders a probe to investigate. Much like the tachyon pulse in “All Good Things…” the probe does more harm than good, causing the white hole to expand, wreaking havoc. Fortunately, a pair of inter-dimensional beings impersonating Starfleet officers (Lt. Hila and Lt. Murcia), manage to rescue the ship. Their benevolent mission was to observe humans and obey their species’ laws of non-interference (that sounds familiar) until they needed to step in.

Holy white hole, Batman

What’s refreshing is that for the first time in a long time, we are treated to a grounded story that captures the essence of pure Star Trek – exploration and discovery. There’s no threat of intergalactic war with the Klingons and Earth isn’t (yet again) in danger of being destroyed. Mike Johnson is a fantastic storyteller on his own, but hopefully, with the addition of Ryan Parrott (“Star Trek: Manifest Destiny”) to the writing team, we’ll see more character-driven stories like these. Kirk says it best, “…that the urge to learn, the urge to understand crosses all boundaries and unites us all.”

We’ve also stepped away from the spot-on artwork of Tony Shasteen to Trek newcomer Chris Mooneyham. His style is grittier and refreshingly reminiscent of Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns.” It’s different than what we’re used to, but manages to capture the fantastical nature of the story. I love it and it gives the comics a much-needed jolt.

Kirk clearly has some trust issues

If I may be critical: when are we going to get a name for Sulu’s husband? As close as they seem to be, the least Kirk could do is learn the names of his first officer’s husband and daughter. The Star Trek expanded universe has already given us Hikaru (“The Entropy Effect“) and Nyota, so why can’t Johnson and Parrott take this one and run with it? And while they’re at it, can they explain why Captain Terrell’s (aka Kelvinverse Locutus) first name is Craig and not Clark?

You say, Craig, I say Clark. Potato, potato

As an added bonus, we get treated to a very clever paper doll-like alternative Scotty cover. The answer is yes – I already cut mine out. .

Retailer Incentive Cover B – Art by Marc Laming Colors by Mark Roberts

5-Page Preview: Star Trek Boldly Go #6

Click thumbnails to enlarge

Available Wednesday, plus More Upcoming IDW Star Trek Comics Releases

Star Trek Boldly Go #6 arrives in comic book stores on Wednesday March 29nd and retails for $3.99. You can also pre-order it online from Amazon.

The trade paperback collection of Star Trek: Boldly Go (volume 1, collection issues #1-#6) will be released on July 25th for a retail price of $19.99. You can pre-order from Amazon for 33% off.

The next IDW Star Trek comics are due in a couple of weeks on April 12th. You can pre-order Star Trek Boldly Go#7 and Star Trek New Visions #15 at TFAW.

Find Star Trek comics, toys, statues, and collectibles at TFAW.com!

Keep up with all the latest inked Star Trek in TrekMovie’s Comics Category.

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IDW can do no wrong.

Oh, they can. Those crossovers are wrong.

But otherwise, they do a damn fine job.

The Kelvin Trek comics have been pretty amazing. Keep up the good work!

Why is George W. Bush on that cover with Keenser? And still no pants for Kevin?

Twetted Mike Johnson and he told me the who craig/clark terrell situation will be fixed in the TPB. here’s the tweet.https://twitter.com/mikecomix/status/847273098457960448/photo/1?cn=cmVwbHk%3D&refsrc=email

Sulu’s first name was already established as Hikaru in the Prime Timeline… And, as regards Kelvin Timeline Sulu’s husband, I’m pretty sure he was listed as “Ben” in the end credits of Star Trek Beyond (& until told otherwise, it makes sense to assume the daughter is called Demora).

Come on, Kevin! Still no pants??