It’s A “Journey to Murder” In Star Trek Boldly Go #7 – Review and 5-Page Preview

Review: Star Trek Boldly Go #7
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Written by: Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott
Art by Megan Levens with colors by Sarah Stern

This month’s epic (Part 1 of 2) whodunit sees the U.S.S. Endeavour on a “journey to Babel” that quickly turns sour. The Romulan Ambassador has been murdered and all eyes point to a certain “wet-nosed” Andorian with daddy-issues.

Star Trek Boldly Go #7, art by George Caltsoudas

In the aftermath of the Borg incursion, the Romulans have agreed to a rare diplomatic meeting with Federation delegates at Babel to discuss an alliance against future threats. Scotty has reunited with Kirk (even though he was just on the ship in last month’s issue) and he’s managed to pull some strings to bring back the crew from IDW’s Starfleet Academy miniseries. An impassioned Captain Terrell pleads his case to the delegation that the threat is real – there is no negotiating with the Borg.

Personally, I never liked TWOK’s version of Terrell – he was a weak leader and one-dimensional. One of the best things to ever happen in TNG was Picard learning to live with becoming Locutus – it provided depth to his character and made him more relatable to the audience. I find myself fascinated with this reinvention of Terrell – there’s obviously more to his story. But I digress…

Terrell still coping with being Borgified

Back to the conference. The Romulans have never been trustworthy and tensions are high (there’s even a joke about how only a bat’leth could cut through it). Cadet Shev’s insubordination is in full force when he is openly rude to Romulan Ambassador Joltair, resulting in him being confined to his quarters until further notice. Shortly after, Joltair is poisoned by a toxic plant from the planet (you guessed it) Andor and collapses to his death in front of the delegation. This sends everyone into a frenzy, with the Romulans threatening to leave Babel and blaming the Federation for the Ambassador’s murder.

Watch out for sneaky Romulans

The duo of Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott are back and this story greatly benefits from their collaboration. I love a good murder-mystery, and this has all the workings of an Undiscovered Country-esque twist. The plot is packed with intriguing misdirection that doesn’t take you away from the core story. It sets up the perfect cliffhanger for next month’s conclusion.

Valas returns, but can Kirk trust her?

This issue also brings us the anticipated return of artist Megan Levens to the Star Trek universe (you can read her wonderful interview with us back in February here).  Levens describes her style as “cartoony and emotive”– a label that couldn’t be more spot on. You might think that the words “cartoon” and “murder” don’t mix well together, but she manages to pull it off without it feeling goofy. In fact, her art in this issue makes it seem like I’m watching a Kelvin-verse animated series. If Paramount ever decides to make one, she needs to receive the first call.

Scotty has his hands full dealing with cadets

5-Page Preview: Star Trek Boldly Go #7

Click thumbnails to enlarge

IDW Announces George Takei Graphic Novel

In other comics-related news, IDW has signed a book publishing deal with George Takei. They will collaborate on a graphic novel re-examining the Japanese American internment camps during WWII through his family’s firsthand experience. According to IDW, the graphic novel “will explore these events through the eyes of young George, and how this shaped him to become the humanitarian he is today; a proud American and a vocal activist against intolerance in all its forms, lending his influential voice to the voiceless.”

The Takei graphic novel also promises to cover more aspects of the actor’s life, including “his rise to stardom as helmsman of the USS Enterprise on Star Trek, and how these life-changing events led him down his chosen path of activism and championing human rights.” Look for the graphic novel in 2018.

Available Wednesday

Star Trek Boldly Go #7 arrives in comic book stores on Wednesday, April 12 and retails for $3.99. You can also pre-order it at TFAW with a discount.

 

The trade paperback collection of Star Trek: Boldly Go (volume 1, collection of 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.

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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Who knew that Archie Andrews was really an Andorian?

In what way did we ever see Terrell as a weak leader in TWOK? In his brief uncompromised scenes, he seemed to be firmly in charge of the Reliant and, even with a Ceti Eel scrambling his brains, resisted Khan’s order to murder Jim Kirk by killing himself. To me, that shows great individual strength.

I am intrigued to know what happened to the Reliant crew. I don’t believe for a minute that Khan and his followers would have let them live, regardless of what was stated in the film.

Terrell seemed bored. We didn’t see any weakness in the sense that John Harriman seemed weak in Generations but Terrell didn’t come off as stalwart either. He just seemed like a guy going through the motions of his job – which is what I thought the great Paul Winfield captured perfectly. I do love the idea of seeing a different take on the character. Really diving in and seeing what he’s all about.

Granted he only had a few minutes of screen time, but he came across like he knew he was a doomed red shirt. Basically, a background player.