TrekInk: Review ST:NF#2 + News On Comics DVD

This week we have a review of the second New Frontier comic from Peter David, where he continues the story of the stolen prototype timeship. Plus, we have news on a new DVD, coming out later this year, that will have digitized versions of every Trek comic from 1967-2002. And IDW are branching out from Trek into Trek parody with their new Galaxy Quest comics!

REVIEW: STAR TREK NEW FRONTIER – TURNAROUND #2

As this second issue in the Turnaround series begins, some amount of time has passed  Star Trek: New Frontier – Turnaround 2: After a surprising end to the first issue, Captain Kat Mueller has arrived at Station Bravo to help protect it from its future destruction seen in the vision sent by Mark McHenry to Captain Calhoun. History between the two characters is introduced quickly in dialogue so that those of us without a strong background knowledge about the New Frontier series can easily understand why there is friction between them. Some other relationships play out in a similar manner, with enough background information given to provide the new reader an idea as to the context.

Similar to the first issue, this book is chock full of dialogue, making it feel like a longer read than a number of the other IDW Star Trek comics. At the same time as making the story longer, it also seems that less action occurs and that the story is primarily dialogue and exposition driven. The major exception to this rule is the closing sequence of the story. Unfortunately, the payoff there is not as good as is could be. Despite that, it manages to leave things on another cliffhanger, teasing us for the next issue.


The entire bridge crew tries to get Professor Kebron’s attention (click to enlarge)

Unlike the other ongoing Trek series from IDW, this one does not feature a lot of trivia references to the various Trek series, but does feature some good tie-ins to recent events in the New Frontier novels. This includes Robin Lefler dealing with the loss of her husband, Si Cwan.

Stephen Thompson returns for the artwork, doing both pencils and inks, and, like the first issue, he does not limit himself with standard comic panels, filling entire pages with color from edge to edge instead, and placing panels of story over top of sections of the images. I did have one problem with this issue though, in that the drawings of people, for some reason, seemed a bit rougher to me than in the prior issue. That, however, may be due to the fact that I read two other Trek issues in the interim: "Intelligence Gathering", with the Tiptons’ clean artwork, and "The Enterprise Experiment", with Gordon Purcell’s classic artwork.


Apparently it is weird to be cloaked (click to enlarge)

Now that the main introductions are complete, we’ve started to get into the meat of the story and the threads are being laid out to be gathered up over the course of the next three issues. David leaves us with a strong cliffhanger that worked even for me, someone who had (and still has) no idea of the relationship between the characters in question. The one problem I still have with this series is that, to me, it does not really feel like Star Trek. One of my friends termed it best the other day when he said that it feels like Peter David is trying to bring Star Wars into the Star Trek universe. While this mix may work for some people, I’m not yet convinced as to its effectiveness.

Star Trek New Frontier – Turnaround #2 is in comic stores this week


ST:NF #2 main cover by Stephen Thompson (L) and retailer incentive cover by J.K. Woodward (R), (click to enlarge)

COMICS NEWS

All Past Trek Comics On DVD!
Graphic Imaging Technology recently announced that they have gotten the licensing sorted out to release a set of DVDs with the digital versions of every pre-IDW Star Trek comic. This includes the original Gold Key series, the Marvel series that was placed around the first motion picture, the two volumes of DC releases through the 1980s, Marvel’s second run, and the Malibu and Wildstorm runs to close out the license before IDW came along.

This is a great way to affordably read past Trek comics, many of which are hard to find collectors items. The Star Trek comics on DVD will be broken out into two releases; in the Fall GIT will put out the complete series priced around $50, and in early 2009 a second release featuring only Original Series comics priced around $20.

Best Buy’s Geek Squad interviewed one of GIT’s staff members (wearing a TNG uniform) at the recent New York Comic Con about their products and Star Trek specifically.

By Grabthar’s hammer: Galaxy Quest comics!
IDW recently announced a five issue mini-series telling the story of the crew from the Galaxy Quest movie after the events of the movie. A full press release is also available.

Next week on TrekInk: More! More! More! Covers and comics, oh my!

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Wow…all the comics in one awesome package….what’s not to love?

I’ve always wanted to go back and read all the Star Trek comics, but the older ones (and even some from TNG/DS9 era) are pretty hard to find or could potentially be expensive. This would be a great investment! I’ll be watching for it!

Are time ships ever a good idea?
I mean, has anyone ever invented one, gone back or forward, looked around, said “hmm, cool” and gone home?

When will the Federation ban these damn things?!

Another fantastic update from TrekMovie.com. I just wish I had enough time to actually read these comics!

I noticed the benzite featured in the article’s photo is missing his breathing device…do i win a prize?

I’m not sure if I’m more excited about the comics DVD or about the Galaxy Quest Miniseries…

By Grabthar’s Hammer!

Sorry, just had to say it. It’s out of my system. No wait…

By Grabthar’s Hammer!

It may be cool to have them allon DVD but it can never reproduce that old comic smell.

I hope somebody does,,,,,Galaxy Quest 2

That movie rocked

:o )

Personally. I’m more interested in the Galaxy Quest comics then the Trek comics. The best Trek is always on the screen.

*skims article*

Nothing TOS related…not interested.

But GALAXY QUEST comics!?! AWESOME!!! I am SO getting those!!!

The Benzite-sans breathing device is nothing new, there was a Benzite officer in the Deep Space Nine episode “The Ship,” which aired near the beginning of the 5th season. The officer in question did not wear any breathing apparatus. “Anti-nits” could include a new medical technique that allows Benzites to process oxygen, or some sort of internal mechanism that facillitates the breathing process.

That DVD sounds like a sweet deal, and even fits (well, barely) into a price-range I can consider.

Fifty dollars?

That’s an insanely good deal for so many comics on DVD…

I also predict that writers for current comics and novels will start including more references to that past continuity once the DVD is available.

Either way, I know I’m picking it up. ;)

wow- i have two thirds of the trek comics or more but the idea of having them all on one disc- i love it.

#12 thanks for the info..i always thought the breathing device was cool, much nicer than the breen suits.:)

That many comics in digital form just cries out for fans to do their own mashup stories … the possibilities are enormous. Mix and match panels, keep/replace dialogue, go modern, go retro …

Easy first project — I look forward to creating mosaics of covers from different lines and eras to use as desktop wallpaper.