TrekInk: Review of Star Trek: Alien Spotlight, Vol. 2 Collection

Late last month, IDW released the second volume of their ongoing Alien Spotlight series in a trade paperback collection. Featuring five alien species this time, some reordering, and the first tastes of DS9 in the IDW world. Read on for the review of the second Alien Spotlight volume.

STAR TREK: ALIEN SPOTLIGHT, VOLUME 2 REVIEW

After the resounding success of the first Alien Spotlight volume (which ended in early 2008), IDW returned to the series in early 2009 with a story about those furry little Tribbles. Following that were stories about Klingons, Romulans, Q himself, and IDW’s first foray into the world of DS9, a story about the Cardassians set in the early post-series days.

For the "Alien Spotlight, Vol. 2" collection, IDW reordered the stories and presented the strongest two first. Starting off the book with the DS9 tale featuring Garak and Major Kira in a story by the Schmidt brothers tied in with the DS9 novel relaunch. Arne and Andy tell a tale of betrayal and loyalty set in the post-Dominion War days with flashbacks to the time of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. One of the best parts of this story is the open-ended finish. Keith R.A. DeCandido follows up with his Klingon tale of “four thousand throats” which features artwork by J.K. Woodward, fresh off his stint on the "Fallen Angel" series. DeCandido’s story tells of incidents in Kang’s life and the origin of an infamous Klingon proverb. Overall, this story is the best of the book.

Why is it that all Klingon proverbs involve death in some way? (click to enlarge)

For the third alien entry, Ian Edginton returns to the Star Trek universe with a Romulan tale that fits into John Byrne’s Romulan saga as a bit of a prequel. The artwork is by Wagner Reis, and while well-done, gives a feel of a superhero comic rather than a Star Trek comic. Q features in the fourth issue collected in a clever story told by the Tiptons of Q’s attempts to figure out Humanity, and specifically, Jean-Luc Picard. The most clever conceit here is that the story is told from Q’s point of view as he fumbles his way though diplomatic negotiations, without giving away who he really is.

The final issue, about the Tribbles, was originally the first released and is educational about the species themselves, their long memory, and their love of Grainseed. This story from Stuart Moore was simple and quite humorous. It was Moore’s third visit to the realm of Star Trek prose after a short story for WildStorm in 2001 and a prose short story in the "Constellations" collection in 2006.

Simple language. Effective. Hungry. Lunchtime? (click to enlarge)

For fans of the first Alien Spotlight volume, this is a definite purchase, especially for the Cardassian, Klingon, and Q tales. Despite containing two weaker stories, IDW has presented a good collections of stories from various points in Star Trek history, one of the huge benefits from anthology series such as this.

Note: In the realms of full disclosure, I was quoted on the back cover of the TPB talking about the Klingon issue. My feelings on that issue still hold true.

Cover for "Star Trek: Alien Spotlight Volume 2"

Star Trek Movie Adaptation #3 out today – Captain’s Log Harriman Next Week

Star Trek: The Movie Adaptation issue 3 is arriving at comic stores today (look for a TrekMovie review soon). "Star Trek: Captain’s Log Harriman was originally supposed to be released in April, but it now scheduled for next week. You can order it from TFAW.