The Galactic Barrier. Gary Mitchel. White Eyes. Wait… no Dr. Dehner on staff? How on Earth… er… Enterprise will they stop him? Read on and find out how it all comes together in the second issue of IDW’s new ongoing series set in the new Star Trek movie universe. We also preview what is next for the series.
REVIEW: STAR TREK ONGOING #2
In September, the first issue of the new Star Trek ongoing coming series came out, covering the first portion of the events of classic TOS episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before," but set in the timeline of the recent Star Trek movie. For issue 2, IDW wraps things up for that storyline.
Picking up where the last issue left off, the USS Enterprise has just arrived at Delta Vega – a different one from the one that Spock, Scotty, and Kirk spent some quality time on in the Star Trek movie. Interestingly, time seems to have tracked backward with the stardate being 1313.1 rather than last issue’s 2258.2 (or so). Despite Spock’s revelation at the end of the last issue that there was no consciousness or sentience in Gary Mitchell’s body, Kirk still calls him by name in sickbay when they are preparing to take him down to the planet’s surface. Mitchell reacts strongly to the thoughts… colors of Kirk’s plans and begins to shock them before McCoy can sedate him. Again.
On the planet, Kirk tells Scotty to collect the things they need for the ship to continue on its way and then Spock and Kirk confront Mitchell, who tells them that they should have killed him, not just abandoned him. He steps through the forcefield, stuns them both, then heads off to look for his other close friend, Lee Kelso to punish him for also abandoning him.
Bones evokes spy films with sedatives… (click to enlarge)
Stephen Molnar continues to provide both pencils and inks for the series, with his art still ranging from strong similarities to the movie’s actors to giving them a more comic book-like feel. When not working with tight closeups, his faces often feature very prominent lips and bridges of the noses. His work on the planet Delta Vega gives a strong feel for the original episode and flashbacks to scenes from the movie are well done and do well to keep to the feel of the Abrams movie.
John Rauch and Neil Uyetake continue to do the colors and letters, just as per the first issue. It is always preferable to keep the same artists for an entire story as the continuity of such, especially in the collected edition, makes for a smoother read of a storyline. Uyetake has a fairly muted issue but page 6 is his playground. Rauch is tasked with bringing a dull brown planet to life around Gary Mitchell and uses the contrasts of uniforms and faces to do so.
In a special crossover with the Star Wars franchise, Gary Mitchell as the Emperor! (click to enlarge)
Johnson does a decent job of introducing the new crew to the old stories with slight changes required due to the timeline. Ones I noticed were the stardate change (which is during the original episode on television), the lack of Alden, Dr. Piper, and Dr. Dehner (although she is mentioned in the first issue), and the addition of Chekov and McCoy to the situation. Mitchell’s method of dealing with Kelso is different and much more brutal than the original story presented, and due to Dehner’s absence, the denouement between Mitchell and Kirk is much changed. One nice touch was the mention of the two Delta Vega planets to address that continuity issue between the new movie and this story.
This isn’t Johnson’s strongest work, and the story felt like it could have used another ten pages to play out, but under the limitations, it concludes a good introduction to the ongoing series and the revisiting of classic series episodes. The crew seems suited to the storylines, as right they should be, despite the dynamic changes, but character growth is being shown that will hopefully play into the upcoming film sequel. This growth should continue, especially with the final conversation between Spock and Kirk, in the next storyline, "The Galileo Seven".
Tim Bradstreet provides the main cover for this issue and Joe Corroney does a nice Starfleet propaganda cover encouraging the reader to enlist. Bradstreet’s cover is done in the same style as his cover for the opening issue, while Corroney’s is a nice and interesting change from the typical comic covers that we’ve seen from IDW to date.
Covers for "Star Trek Onoing #2"
(click to enlarge)
PREVIEWS: Coming Next in Star Trek Ongoing series
Coming up the ongoing Star Trek series will be taking on two more classic Trek episodes.
Star Trek Ongoing #3/#4 – "Galileo 7"
Synopsis
(Issue 3 – Due November 30th) The adventures of the new Enterprise crew continue in this re-imagining of the classic episode ‘The Galileo 7"! Mr. Spock finds himself in command of a stranded shuttle crew fighting for survival, in a tale featuring the new cast from the blockbuster STAR TREK film!
(Issue 4 – Due December) Mr. Spock faces a deadly choice as he tries to save the crew of a stranded shuttle! Featuring the likenesses of the new STAR TREK cast, this story boldly re-imagines a classic episode, Galileo 7, but in the new timeline of the hit movie!
Covers
Star Trek Ongoing #4/#5 – "Operation: Annihilate!"
Synopsis
(Issue 5 – Due in January) The voyages of the new crew of the Enterprise continue in this re-imagining of the classic episode OPERATION: ANNIHILATE! Captain Kirk comes face to face with the ghosts of his past when a rescue mission reunites him with the last person he expects to see: his brother! STAR TREK feature writer/producer Roberto Orci oversees this continuation of the story from the blockbuster 2009 movie!
(Issue 6 – Due in February) It’s the stunning conclusion of OPERATION: ANNIHILATE! The events of the new timeline unfold in shocking ways as Kirk reunites with his estranged brother to save a colony from extinction. STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci oversees this story that continues the lead-up to the much-anticipated film sequel!
Covers
BUY: Star Trek comics
Star Trek comics can be ordered and pre-ordered from TFAW.com, and all are discounted.
| Star Trek Ongoing #1 |
Star Trek Ongoing #2 |
Star Trek Ongoing #3 |
 $3.99 |
 $3.99 |
 $3.19 |
| September | October | November (30th) |
| Star Trek Ongoing #4 |
Star Trek Ongoing #5 |
Star Trek Ongoing #6 |
 $3.19 |
 $3.19 |
not available for pre-order yet |
| December | January | February |
If you can wait, the first volume compiling the first individual issues will be released on March 13th. You can pre-order it at Amazon.
These look great! I guess the next film will take these all into account and will happen near the middle or end of the 5 year mission
I still wish they didn’t kill of Mitchell in the comic series! I actually LIKED that character!!!!
Wrong Starfleet emblem on the “Cross The Final Frontier” cover. Looks like a cross between the TOS movie and TNG one.
They need to fix it asap!
I can’t wait to see what they do with Mirror Mirror and of course. The Doomsday Machine and The Menagerie.
I wish they could do one for every episode, but that might put off the sequel by a decade!
I hope they’re considering in their sales figures people like me who are waiting for the collected volume. I’m very much interested, just hate going to the comic shop every month.
Is that Sean Penn in the top picture?
ComiXology has a .99 cent sale going on the IDW Star Trek comics. (digital download) It includes the Gary Mitchel saga. It’s going on now through the 27th.
https://comics.comixology.com
I plan to pre-order the series through Amazon.com. I’ll have to wait until March. I expect to have to pay between NZ$20 – $25, due to postage and handling and the exchange rate. Hopefully, the exchange rate will be favourable.
All I feel I do sometimes is WAIT.
So… are there any significant differences to these stories, due to the new timeline (butterfly effect)? If not, why do it?
Slightly different subject—-I’ve been thinking lately that the basic plot of The Enterprise Incident would make a great, great movie plot. Espionage, intrigue, feigned insanity, feigned death… come on, it’s got everything! Flesh the plot out and give the whole cast plenty to do… not to mention the fun in casting the hot female Romulan commander…
“In a special crossover with the Star Wars franchise, Gary Mitchell as the Emperor!”
And did it occur to anyone that Star Trek beat Star Wars with lightning bolts coming from the bad guy’s hands? Especially between Gary Mitchell and Elizabeth Dehner?
Re: #10 – Robert H.
Yes, I know that Star Trek beat Star Wars on that front. It was intended to be a gag to make you smile. Take it as it was.
Re: #9 – Obsidian
There aren’t huge wide-ranging changes, but I get the impression that these stories are at least partly to show the crew working together and becoming more familiar with each other (etc) than to totally alter the original stories.
Re: #3 – Red Dead Ryan
It’s a propaganda poster! Those things are never accurate. Just wait until you see the one for issue #3! :)
@ 6
it kind of looks like his brother, chris, from “footloose.”
Really enjoying these comics. I think the theme of these stories that will fit into the new flick is how Kirk has handled situations in which crew members die, or how he interacts with official Federation officials and following star fleet orders. The folks in the top may think he is way too young and pig headed, until he faces a situation that will put him on top.
Why did they have to have two Delta Vegas? If its because the Movie version was icy and the TV version warm that is a lame reason. Not all planets have to be all ice or all heat all the time (such as…Earth).
I find the art really inconsistent so far in these comics. Some panels are just tracings of screencaps from the movie, and with the more original-looking character drawings, a lot of the proportions and angles are weird. And the pacing of the Mitchell one also felt very abrupt.
I’m still sort of enjoying them, but I’m hoping for improvement in coming issues.
@ #5 Dr. Chels:
EVERY episode? Even “And the Children Shall Lead” and “Spock’s Brain”? ;-)
Picture books!
#16
well, if it is every episode, then they now get the chance to make Spock’s Brain actually work. can they do it? tune in next time for the exciting adventures of Kirk and his little dog spock lost in the wide worlds of space “SPOCK…I…Don’t think…..we….are….in Kansas anymore!”.
This is a boring concept.
Pockets on Starfleet uni’s. NOT CANON!
I like to see a few issues. I really don’t think they need to re-make the whole of TOS.
#20: “Pockets on Starfleet uni’s. NOT CANON!”
it is now. the “no pockets rule” was silly.
I enjoyed the first issue ( WNMHGB is a favorite episode of mine ), but I did have one technical nitpick with it. Why, oh why did they make the originally purple/pink galactic barrier GREEN for the comic? There just didn’t seem to be a reason for that change ( i know, different timeline and all that ), but the image of the Enterprise heading into the shocking pink – get it? – barrier is ICONIC ( especially since hey crossed it 3 times in the original series ).
Can anyone with some inside dope tell me if it was a concious decision on the part of the colorist?
“Interestingly, time seems to have tracked backward with the stardate being 1313.1 rather than last issue’s 2258.2 (or so).”
No, one is an Orci/Kurtzman stardate (= the year 2258), while the other is an irregular TOS stardate from the range of the prime episode (1312.4 to 1313.8).
The writer probably made a mistake; he should decide that the correct stardate is 2258.56, since it was mentioned in the first issue and is higher than the movie’s 2258.42, then continue increasing it (.57 = 57th day of the year, .58 = 58th day of the year and so forth).
Just so long as the alternate Kirk’s eyes are that beautiful blue colour. If not, the artists need to correct that error sooner rather than later.
Whatever color they make the eyes is irrelevant, since we still have the movies for reference. On the other hand, if the Orci/Kurtzman stardates aren’t treated seriously, we won’t be able to draw up a proper timeline.
Re: 23 – Boris
I know that one’s the Orci/Kurtzman stardate from the movie (and the prior issue) and that the other is a class TOS one from the timeframe of the episode. That’s noted in the changes section near the end:
“the stardate change (which is during the original episode on television)”
I expect that the stardate was a mistake, but we’ll see what happens with issue 3.
Yes, but “time seems to have tracked backward” indicates that you’re suggesting the equivalent of comparing the Hijri year 1432 with the Gregorian equivalent, or saying that a person has grown from a height of 1.83 to 6. I would revise it to “Interestingly, the writer didn’t use the alternate stardate system, with the date being 1313.1 from the prime universe episode rather than last issue’s 2258”.
It is also interesting that Kirk says he’s been “a starship captain for less than a year”, according to the quote on Memory Beta. Even if the second stardate possibility (2258.56) were correct, only 14 days would’ve elapsed since the movie, at least going by boborci’s description of the system. I hope there is a good explanation for this mess; the new stardates weren’t designed to be uneven, and I don’t see why boborci would switch to the TOS system for the next movie.
P. S. Perhaps the correct stardate should be 2259.25, which would be less than a year after the movie?
My favorite part of all this? Is that when ever there is a part two in the Trek universe (or maybe just TNG since that’s what I watched growing up), it’s always called “the stunning conclusion”. When I was younger it always made me so excited I could barely stand it! Now it just makes me chuckle…ha…good times… :D
I was so not impressed.
i love this series i know most of them are re imaging most of the original series episodes but i bet the ones after that are all original stories