Cyborgs, furry beasts, and past encounters of the crossover kind are the order of the day in the third issue of Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who – Assimilation2 and the beginning of a new story arc in the ongoing series, Star Trek #11, from IDW Publishing. Spoilers and a roundup of recent Star Trek comics after the break.
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 #3 (of 8)
written by Scott and David Tipton with Tony Lee, art by J.K. Woodward and the Sharp Brothers, lettering by Shawn Lee, edited by Denton J. Tipton
Story
With the Enterprise under attack by Borg and Cybermen ships, Picard orders a retreat. Starfleet crewmembers have never seen Cybermen, but the Doctor’s description would easily apply to the Borg. A search of historical records yields a log entry from the Enterprise, commanded by James T. Kirk. Kirk describes an unusual incident at an archeological site. Investigating a failure to check in, Kirk and his crew find the research team acting unnaturally. With the assistance of a friendly doctor, the Starfleet crew rescues the scientists from the influence of Cybermen. And the doctor? He and his Jelly Babies disappear. The researchers thought he came with Kirk! Meanwhile, the Doctor, who is remembering things that simply shouldn’t be, is very worried. Picard takes the Doctor to meet an old friend.
Another day, another beating for Kirk.
Review
Brothers Scott and David Tipton take us on a curious visit into the past, framed by events unfolding in the present. In the past, Kirk and his crew encounter Cybermen and the fourth Doctor. In the present, the eleventh Doctor unaccountably has memories of that past event. I like the Tipton’s tweaking, twisting, timey-wimey approach to this story. The effects are compounded by having those other brothers from Down Under, Joe and Rob Sharp, illustrate and color the original series portion of the tale. Rendered like the animated series, their efforts provide a startling contrast with J.K Woodward’s artwork. The overall effect is a stranglehold on my attention. I want to know what’s going on, but that’s for the next issue. Woodward’s original series cover is amusing. Who doesn’t enjoy seeing Kirk crushed by Cybermen? Elena Casagrande provides a nice movie-poster-style cover featuring the Doctor and his companions over a phalanx of Cybermen. The retailer incentive cover is Casagrande’s sketch. I’m not sure why it was printed on a pale blue background. Perhaps to match the Doctor Who logo? This crossover series has me hooked and I’m looking forward to reading the next issue in a few weeks.
Cover A: Art by J.K. Woodward, Cover B: Art by Elena Casagrande, colors by Ilaria Traversi
Cover RI: Art by Elena Casagrande
Star Trek #11
written by Mike Johnson, art by Claudia Balboni, colors by Ilaria Traversi, lettering by Neil Uyetake, inspired by the original teleplay of The Trouble With Tribbles by David Gerrold, creative consultant Roberto Orci, edited by Scott Dunbier
Story
The Truth About Tribbles, Part 1: With Chekov’s assistance, Scotty illicitly continues his transwarp beaming research, first brainstormed with Spock Prime, by sending a small furry pet to his nephew in San Francisco. How much trouble could a little ball of fur that does nothing but purr cause? Meanwhile, the Enterprise encounters a Klingon warship outside of the Empire’s borders. When the bird-or-prey gets away, Kirk is ready for a chase, but Spock convinces the captain to investigate where they’ve been, a small class M planet, Ioto Germanorum IV. Kirk and his crew find a strange, but beautiful new world, a multitude of Mr. Scott’s fuzzy little friends, several Klingon bombs, and some very hungry, very large predators. And what about that little furball visiting Scotty’s nephew at Starfleet Academy?
Bon appétit!
Review
Two thoughts spring to mind reading this first installment of a new story by Mike Johnson. The first is that every tribble television episode I’ve watched and every tribble comic I’ve read has been entertaining, so I have high expectations. Are there any tribble novels? The second thought is that Mr. Scott is cruising for an extended visit with Starfleet’s court-martial system. Scott Prime played fast and loose with schedules, but new Scott seems fast and loose about potential biological contamination. We have two very different Scottys. The art and colors, by Claudia Balboni and Ilaria Traversi, respectively, are outstanding. I’m particularly fond of their big hungry predators. My only complaint is that Kirk and his crew look impossibly svelte in their Italian-designed spacesuits. The three covers for this issue are pretty much the same as previous covers, featuring Tim Bradstreet’s poster-like artwork and a photo cover of Sulu. I’m enjoying the stories and interior art of this series, more than the cover art. Your mileage may vary. But, in the end, it’s got tribbles, so overall, it’s worth a look.
Cover: Art by Tim Bradstreet, colors by Grant Goleash
Cover RI A: Art by Tim Bradstreet, Cover RI B: Photo cover
Recent releases
In the past few weeks, two new collections have been published. The second volume of the monthly Star Trek series just came out. This trade paperback volume collects four issues (#5-8) and features a retelling of original series television episode Operation: Annihilate! and a new story set after the events of the last film; a tale of Vulcan vengeance. The new timeline stories were preceded by a hardcover collection of Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes, the six-issue time-travel mini-series written by Chris Roberson that spans the entire history of the Federation and the Legion. A deluxe hardcover edition with dust jacket art by Keith Giffen was also published and distributed via comic shops. If you haven’t been following along with these stories, now is your chance to catch up.
Cover: Art by Phil Jimenez, colors by Romulo Fajardo, Jr., Deluxe Edition dust jacket: Art by Keith Giffen, inks by Scott Koblish, colors by Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
Cover: Art by Tim Bradstreet, colors by Grant Goleash
Current issues available now
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 #3 and Star Trek #11 are available at your local comic shop now. IDW Star Trek comics can also be purchased online at TFAW. Hardcover and trade paperback collections can be pre-ordered from Amazon.
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Collections available now
Collections coming soon
Mark Martinez is an obsessive-compulsive Star Trek comics reader and collector. You can visit his website, the Star Trek Comics Checklist for more than you ever needed to know about Star Trek comics.
The reviewer of “The Truth About Tribbles” mentions thoughts of spring.
I sit here in Indiana, baking under multiple stretches of 100 degree days such as we have never seen, a drought predicted to last at least another 6 months and a snowless winter that segued into a blazing summer with perhaps a week or 10 days of spring.
Gene Roddenberry’s vision of our future is not going to come to pass because we are going to destroy the human race with our unrestrained use of fossil fuels.
How bad is the drought?
Monument City can now be visited. It previously sat 30 feet underwater in the Salamonie Reservoir in north central Indiana.
#1 – Here in the CA desert we’ve had a fairly mild weather pattern with monsoon-moisture that we don’t normally get. Yet it’s happened before. It will happen again. Don’t blame humanity for every variation in our weather: fossil fuel burning certainly did not end the last ice age.
Also look up the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.
Back on topic: looking forward to reading these comics, particularly the Tribbles one.
I like The Truth About Tribbles so far. There’s a brief moment that’s a really nice nod back to something Worf said to Odo about them being ‘an enemy to the empire’ and the issue plays into that whole idea. I was trying to remember the name of Scotty’s nephew in Wrath of Khan to see if this was supposed to be the same nephew or if this one wasn’t his ‘sister’s youngest.’ But there are nice little nods here and there back to the prime universe that people should enjoy. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the space suits in Trek09, they were very steamlined but then again, if this is supposed to be the future, I couldnt imagine them being as clunky as previous suits had been. The colors were great and the artwork was really nice to look at. It’s a slight change from the previous work and honestly looks much more like the David Messina art that I’ve come to love with a lot of the more recent good Trek books. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, the ongoing series has been really good. They’re drifting more from the straight forward retellings of old stories and they’re adding in dialogue and twists that keep things fresh. Every issue hasn’t gained an A grade in my book but they’re definitely worth having if you enjoy the JJverse and want to get to know the crew a lot better.
@PEB – I think one or both of the artists for Star Trek #11, Claudia Balboni and Ilaria Traversi, were students of David Messina. He has a strong influence on the artists he instructs and I’m a fan of his work too.
@Mark – Thanks! I kept wondering the entire time about the art looking much like David’s. If he does art for a book, it’s like I’ve got to buy it.
Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one that thinks Scotty should be court martialled for his activities. I’m assuming that they will hand wave away his casual disregard for animal welfare, quarantine protocols, and correct authorisation because he’s a good engineer and because they did the same for Kirk in the movie. I’m more worried about them resurrecting long-distance transporting as a viable technology. I hope something (else) goes horribly wrong in the next issue!
That blue TNG/DW cover looks very fanzine like.
I was glad Dribbles was not a rehash of the original episode, I also thought it was cool the artwork changed in TNG/Dr. Who #3 during the flashback.
Scotty’s nephew’s name was Peter Preston, IIRC.
@1 “Gene Roddenberry’s vision of our future is not going to come to pass because we are going to destroy the human race with our unrestrained use of fossil fuels.”
What a crock? The earth has been through many worse temperature changes than this one, my friend. Do some research and look at weather trends over the past 100 million years, and higher CO2 contents as well millennia ago. Also, check out farming on Greenland 1000 years ago when much of Greenland melted.
The cover of Star Trek #11 is tremendous. Nice job!
9. MJ – July 24, 2012
They didn’t say ‘destroy the earth’. They said ‘destroy the human race’. The ‘Earth’ won’t be going anywhere, but we will…..
Believe what you want to believe. It won’t really matter in the end, will it?
why can’t i save the images to my computer anymore?!
@Smith – try opening the image link in a new window. The WordPress slideshow makes it difficult to grab images.
^ That works, but it’s very small. :(
I have to admit, when it first started I didn’t like this comic. It took a little while but now I think they’ve found their stride. I’ve really enjoyed the last 2 or 3 arcs. Starting from the Vulcans Vengeance issues I’ve loved it.
And I wonder if the klingons will be revealed in the next issue?
Peter Preston was Scotty’s sister’s youngest. He was 15 in 2283 so assuming he has one sister, this must be one of her elder chidren unless, like Chekov, a completely different person has the same name in this reality.
These doctor who crossovers are ridiculous.
Sure there are obviously enough geeks that would buy into the idea to make it profitable but it make star trek fans looks like fools.
Not cool.
look out @#1 the sky is falling!!!! Also, we have really only observed our small little globe from space for 50 year, DMSP and other sats, and its true that if the trend continues we will have a ice free Arctic Ocean by 2025, but lets measure these trends and observe more, the earth as a whole could learn a thing or two from patience.
Anyone who believes the human race can’t become extinct is living in a dream.
I know it is a little off topic for this thread, but since it is being discussed so much here, I wanted to chime in and say I totally agree with 2. – Simon about the fact not every bad weather pattern is the fault of humans. We certainly have a responsibility to manage our environment well, but we also have to be able to live our lives and progress forward; hopefully, that progress includes more enviromentally-friendly activities. We can’t move forward to Gene Roddenberry’s dream of the future without advancing new technologies.
Also, I have never thought that extinction boded well for evolution. I though changing environments are what forced evolution to make living things better and stronger. If life is so fragile, how has anything ever evolved?
Yes, but this idea that there’s no consensus on man-made climate change or that there are real doubts that it exists is, well, a lie. An extremely popular lie. Or, to put it a bit mildly, a myth. And, of course, because we love exceptions, we latch onto the news of doubt (and we love to think we’re smarter than the experts) — to the point that most North Americans now think that there’s climate-change skepticism among experts — but there really isn’t.
Heck, didn’t even the Koch Brothers’ anti-climate change expert recently say that climate change is, alas, happening.
Is the planet going to be destroyed and are we all going to go extinct? Unlikely, I think. But that doesn’t mean that we won’t have serious environmental problems (and do already) caused by us. forecasts of doom make the news — will we all be freezing to death and wearing rags if we run out of fossil fuels? Will there be done sort of sudden environmental catysm? Maybe not, but our actions have consequences (see: recession) . Life could get lousier for a lot of people.
The nephew’s name is Chris here, no? It’s at least 20 years too early for Peter Preston, isn’t it?