Star Trek #43 Review

Is this the rebound we need after the poor finale of Behemoth? Or is Star Trek‘s short story format forever destined to be doomed? Read on to find out.

The official description from IDW:

The lead-up to the next STAR TREK film continues here, in an all-new adventure produced in association with Roberto Orci! Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise find themselves in uncharted space on their Five Year Mission of exploration… but a new alien threat may end their journey prematurely!

Behemoth may have ended a little disappointingly, failing to live up to it’s good start, but one thing that it did do well was set-up this latest tale. Trapped in space, several decades away from home, the U.S.S. Enterprise have to find a way out of this predicament, with the crew desperately going through all the options. Getting of to a stellar start, Eurydice, manages to send this series in a wonderful new direction, with the characters once again being forced to adapt to new surroundings, thus allowing the reader an immersive setting.

Mike Johnson moves the story forward in a way that both fits with the previous tale, whilst at the same time feeling relatively new reader friendly. Having a brilliant sense of drama, with the atmosphere mesmerizing, this script somehow manages to impress, as despite not much initially happening in the way of plot development, the final product still proves alluring. That itself has a lot to do with the character interaction, with the dialogue shared between the crew creating wonderful tension. The introduction of new character, Eurydice, also intrigued, with the spunky attitude of this mysterious character being truly fascinating.

Tony Shasteen handles the artwork on this issue, and much like his previous work on the series, it more than impressed. Between the wonderful detail and uncanny character likeness, Shasteen certainly manages to create a dramatic tone, with the cinematic layouts adding great depth. I did however find the detail in the scenery to be a little overpowering, as though detail is usually a good thing, on this occasion it proves rather jarring, proving that less can be more. The colours of Davide Mastrolonardo also prove remarkable, with their vivid palette, and wonderful texture being eye catching to say the least.

Star Trek #43 is the perfect remedy following a poor issue, as though there’s still another two parts to prove whether it’s a worthy story, this opening chapter certainly does enough to entice this Trekkie. The character of Eurydice also captivates, with her mysterious goals more than alluring.