Star Trek: The City on the Edge of Forever #2 Review


How will Harlan Ellison‘s original teleplay differ from the aired episode this time? Read on to find out

The official description from IDW:

Harlan Ellison’s Hugo and WGA Award-winning teleplay, visualized for the first time! Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Yeoman Rand return to the Enterprise following their first encounter with the Guardians of Forever, only to find a darker, more vicious crew of renegades awaiting them! Can they return the timestream to its proper state? And will they even survive long enough to try?

ST-CityForever02-cvrSUB-252d3The adaptation of Harlan Ellison‘s original teleplay for the Star Trek episode City on the Edge of Forever continues though opposed to the few changes in the first issue there are many in this one. In fact it differs that much that it almost feels like a different story. In this version we do however get much more depth and content with the crew experiencing some of the changes in time. Something the aired episode skipped.

Scott and David Tipton continue to adapt Ellison’s original teleplay with the dramatic developments being very captivating. The energy of the issue itself also proved to be very alluring and along with the suspense it managed to give a much more intense tempo. I’ve also found this version of the classic tale to be much more exciting as though the aired version had it’s own dramatic flair I personally find this to be a more well rounded version.

J.K. Woodward‘s artwork over these first two issues have really blown me away. The sheer detail and beauty of his painted art catches the eye immediately with the sleek and vivid colours truly being something to behold. Woodward also manages to portray the suspense and drama of the script perfectly with the dynamic layouts also adding extra intensity. In addition to this the uncanny resemblance to the characters gives a sense of familiarity.

Harlan Ellison’s original teleplay for Star Trek: The City on the Edge of Tomorrow is proving much more enthralling than the aired version with Woodward’s art giving a visually stunning look. Highly recommended.

OUR RATING
9
  • + Ellison's original telplay so far trumps the aired version.
  • + Scott and David Tipton do a wonderful job of adapting this classic.
  • + J.K. Woodward’s at is truly phenomenal.
  • + The change in tone give a more intense tempo.

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