Star Trek #16 Review


In this dark alternate reality Earth has an empire and James T. Kirk is flat out evil, but is this outlandish tale truly worthy of a purchase?  Read on to find out.

The official description from IDW:

Concluding the two-part re-imagining of the classic “Mirror Universe” episode! Don’t miss this radical transformation of Kirk & Co., as events unfold leading up to next summer’s STAR TREK sequel! Overseen by STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci!

When people go into a comic book series regarding this franchise they usually expect to read something that’s a bit more lighthearted than what we have here.  But nonetheless this creative team finds a way to make this somewhat bleak and downright depressing vision of the future work. The first half of this arc successfully set the stage for a potent conclusion and despite the apparently random exploration into this portion of the accepted cannon we’re still treated with a solid finish.

Mike Johnson writes a script that not only offers originality to this alternative timeline but instills just enough of the soul from the now re-imagined voyages of the fabled star ship to come up with something that’s really special.  Every single one of the key crew members are represented here, even if several of their parts are largely downplayed to deliver the broad strokes inherent in this mini but epic opus.  There are times where this jaunt straddles some unnecessary dialogue and some bloated sequences but largely this was a thrilling affair.

The art by Erfan Fajar, Hendri Prasetyo and Miralti Firmansyah simply elevates this outlandish but nonetheless compelling conclusion as it reaches a satisfying climax.  Each pencil stroke and line of ink intricately informs and expands the narrative as this menacing rendition of the saga comes to visual fruition.  I absolutely got a kick out of the consistent styles that boldly nailed the complicated balance between being an emulation of the current slew of films and an homage to the classic original series.

Star Trek #16 is an absolutely engaging release that despite any minor narrative missteps more than earns a simply soaring recommendation.

4/5

S#!T Talking Central