Comics Review : Star Trek Mission's End Issue 5

The cover: Wow. Can Joe Corroney produce or what? This scene and these costumes appears nowhere in the issue, but this didn't bug me. I took this cover to be representative of the swan song for the big three in their formals. And that empty chair! What a crime. Overall grade: A+

The story: Ty Templeton has got a whole lot to wrap up in this issue: save McCoy and his "kidnapped" crew mates, reveal what the "Heart of God" is, finish the civil war between the Spiders and the Crawlers, settle the issue of Archernar IV's inclusion in the Federation, conclude/begin Ambassador Cassady's not-a-relationship relationship with Kirk, and set the big three up for their positions that lead into Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Whew! All this is in 22 pages? You bet'cha, and he succeeds! I found the resolution between the Spiders and the Crawlers a little quick, but with the Spiders' belief system plausible. In fact, this sudden change reminded me a bit of David Brin's Uplift series. The Federation's situation with Archernar IV is very satisfying, unless one happens to be an Orion. So the "A" plot is wrapped up tidily in a bow, and the "B" story between Cassady and Kirk has my vote for the b est dialogue between two Trek characters yet--see Page 16. This is a flawless page. The final six pages deal with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy's farewells to one another and why they're going. Spock's comment in panel two of Page 21 is electric. And McCoy's final comments at the bottom of that same page were the perfect "human" counterpoint. Kirk's final panel of narration had me screaming at him that he was dead wrong. In a way this series is similar to Countdown; you know going into it how it has to end, but it's still a fantastic ride. Out-flippin-tastic! Overall grade: A+

The art: Stephen Molnar, I will follow you onto any other series you do (though I sure want it to be a another Trek trek). This book is fantastic. Molnar has to draw the characters we all know, ships in space, Enterprise interiors, exotic alien jungles, alien caverns, alien races, and he does so brilliantly. Page 16, a conversation between two characters, is flawless in layout and execution. The facial reactions sell the dialogue. And that final page (22) made me weepy. Overall grade: A+

The colors: This book is gorgeously colored. In my review for the first two issues I focused on the browns. I am happy to say that John Hunt has responded in his work with a fantastic "oh yeah?" Boy, did I misjudge him. You need only look at Page 1 for the beauty in the colors: panel two has the psychedelic coloring of the original series without being monocolored; the third panel is a gorgeous sky; the fourth has an interior shuttle shot that is not washed out by the typical silvers of the walls; and the final panel has the lush greens of a jungle overshadowed (rightfully) by the tan Crawlers. This work completely justifies the expensive paper this book is printed on. This book is colored Star Trek the way I remember it, and want it. Overall grade: A+

The letters: Narration and dialogue (human and alien) is all that's required of Neil Uyetake. He's great as well. And, for the final time in one of my reviews for this series, let me thank you, Mr. Uyetake, for making the aliens' speech a different font from that of the humans. Overall grade: A+

The final line: I've gushed over many IDW Trek comics but this book is different. It doesn't come across as a series of stories linked under a common banner or as unfinished series (The Enterprise Experiment or John Bynre's Romulan Opus, of which only the later appears to be finishing). This was a full blown novel, and it rates being called a Graphic Novel, a term that is overused and undeserved by many books. Simply put, it would be a crime for IDW not to reunite this team on another Trek title. Thank you, very much, IDW. Overall grade: A+

http://trekweb.com/articles/2009/08/03/Comics-Review-Star-Trek-Missions-End-Issue-5.shtml