Star Trek #400 [Part Two] - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK No. 400, September 2022

Starting with a narrative centred upon a character who “was unpopular among more than a few Star Trek fans” during “The New Generation” era, Wil Wheaton’s arguably self-indulgent storyline “A Matter Of Choice” probably isn’t as exciting a start to this comic’s second half as the actor-turned-YouTube-host probably hoped. In fact, the incredibly word-heavy narrative must surely have tested the patience of even the most ardent Trekkie, especially when at times the numerous word balloons seemingly threaten to blot out everything but the most basic-looking figure’s face in any given panel.

Disappointingly however, there’s debatably very little reward at the tale’s end either, as after an eight-page long series of dialogue-lead sedentary scenes where an omnipotent Wesley Crusher revisits several moments in his past where his shipmates have previously offered him advice, he simply decides to do what he planned to do in the first place. Such a lack-lustre conclusion may well cause some readers to scratch their heads in bewilderment as to just why “the Traveller” bothered to pull an elderly Jean-Luc Picard out of the Kelvin Universe in the first place, let alone how him doing so might irreversibly damage existence's “complex crystalline structure that only holds itself together through the most delicate balance.”

Perhaps this anthology’s most bemusing adventure though is the kid-friendly fracas between “Keyla Detmer, the Starfleeter” and an adolescent Chancellor of the Klingon High Council. Written by Mike Johnson and sketched by Megan Levens, this meeting between two crash survivors smacks of the sort of juvenile humour a reader might expect in a children’s comic for young readers, and appears an odd choice of storyline to feature in a celebration of over fifty-years’ worth of serious science fiction; “Try it you shall and when you cannot stomach it, you shall declare me the superior lifeform and be on your way!”

Rounding off this publication with a blatant advertisement for the publisher’s upcoming new ongoing “Star Trek” title is “A Perfect System” by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly. Focusing upon the sudden disintegration of Gary Mitchell whilst the god-like entity is busily building solar systems, this pedestrian-paced piece even rather mercenarily ends with its final page featuring the former Federation helmsman’s skeleton floating in outer space with the words “To be Continued” “Star Trek #1” “Coming Soon” emblazoned between artist Ramon Rosanas’ well-pencilled panels.

The regular cover art to "STAR TREK" #400 by Louie De Martinis