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

Star Trek: Discovery: Succession #1 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY: SUCCESSION No. 1, April 2018

Proudly advertised by “IDW Publishing” as “an all-new miniseries tying directly into the hit CBS All Access show” and set “after the events of Star Trek: Discovery Season One”, at a time when “the U.S.S. Discovery and its crew have returned to their original timeline”, this twenty-page periodical’s narrative is certainly aimed at comic book collectors who follow the most recently broadcast television series, as opposed to being a storyline which would actually draw in new fans to Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction franchise. Indeed, any perusing bibliophile encountering Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson’s collaborative script would arguably be immediately thrown by its utter dependency upon its audience owning a comprehensive knowledge of the Emperor Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius, her adopted daughter Captain Michael Burnham and her treacherous offspring’s “loyal consort” Gabriel Lorca.

To make matters worse, Issue One of “Star Trek: Discovery: Succession” doesn’t even provide its readership with any noticeable backstory to its cast whatsoever, simply throwing them straight in at the deep end with the destruction of the Imperial Flagship Charon and the subsequent assumption of ‘divine rule’ in the capital city, San Francisco, by Lord Alexander; “As my cousin’s only living relative, I hereby assume responsibility as leader of the Terran Empire. The Emperor is dead. Long live the Emperor.” Such political machinations and royal court conundrums, like Lord Henshu’s sudden, cold-blooded murder at the hands of the ever-ambitious Captain Detmer, are perhaps only to be expected given the brutally savage galaxy within which they occur, but surely it wouldn’t have hurt editor Sarah Gaydos to include the occasional text box within the odd panel explaining just who these various people are?

Fortunately however, such quibbles as to what motivates these characters don’t necessarily provide an impenetrable barrier to enjoying this publication, or prevent someone from becoming increasingly enthralled in the diverse intrigues of a “Mirror Universe” where absolutely no-one can be trusted, including “my most loyal aide, Commander Cornwell.” Competently pencilled by artist Angel Hernandez, the sheer number of callous betrayals depicted within this tome is both absolutely breath-taking and remarkably riveting, whether it be the “old and addled” Emperor apparently falling at the hand of her progeny’s sabotage, Alexander’s belief that he needs to “drown every non-human planet in a toxin keyed to the unique genetic makeup of each native species”, or Captain Airiam’s masterful power-play to exterminate the entire Shenzhou’s bridge crew by instantaneously depriving them of oxygen.

Writers: Kirsten Beyer & Mike Johnson, and Art: Angel Hernandez