Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Echoes #5 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE No. 5, September 2023

Despite the odd member of this science-fiction franchise’s fanbase possibly being somewhat critical as to how simply James Tiberius Kirk solves all the competing conundrums facing him and his crew by its conclusion, Marc Guggenheim’s script for this “finale of Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Echoes” definitely should still have thoroughly entertained them. Indeed, the sheer scope of the American author’s storyline alone is utterly breath-taking, as he conveys the reader on a non-stop merry-go-round through a state-of-art Romulan vessel, towards the start of a galactic war between the Federation and Star Empire, and into a frantic phaser-fight on the planet Gallus Three which appears certain to wipe out its entire population.

Intriguingly however, the “co-showrunner on Arrow” doesn’t stop there either, as he somehow manages to cram in an incredible number of characterful moments for the vast majority of the U.S.S. Enterprise’s Bridge Crew too - including a haunting penultimate panel which depicts the Constitution-Class starship’s Admiral anticipating losing “the life of someone close to you” as per Nicholas Meyer’s 1982 movie “The Wrath Of Khan”. These touches genuinely help instil the sense of both melodrama and dark humour to the twenty-two-page periodical’s plot which was so typical of the Sixties original television series, and in the case of the writer’s superb handling of Mister Spock and Leonard McCoy’s banter with one another, is arguably well worth this book’s cover price alone.  

True, the narrative does occasionally appear a little unlikely, such as when the Enterprise’s commanding officer willingly permits Lieutenant Uhura to blatantly disregard his direct orders and assist her disagreeable, alternative version to escape Starfleet custody in Akris’ spacecraft. But Guggenheim debatably throws several spectacular curveballs throughout this publication, so it’s probably not too surprising that perhaps the odd one falls a little short of where he was hoping it would land; “That’s the convenient thing about having a captain who puts his conscience before rules and regulations. He doesn’t mind so much when his officers do the same.”

Just as successful as this comic’s prodigious penmanship are Oleg Chudakov’s layouts, which add plenty of pulse-pounding pace to both the script’s space battles and frequent punch-ups. Of particular note is the artist’s ability to imbue Kirk with a vicious left hook. Whilst Sulu’s tense firefight against a phalanx of Centurion guards for ownership of “the devastating Nightbringer weapon” surely had many a bibliophile involuntarily ducking for cover as they witnessed the exchange of deadly energy bolts.

Writer: Marc Guggenheim, Artist: Oleg Chudakov, and Colorist: DC Alonso

Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Echoes #4 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE No. 4, August 2023

Whilst some readers may well argue that Marc Guggenheim’s storyline for Issue Four of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Echoes” lacks much in the way of dynamic, action-packed excitement. The New Yorker definitely fills his twenty-two-page plot with plenty of political intrigue and tension, as James T. Kirk desperately attempts to swot up on his Romulan equipment so as to secretly transport himself to the undisclosed location of the planet-destroying Nightbringer weapon. 

Foremost of these diplomatic dilemmas undoubtedly stems from this comic’s strained opening between the Federation’s blue-skinned Madame President, Admiral Mohamed, and the duplicitous Ambassador Nanclus – who rather enjoyably bears more than a passing resemblance to the Romulan character's Silver Screen actor Darryl Henriques. This well-written scene really helps establish just how close to a full-scale war the two opposing empires are, and adds loads of weight to Commander Spock’s subsequent decisions, when the Vulcan is forced to contemplate the consequences of Sulu stealing “Akris’ purloined ship” and whether Pavel Chekov’s “dire medical state” is worth risking a galactic conflict over.

Furthermore, it provides the American author with plenty of opportunity to demonstrate just how very well he can handle the science officer’s close relationship with Leonard McCoy. The pair’s banter within this comic is so good that many within its audience should easily be able to hear the voices of actors Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley in their ears, as well as see the character’s facial responses to their verbal sparring and witty repartee in Oleg Chudakov’s pencilling; “Wait. You were messing with me just then weren’t you? I really hate you sometimes.”

Lastly, but by no means least, is Guggenheim’s ability to also give some spotlight to the rest of the U.S.S. Enterprise’s main crew, most notably that of Montgomery Scott and Nurse Christine Chapel. The Chief Engineer’s role within Spock’s plan to locate a pre-warp civilisation upon which the Romulan’s can test their newly-acquired Doomsday weapon is pivotal to this publication’s plot, and additionally provides the Scotsman with an opportunity to exhibit his own biting waggishness once he realises the pointy-eared alien “deemed it an acceptable risk” that he’d be clobbered unconscious by the determined General Uhura so she could escape the Constitution-class vessel in her recently repaired spacecraft.

Writer: Marc Guggenheim, Artist: Oleg Chudakov, and Colorist: DC Alonso

Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Echoes #3 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE No. 3, July 2023

Having arguably established plenty of tension with Admiral James T. Kirk and some of his bridge crew being held captive aboard Commander Toth’s Romulan Bird-of-Prey, Marc Guggenheim’s script for Issue Three “Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Echoes” probably ‘fumbled the ball’ for many of its readers with a series of somewhat corny and unspontaneous sequences which appear to have been manufactured solely to keep the mini-series going for two more editions. In fact, on one occasion some of the comic’s characters actually poke fun at themselves during these silly shenanigans when they use “literally the oldest trick in the book” to escape a prison cell by suddenly pretending to be dying.

One such plot point is surely the inconsistent gun skills of Lieutenant Uhura’s supposedly super-deadly double, who within the blink of an eye is prodigiously pencilled by Russian artist Oleg Chudakov literally blasting away the four Romulan Guards surrounding her with a savagely smooth circle of shots. This pulse-pounding panel then leaves the hard-nosed General staring down an unarmed Akris at point blank range. But rather than blast her arch-nemesis as she did her quartet of subjugators, this publication’s audience are nonsensically meant to believe the sharpshooter becomes so angry that she inadvertently misses her hapless target so he can run off and escape; “Sweet Nyota. Always indulging your emotions at the expense of your aim…”

However, the gravest contrivance is probably Pavel Chekov’s injury which apparently can’t be regenerated by a strangely self-doubting Doctor McCoy and resultantly needs to be stitched back together “the old-fashioned way” by Christine Chapel. To make matters worse the U.S.S. Enterprise's navigator can’t simply receive a blood transfusion of synthplasma either as he inconveniently suffers “from something called Dythraxis”, and sadly the Constitution-class starship is in breach of Starfleet Regulation 4587 by not storing a supply of his blood on board because they were originally on “a shakedown cruise where combat isn’t anticipated.” None of these narratives are compellingly delivered, and simply all lead to the inevitable conclusion that the Federation officers must now return to the Romulan Neutral Zone to somehow get hold of Pavel’s ‘maniacal doppelganger from a parallel universe’ alive.

Writer: Marc Guggenheim, Artist: Oleg Chudakov, and Colorist: DC Alonso

Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Echoes #2 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE No. 2, June 2023

Absolutely packed full of enthralling, edge-of-your-seat action as the fugitive criminal Akris escapes into Romulan space, it is difficult to imagine that many fans of Robert Wise’s 1979 science fiction film weren’t extremely satisfied with Marc Guggenheim’s script for this twenty-two-page periodical. Indeed, the Long Island-born television producer so readily captures the classic feel of Gene Roddenberry’s original series, that Issue Two of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Echoes” could easily be mistaken for something originally conceived by the Great Bird of the Galaxy during Paramount Television Service's unsuccessful attempt to produce a sequel television show; “Dancing is illogical. No amount of context makes it more or less so.”

Foremost of these highly nostalgic feats has to be the way the American author presents Admiral James Tiberius Kirk and the iconic character’s interaction with the rest of his bridge crew – most notably Commander Spock. There’s an eerily genuine swagger to “Starfleet's youngest starship captain” in this comic which quite superbly replicates all actor William Shatner’s confidence when he was performing in the role. In fact, so much of the Federation officer’s dialogue and banter is so ‘spot on’ that the Canadian’s voice repeatedly emanates off of the printed page.

Just as impressive though is this publication’s narrative, which shows the fast-thinking Chief of Starfleet Operations outwitting the Treaty of Algeron in order to pursue an “agent of chaos from a parallel universe”. True, some bibliophiles might find Kirk’s omnipotence concerning just how the Romulan’s will react to his Neutral Zone incursion a little too contrived. But the breach via a ‘stolen’ shuttlecraft and subsequent ferocious firefight aboard Base Station Delta V is so well penned that such a minor quibble is arguably easy to set aside in favour of this book’s pulse-pounding plot.

Pulling all this positivity together are Oleg Chudakov’s somewhat cartoony layouts, which do a great job in imbuing all the U.S.S. Enterprise’s crewmembers with some truly memorable facial expressions. The Russian artist’s fleeting side-exchanges between the considerably sized cast, most notably Pavel Chekov and Hikaru Sulu, are particularly well-drawn, as is the illustrator’s wonderful attention to detail when it comes to capturing the look (and feel) of Robert Fletcher’s uniforms and production designer Harold Michelson’s refitted Constitution-class sets.

Writer: Marc Guggenheim, Artist: Oleg Chudakov, and Colorist: DC Alonso

Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Echoes #1 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE No. 1, May 2023

For those Trekkies who enjoyed the science fiction franchise’s 1979 motion picture, this twenty-two-page plot should assure them that IDW Publishing and Paramount Global were right to allow Marc Guggenheim “to revisit that time period.” For whilst the rather dialogue driven narrative lacks much in the way of action, apart from a brief clash between extra-terrestrial space vessels at its start, the comic’s somewhat sedentary pace rather beautifully captures the atmospheric tone of the Silver Screen setting its American author was clearly trying to emulate.

Indeed, apart from a couple of arguably jarring moments, such as when James Kirk is scolded for addressing a fellow Starfleet Admiral by their first name instead of their rank and a brief reference to the Bajorans, Issue One of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Echoes” could believably have been adapted from an overlooked manuscript penned by screenwriter Harold Livingston himself; “I knew when Heihachrio Nogura agreed to your proposal of a shakedown cruise, it was only a matter of time before you contrived some reason to stay in the centre seat.”

Foremost of these successes is the way Guggenheim wonderfully captures the complex relationship between the U.S.S. Enterprise’s three senior officers. Kirk, Spock and McCoy all act and sound as if they were once again being portrayed by their respective actors, with perhaps the Constitution-class starship’s doctor proving particularly memorable when his permanent presence aboard is questioned by Christine Chapel after he made such a fuss over being drafted at the start of the “V’Ger Crisis.” However, the dialogue between Pavel Chekov and Hikaru Sulu is delivered just as well, especially when the pair are sat working together on the vessel’s bridge.

Helping this nostalgic yarn remain true to Robert Fletcher’s somewhat controversial look of the movie is Oleg Chudakov’s panels, whose slightly cartoony-looking characters still readily depict all the drama taking place within the "almost totally new" Enterprise’s claustrophobic corridors and meeting rooms. In fact, one of the highlights of this comic is when the Federation vessel suddenly appears alongside General Nyota Uhura’s much smaller-sized fighter as the refitted Class 1 Heavy Cruiser is incredibly well-pencilled, and helps stamp this publication’s determination for attention to detail straight from the start.

Writer: Marc Guggenheim, Artist: Oleg Chudakov, and Colorist: DC Alonso