Star Trek: The Next Generation: Through The Mirror #5 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION: THROUGH THE MIRROR No. 5, May 2018

Whilst the rationale behind “IDW Publishing” having the “Tipton brothers” join “forces with several artists” in order to help share the pencilling burden for “a weekly event miniseries that pits the Mirror crew against the crew from the prime universe” makes some sense, editor Sarah Gaydos’ choice to utilise the drawing skills of Debora Carita for Issue Five of “Star Trek: The Next Generation: Through The Mirror” arguably must have caused some of the comic’s readers to frown at the book’s decidedly different interior work when compared to the clean cartoon(ish) lines of the Brazilian’s predecessor’s Josh Hood or Chris Johnson.

Admittedly, the professional illustrator’s slightly disconcerting technique to heavily sketch her characters’ facial features does provide the war-like invaders of the Martorelles Array with a palpable sense of savagery which her forerunners' storyboarding occasionally had lacked, especially her heavily scarred one-eyed William Riker or dastardly despicable version of the evil Jean-Luc Picard. But such a scratchy style sadly doesn’t appear to suit that of the U.S.S. Enterprise’s “fully armed Away Team”, and resultantly actor Patrick Stewart’s Starfleet captain seemingly lurches from having a decidedly disorganised amount of unruly hair surrounding his ordinarily bald head to apparently obtaining an unsightly squint whenever he issues an order; “Commander Data, Ensign Crusher, continue your efforts to find ways to detect them and prevent them from crossing over in the future.”

Of course, such creative quibbles were probably quickly cast aside by this sixteen-page periodical’s audience once its action-packed phaser-fight started, and despite any strong doubts concerning the artificial nature of coincidences which caused the two bridge crews to fortuitously meet face-to-face within a deserted space station, few franchise fans would surely have criticised the sense-shattering shoot-out which follows Mirror Picard’s order to “engage!” Indeed, the carousel of zinging laser beams and resultant pulse-pounding punch-up between the two super-strong androids is debatably the highlight of the entire title’s run, even if David Tipton’s belief his writing portrays the captain’s “alternate-universe counterpart” as “a surprisingly nuanced character… [who’s] skilled at dealing with people in ways you might not expect” doesn’t appear borne out by this publication’s viciously vengeful, unashamedly barbaric doppelganger…

Sadly however, despite such an injection of entertaining interaction between the comic’s considerable cast, the collaborative couple’s script for their secondary tale “Ripe For Plunder” ends on something of a debatable disappointment, having spent so long bringing the Mirror Soong-type automaton and Emperor Spock together. Suddenly all-too menacing and determined for the elderly half-Vulcan to “give me what I want”, the ‘camera’ unbelievably pans away from the chillingly-cold Borg-enhanced killer just as the one-time ruler’s pugnacious bodyguard attempt to swarm him and frustratingly only refocuses upon a now blood-spattered Data once he leaves the monarch’s secret abode, clutching a handful of multi-coloured data slates…

The regular cover art of "STAR TREK: TNG: THROUGH THE MIRROR" No. 5 by J.K. Woodward

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Through The Mirror #4 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION: THROUGH THE MIRROR No. 4, May 2018

It is hard to imagine many of this weekly mini-series’ readers being particularly impressed with the plot developments found inside the J.K. Woodward painted cover for Issue Four of “Star Trek: The Next Generation: Through The Mirror”. True, David and Scott Tipton’s narrative does deliver the U.S.S. Enterprise and its bridge crew to precisely the co-ordinates Mirror Lieutenant Barclay wanted, whilst Inquisitor Troi additionally manages to suppress all warnings on an antimatter radiation leak simulation designed to cause the Galaxy-class starship’s occupants to obligingly abandon their vessel at the Martorelles Array.

Yet what initially appears to be about to produce a promising phaser-filled confrontation between Captain Picard and his doppelganger’s command, either in outer space or within the confines of their crafts’ capacious corridors, disappointingly soon manifests into a bizarrely unbloody, dialogue-driven plan for this title’s main adversaries to teleport an “empty warship” over to their home dimension and “save us the problem of dispensing with over a thousand hostages.” Hardly the sort of sense-shattering shenanigans promised by “IDW Publishing” when they advertised that this particular comic’s story would see “the fate of a galaxy hanging in the balance!”

Instead all the collaborative creative team can offer is the utterly illogical premise that the I.S.S. Enterprise’s senior officers would all willingly transport themselves over to the incredibly vulnerable “high-powered deep space listening post” simply to provide their bald, goatee-bearded leader an opportunity to laboriously thank them in person for going “against our very nature” and remaining “loyal to me”. Such a contrived state-of-affairs is then made all the less convincing by the ‘brother authors’ suggestion that the savage invaders would subsequently dally about even longer simply so their captain can subsequently see their prize’s response to the “false emergency” which they've manufactured; “Speaking of which: Commander Data! When will the evacuation begin? I’m rather keen to see it for myself.”

Similarly as unspontaneous is the pair’s penmanship for “Ripe For Plunder”, which having spent the best part of three instalments tracking Emperor Spock to his “sort of austere retirement” depicts the Mirror Soong-type android simply sitting down at a small lantern-lit table talking to the elderly half-Vulcan. Indeed, the coldly calculating second officer even goes as far as to reassure his wizened prize that he has not come to kill him. Such a politely-spoken, non-threatening stance seems highly unlikely considering Data has supposedly taken “considerable effort... to find you here”, just killed a number of pointy-eared scientist’s bodyguards and actually requires the denounced ruler’s help “to use the transporter as a means to travel across to this alternate universe”..?

Writers: David Tipton & Scott Tipton, and Artist: Carlos Nieto

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Through The Mirror #3 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION: THROUGH THE MIRROR No. 3, May 2018

Focusing almost entirely upon the Mirror Universe’s viciously vile incarnation of Lieutenant Reginald Endicott Barclay III, Issue Three of “Star Trek: The Next Generation: Through The Mirror” ably demonstrates just how decidedly different “the voyages of the I.S.S Enterprise” must have been to those depicted in the American science-fiction television series from 1987 to 1994. For whilst David and Scott Tipton’s narrative still features the somewhat familiar looking characters of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, William Riker and Deanna Troi, the almost palpable aura of utter evil which encompasses each individual like some sort of sinful satanic shroud, genuinely permeates even the most non-violent of scenes, such as when the Galaxy-class Federation starship’s bearded first officer encounters his imzadi’s doppelganger and wonders why the pouting dark-haired beauty is suddenly wearing her old miniskirt uniform. 

Perhaps this sixteen-page periodical’s biggest draw however, is just how surprisingly violent some of its sequences are with the highly arrogant systems diagnostic engineer thinking nothing of bringing his foes low with a double-handed blow to the base of the neck, or savagely stabbing his superior officer in the belly whilst wearing a deeply disturbing maniacal grin upon his face. Long-time fans of the franchise may well remember Captain Kirk’s persistent over-reliance upon physical confrontations as a solution to his predicaments, yet even the “only student at Starfleet Academy to defeat the Kobayashi Maru test” was never shown to be as bloodthirsty or savage as "Broccoli" is here; “My name is Barclay, and I will not be disrespected. Are we clear? Good.” 

Equally as entertaining is Josh Hood’s clever inclusion of numerous Starfleet uniform designs from the past. It’s clear from Inquisitor Troi’s holo-deck simulation that the female Betazoid’s military intelligence is a few years out of date, due to the Terran Empire erroneously believing that the Federation are still wearing the attire created by “veteran costumer William Ware Theiss” for the program’s pilot episode “Encounter At Farpoint Station”. This blunder not only adds some additional tension to the storyline once the evil duplicates teleport on board the U.S.S. Enterprise, but also provides a pleasant feeling of nostalgia to proceedings. 

Interestingly, this publication’s short, “Ripe For Plunder”, is also a frighteningly ferocious fight-fest; albeit one in which the victor is never in any noticeable doubt. Ambushed within a dark, underground cave system by a pack of bestial, Klingon-looking aliens, Data’s all-too apparent super-strength and advantageous Borg technology disappointingly allows the android to overcome his foes with remarkable ease. Indeed, the automaton’s success in defeating his attackers is sadly, as unsurprising as is his subsequent discovery of Emperor Spock hiding in the catacomb’s furthest room…

Writers: David Tipton & Scott Tipton, and Artist: Josh Hood

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Through The Mirror #2 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION: THROUGH THE MIRROR No. 2, May 2018

On the face of it, David and Scott Tipton’s script for Issue Two of “Star Trek: The Next Generation: Through The Mirror” is a fairly standard story which could easily have appeared on the small screen during the American science-fiction television programme’s Late Eighties run. In fact, besides the U.S.S. Enterprise rescue mission involving an Andorian Battle Cruiser, a rather enjoyable nod back to the franchise’s original series, the collaborative couple’s narrative contains few innovative surprises until the sixteen-page periodical’s penultimate panel when an astonished Captain Picard and his bearded Commander witness their dark universe counterparts stealing equipment from the blue-coloured aliens’ ransacked vessel via the Shashpar’s security recordings.

Admittedly, that isn’t to say that this second instalment to the weekly “IDW Publishing” mini-series didn’t probably provide its audience with plenty of entertainment, as Lieutenant Commander Throllob attempts to slice the “pink-skin” William Riker “for your crimes” with a seriously-sharp looking bladed weapon and a heavily perspiring Geordi La Forge waits until the very last second before ejecting the damaged spacecraft’s warp core; “You have to remember, Data, as a Chief Engineer, I spend all of my time trying to make sure we don’t eject a warp core.” But such trials ("and tribble-ations") have undoubtedly been seen more than once before, and as a result suggest that the writing team were simply going through the motions when they penned this particular publication…

Similarly as straightforward is Chris Johnson’s pencilling, which whilst of a tolerable, high(ish) standard, occasionally must have arguably struck a reader as being somewhat overly cartoonish in its execution, especially whenever the California-born illustrator sketches actor Jonathan Frakes’ character or imbues Data with one of the android’s more ‘human’ facial expressions. Such stylistic quibbles however, are rather minor in the grand scheme of things, as the professional digital artist indubitably provides this comic book with a thoroughly enjoyable pace, courtesy of his speedy story-boarding and dynamically-drawn figures, as well as an ability to depict a seriously dilapidated spaceship, complete with wrecked “junction blockers”, numerous corpses, and buckets of blood splatters.  

Undoubtedly disconcertingly dimmer though, is this magazine’s secondary tale “Ripe For Plunder”, which being set “months earlier, and an alternate universe away” supposedly establishes a precursory plot involving Doctor Noonian Soong’s creation searching the Terran records keeping repository “for all the information you can supply me on the life and times of Emperor Spock.” Essentially little more than a carousel of planetary visits and unheard conversations with some of the viciously violent galaxy’s more nefarious information dealers, this four-page short can’t sadly even be saved by J.K.Woodward’s paintings...

Writers: David Tipton & Scott Tipton, and Artist: Chris Johnson

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Through The Mirror #1 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION: THROUGH THE MIRROR No. 1, May 2018

Supposedly released as the first of five weekly instalments “because you demanded it”, this opening instalment to “the smash hit mini-series Mirror Broken” rather firmly fixes its attention upon the exploits of Commander Worf, as opposed to the rest of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D’s bridge crew. Indeed, apart from a handful of panels spent exploring the Starfleet Mining Facility on Naia IV, this entire sixteen-page periodical meticulously follows in the Klingon officer’s heavy footsteps.

Fortunately however, even those readers disinterested in the specific exploits of the “son of Mogh”, should still find David and Scott Tipton’s story-telling technique rather interesting, as it arguably works rather well as a plot-device to gradually inform the comic’s audience as to how the Federation staff’s investigation into a string of missing pieces of equipment is progressing. Admittedly, the Head of Security for the Galaxy-class starship was by necessity always going to be the one to spot the Mirror Universe’s doppelganger within their midst, but that doesn’t stop his subsequent fire-fight against a goatee-bearded Lieutenant Jones to be any less pulse-pounding.

In fact, Worf’s phaser exchange with the thieving technician deep inside the atmospherically dark Computer Labs is scintillatingly stuff, especially when Marcus To dynamically pencils the Klingon’s crew-mates, Reese and Hana, joining the ferocious fray and unsuccessfully attempt to corner their target with a flurry of laser fire. Angry, frustrated, his lavender-coloured blood clearly up, one can almost hear the Commander’s foul, warrior-based oaths being muttered beneath his breath as he leads Captain Ochoa and Lieutenant Amato headlong through the station’s arboretum and straight into a trap staged by a hidden alternative version of William Riker and seriously evil-looking Geordi La Forge; “The only place he could be heading in this wing of the complex is your transporter room…. Phasers ready. There he is! Don’t let him get away! Grrrr…”

Correspondingly as captivating is the comic book writing team’s “back-up” tale, “Ripe For Plunder”, which besides being beautifully painted by American artist J.K. Woodward, also provides plenty of potential insight into just what caused the Mirror Universe crew to “find their way” to the Prime plane of existence once again. Ultimately settling upon Jean-Luc Picard’s concerns as to Emperor Spock’s whereabouts, this four-pager explores just how bad things have gotten for the “cruel” Terran Empire since the Cardassians “destroyed… several key resource installations and mining colonies”, and intriguingly ends with the starship captain dispatching the barbaric realm’s Data in his yacht to “seek out other sources of information” on the former I.S.S. Enterprise's half-Vulcan first officer.

The regular cover art of "STAR TREK: TNG: THROUGH THE MIRROR" No. 1 by J.K. Woodward