Review – Star Trek #28 (IDW Publishing)

Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Mike Johnson
Artist: Erfan Fajar
Release Date: 18th December 2013

When ‘The Khitomer Conflict’ started back in issue #25, my main criticism with the Star Trek ongoing series was mainly down to issues with the art. As the arc comes to a close, things are vastly improved.

This arc has done well to set up future stories, having introduced the mysterious and pretty amoral Section 31 into the comics as well as a potentially pretty decent character in Yuki Sulu. Both of these elements are ripe for expansion and could very well be central to some interesting stories down the line, especially as we see in this issue just how far Section 31 will go to ensure Earth’s security. Knowing the Federation have a really underhand black ops division adds an interesting dynamic to the Star Trek universe, as our heroes are always portrayed as a little too ‘goody two shoes’.

Issue #28 is paced perfectly, and although the story felt a little rushed to begin with, the difference here is really surprising in just four issues. Mike Johnson wraps everything up really comfortably, and leaves just enough loose ends for certain characters to turn up again farther down the line.

As I mentioned before, my main issue with this title has been Erfan Fajar’s artwork, and the extreme close-up’s and film star likenesses are still present and accounted for, but this issue is just so much better to look at than the last three instalments. The colours still look a little flat, but the bland backgrounds and boring layouts of previous issues are almost nowhere to be seen, and the artwork on this title is finally doing Johnson’s writing justice.

I jumped on this title just as ‘The Khitomer Conflict’ kicked off, and issue #28 has done enough to keep me interested and to continue reading. It’s a licensed property, so as always, it won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but ‘Star Trek’ almost lost me immediately. This issue won me back.