Review – Star Trek #42 (IDW Publishing)

Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Mike Johnson
Artist: Cat Staggs
Release Date: 25 February, 2015

Now that IDW’s Star Trek is back into the swing of one-shots and two-to-three-parters, it has once again assumed the role of – well – the only serialised Star Trek canon that is currently available between movies. With no new television series’ on the horizon, it falls to the comics to give Trek fans their dose of new life and new civilisations. Thankfully, Star Trek #42 shows that ‘showrunner’ Mike Johnson understands his role in delivering great Trek content that stays true to the heart of what Star Trek is all about.

We’re treated from the start to some lovely and ethereal background art of Behemoth, which is very reminiscent of Star Trek: The Motion Picture’s V’ger. Some shots of the Enterprise are almost expressionistic in their low detail, but possess a great sense of speed and balletic movements through space. The character art throughout this issue is much improved upon #41, as the reduction in art based on photo references allows for far more naturalistic facial expressions.

Honestly, all the characters just seem to be part of the scenes that they are in, rather than merely being a hyper-detailed model stuck on top of the background. It definitely makes for a reading experience which is much softer and pleasant on the eyes. When the photo references do appear however, they certainly can detract from an art experience which already felt fantastic without their use.

I noticed just before I started reading that the Star Trek comics are now subtitled as “5 Year Mission”, a reference to the Enterprise’s role in Starfleet’s largest ever push into the unknown, and I’m glad to see that Mike Johnson understands the importance of that particular phrase. With references to the prototypical nature of much of the Enterprise’s equipment, as well as the unknown and frightening nature of Behemoth, Johnson really nails the exploratory nature that is meant to underpin The Five Year Mission.

Even as a fan of the rebooted Trek films, I hope that much of what transpires in these comics can, appear in Trek 3, tonaly at least. The highlight of the issue is a discussion on the moral quandary of killing Behemoth – something which is merely following its natural instincts – to save billions of lives. This is what Trek is all about when it’s at its best.

Rating: 4/5.

The Writer of this piece was: Andrew Stevens
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