Scan barcode
frakalot's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This edition features three missions from TOS rewritten for the Kelvin timeline. I was mildly keen to see what the writers would do but overall this was a flop. I think it fails because of the comic format which is a substantially shorter space for storytelling and the end result seems to mostly be just snipping out features and flipping a bit here and there. If this idea had been given the space of a novel for each retelling then I think we might have ended up with something new and fascinating.
I didn't mind the artwork most of the time, but there were some very ugly panels. Including one close up of Kirk's face which was just horrid. Usually the settings and equipment were well drawn but the faces were very inconsistent.
First up, S01E03 - Where No Man Has Gone Before. I didn't see the point of this. We're told that events play out differently in these rewrites but really this is just a truncated version of the same thing, there's nothing new added. We omit Gary's female acquaintance and the epic final rock battle is cut short, but that's about it. Also, the SS Valiant is described as an old Starfleet vessel which had gone missing two hundred years prior but... that is about 100 years before Starfleet was founded. Or for context, that's only ten years after WWIII and around the same time as the first contact with Vulcans. Face palm. The time of the disappearance is correct as per the original TOS episode but the missing vessel belonged to the United Earth Space Probe Agency, Starfleet's predecessor. Sheesh. Quit picking nits Frank.
Next up, S01E16 - The Galileo Seven. Disappointing all around. The original episode has such a dramatic sequence of events which were almost all excluded from this retelling. It starts the same and ends almost the same but the stuffing in the middle has been largely squandered and instead of ending with one last desperate act by Spock, someone else makes a bold move to sweep in and save the day. There it is, your alternate version of these events is just a meat pie without the meat.
Finally, S01E29 - Operation: Annihilate. This is the only story that was significantly altered. It starts with a flashback to Kirk's childhood, a scenario depicting an uncomfortable relationship with his angry Uncle Frank and that's how we learn that Captain Kirk's brother had run away from home. Strangely this story named Jim's brother as George, instead of Sam as he was originally known in the prime timeline. Captain Kirk still meets his nephew Peter and his brother's wife (unnamed here) but events on Deneva play out rather differently. I won't ruin the story but I'll note that although the overgrown single celled organisms were immune to phasers in the original, the weapons appear to be affective here.
The stories are super briefly tied together when near the end of the third story Uhura says to Spock that he hasn't been acting himself and references his actions in the second story. Presumably this is a thread that later Kelvin comics might have pursued and has to do with Spock's persisting grief at the loss of Vulcan.
Even though I'd rate the final story higher, two out of three stories were time wasters so I'm settling on two stars for this which is a shame because the concept had great potential.
I didn't mind the artwork most of the time, but there were some very ugly panels. Including one close up of Kirk's face which was just horrid. Usually the settings and equipment were well drawn but the faces were very inconsistent.
First up, S01E03 - Where No Man Has Gone Before. I didn't see the point of this. We're told that events play out differently in these rewrites but really this is just a truncated version of the same thing, there's nothing new added. We omit Gary's female acquaintance and the epic final rock battle is cut short, but that's about it. Also, the SS Valiant is described as an old Starfleet vessel which had gone missing two hundred years prior but... that is about 100 years before Starfleet was founded. Or for context, that's only ten years after WWIII and around the same time as the first contact with Vulcans. Face palm. The time of the disappearance is correct as per the original TOS episode but the missing vessel belonged to the United Earth Space Probe Agency, Starfleet's predecessor. Sheesh. Quit picking nits Frank.
Next up, S01E16 - The Galileo Seven. Disappointing all around. The original episode has such a dramatic sequence of events which were almost all excluded from this retelling. It starts the same and ends almost the same but the stuffing in the middle has been largely squandered and instead of ending with one last desperate act by Spock, someone else makes a bold move to sweep in and save the day. There it is, your alternate version of these events is just a meat pie without the meat.
Finally, S01E29 - Operation: Annihilate. This is the only story that was significantly altered. It starts with a flashback to Kirk's childhood, a scenario depicting an uncomfortable relationship with his angry Uncle Frank and that's how we learn that Captain Kirk's brother had run away from home. Strangely this story named Jim's brother as George, instead of Sam as he was originally known in the prime timeline. Captain Kirk still meets his nephew Peter and his brother's wife (unnamed here) but events on Deneva play out rather differently. I won't ruin the story but I'll note that although the overgrown single celled organisms were immune to phasers in the original, the weapons appear to be affective here.
The stories are super briefly tied together when near the end of the third story Uhura says to Spock that he hasn't been acting himself and references his actions in the second story. Presumably this is a thread that later Kelvin comics might have pursued and has to do with Spock's persisting grief at the loss of Vulcan.
Even though I'd rate the final story higher, two out of three stories were time wasters so I'm settling on two stars for this which is a shame because the concept had great potential.
suggoiai's review
5.0
I should note that my rating for the Star Trek Graphic novel collection is comparative within the series; these are a fun read, and a good collection of all the Star Trek comics stories out there, but not life changing literature.
That being said, this takes the Kelvin universe crew on some of the TOS adventures. It was fun seeing this crew with their personalities differing from the originals deal with familiar situations.
This also included Gold Key comic #11, another Len Wein story. His writing is a little less convoluted than some of the previous stories, but it still has more a pulp sci-fi feel than a Trek feel.
That being said, this takes the Kelvin universe crew on some of the TOS adventures. It was fun seeing this crew with their personalities differing from the originals deal with familiar situations.
This also included Gold Key comic #11, another Len Wein story. His writing is a little less convoluted than some of the previous stories, but it still has more a pulp sci-fi feel than a Trek feel.
More...