Broken Frontier

IDW’s latest Star Trek title is a curious beast: a new ongoing series that spins off of the 2009 J.J. Abrams movie while re-imagining classic episodes from the original series. It’s an interesting concept – but does it work?

The first issue, appropriately enough, takes its inspiration from the original series’ second pilot episode, Samuel A. Peeples’ "Where No Man Has Gone Before," in which an encounter with a vast energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy leaves the Enterprise heavily damaged and Captain Kirk’s friend Lt. Gary Mitchell exhibiting incredible God-like powers. And that’s exactly what happens here, too.

Okay, there are a few subtle differences along the way – one of the most noticeable being that the character of Elizabeth Dehner from the original episode is absent – but otherwise it’s uncannily similar. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing; "Where No Man Has Gone Before" remains a compelling story, and I don’t doubt that this re-imagined version will take off on its own course in the issues that follow. For longtime Star Trek fans, however, this issue might feel a little like somewhere they’ve quite obviously gone before.

That aside, there’s much to like about this new Star Trek. The art is praiseworthy, with impressive likenesses of the actors from the movie for the most part and nicely detailed exterior views of the Enterprise. A minor criticism is that the colors appear a little muted as opposed to those seen in the film, leaving the comic looking significantly less vibrant than its big-screen counterpart.

Writer Mike Johnson, a veteran of Star Trek comics including Countdown and the official adaptation of the 2009 movie, turns in a tight, concise script that keeps the story flowing along at a decent pace; this is never anything less than an enjoyable, albeit quick, read. It should also be noted that Roberto Orci, one of the writers of the movie and its forthcoming sequel, is listed as a creative consultant, thus providing a reassuring sense of continuity in the new Star Trek universe.

So IDW’s new Star Trek book is off to a good start, despite the story not straying too far from the episode on which it is based. The real test will come in the series’ next few issues when (hopefully) the unique possibilities of the title’s concept and comic book format will give fans something new and exciting to behold. On this basis I’m confident that will be the case; Star Trek Ongoing is certainly one to watch.