ComicsStar Trek

Star Trek: Countdown To Darkness by Roberto Orci, Mike Johnson and David Messing (graphic novel review).

‘Star Trek: Countdown To Darkness’ is the prelude to the latest film ‘Star Trek: ‘Into Darkness’, which I suspect some of you out there might have seen already. Quite why having John Harrison on the cover beats me as he only has a cameo panel right at the end.

StarTrekCountdownToDarknessGN

How much to say about this story without going spoiler. Much of this story is to show the pocket universe versions of Kirk and Spock’s reaction to violating the Prime Directive and being thrown into a situation where they are both continually re-evaluating their decisions.

There are more than direct comparisons to the original ‘Star Trek’ series where missing Starfleet officers turn up and doing just that which is the core of this story. The Enterprise arrives at a planet to observe than visit a developing species only to find that it is becoming a developing society to become part of a growing empire. This is a well-known path but explaining too much really does become spoiler. The reboot is just allowing a re-cycle with a more up-to-date (sic) interpretation. Kirk delegates his command to his senior officers when he leave the Enterprise and they do so as well. If this keeps up in the film versions, are we likely to see a cadet left running the bridge? Don’t these officers show any respect to their orders and responsibilities?

David Messing’s art catches the likenesses of the currents actors very well but he falls down with the Enterprise which looks more like the one in the animated adventures back in the 70s.

I suspect, regardless, ‘Star Trek’ fans will pick up all things Trek regardless. How canon this is will have to be compared to the second film. I await my DVD to find out.

GF Willmetts

(pub: Titan Books. 104 page graphic novel softcover. Price: £ 9.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-78116-837-0)
check out websites: www.titanbooks.com and www.startrek.com

UncleGeoff

Geoff Willmetts has been editor at SFCrowsnest for some 21 plus years now, showing a versatility and knowledge in not only Science Fiction, but also the sciences and arts, all of which has been displayed here through editorials, reviews, articles and stories. With the latter, he has been running a short story series under the title of ‘Psi-Kicks’ If you want to contribute to SFCrowsnest, read the guidelines and show him what you can do. If it isn’t usable, he spends as much time telling you what the problems is as he would with material he accepts. This is largely how he got called an Uncle, as in Dutch Uncle. He’s not actually Dutch but hails from the west country in the UK.

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