Review: Star Trek The Motion Picture - Echoes #1 (of 5)

Thanks to the comics, TV, movies, streaming shows, syndicated shows and reboots there is quite the plethora of Star Trek material covering that “final frontier”. Why then would someone go back and add a retroactive story set after the, probably, most maligned Trek movie; The Motion Picture.

Thanks to the success of Star Wars, it is said that Gene Reddenberry was dying to get Trek in the cinema. After a failed Phase 2 show (that would never happen now by the way), scripts were amended, reviewed, edited and we get Star Trek: The Emotion pIcture or Star Trek: The Motionless Picture. Hordes of Trek fans made sure it was a financial success, but story wise?

This book is set after the V’ger crisis with the Enterprise on yet another shakedown cruise. Of course, this being Trek, where there is Kirk, there is trouble. Thanks to a spatial anomaly, a strange visitor is bequeathed into Kirk’s universe, with a dire mission. It is up to Kirk and co. to determine if the surprisingly familiar yet new life is telling the truth and if so how does the good Captain proceed?

I have loads of time for writer, producer, screen writer Marc Guggenheim have first encountered his writing on JSA, seeing his TV work on the Arrowverse and of course on the equally as maligned as ST: TMP, Green lantern movie. Here though, the book feels like an odd mix of styles. Story wise, there are aspects of the classic The Alternative Factor in play, along with the more obvious Mirror, Mirror comparisons. The dialogue carries a level of humour that I didn’t expect; the back and forth between Chekov and Sulu is an example. Therein lies the problem; the dialogue screams of crew familiarity and almost relegation of the strange new visitor and coincidences that occur in the story. This is a far cry from the sullen timeframe of The Motion Picture. Set this book after Undiscovered Country or even The Final Frontier and it would be a match, though you would lose the brief “Starfleet needs you back Jim” undertone. Guggenheim does write in a way that requires you to be aware of the foibles of Trek, be it the continuity, the Romulans and of course the Neutral Zone.

As always licensed books live and die with the art; Kirk has to look like Kirk, Spock can’t be just some bloke with pointy ears! Oleg Chudakov provides some really strong panels; the Enterprise looks like the majestic Queen of the galaxy she deserves to be. Additionally, some of the faces work extremely well; early panels of Kirk look great, good use of Doctor Chapel (she got promoted remember!) and Bones is damn near perfect. Things go a little wonky with Chekov and Uhura, possibly in trying to accentuate their ethnicity Chudakov has lost control of his pencils or inks slightly. The colors by DC Alonso mirror the movies time frame well with dark muted colors last seen in the future as planned circa 1979! Jeff Eckleberry’s font keeps the story and pace moving; first issues can be hazardous with the various explanations and setups just setting sail. It is an IDW book, there a few covers to choose from; buyer choice wins out.

I love Star Trek. Some how Trek manages its various continuity elements better than Star Wars; trying to explain where Rogue One fits into Star Wars to my wife is painful. Is it this flexibility, handling different time threads or even universes that makes Trek so endearing to so many? I don’t have the answer. What I do know is, that despite the off-key elements here, I am all in on another series to boldly go, where we may have been before!

Writing – 3.5 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 4 Stars

Written by; Marc Guggenheim
Art by; Oleg Chudakov
Colors by; DC Alonso
Letters by; Jeff Eckleberry
Published by; IDW

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network