Review: Star Trek Year 5 #18

There is an axiom that questions “does life imitate art or does art imitate life?” This idea raises its untimely head in this weeks Star Trek Year 5 comic.

On its way back to Earth, to set up events seen in Star Trek the Motion (less?) Picture, the Enterprise receives a distress call from relatively nearby Alpha Centauri. It seems that the planet has acquired a global pandemic that is routinely killing its inhabitants. Now it’s up to the medical skills of McCoy who is a “doctor dammit, not a miracle worker”, to solve this particular problem. Of course, this being Star Trek there are complications, that, given we know how it ends (if you have suffered the first Star Trek movie), seems more than a little extenuating.

This story is written by Jim McCann who pretty much gets the voices of the crew down pretty well, especially between the main three characters. There is perhaps a sense of over familiarity between Sulu and Chekov; Uhura is perfect though. McCann expands on the ever present tension between Spock and McCoy sowing the seeds of Spock’s descent into the need to expunge all emotion. Of course when it comes to Spock, McCoy’s bedside manner is sorely lacking. There is a cause of the illness, but there is quite a leap to get there, it’s the kind of leap that can only be made in Trek.

The art is supplied by Angel Hernandez who, as fans of tie-in books will appreciate, does a great job of making the characters look like their television counterparts, though I don’t think Sulu was ever that broad or Kirk that svelte, bur hey thats artistic license for you! Hernandez’ art is pacy as it flows through the story with some excellent observations of the old school Enterprise. Colors are provided by Fran Gamboa who filters her scheme in line with 60’s show. Great work. Finally, Neil Uyetake does a fantastic job with the letters on this book; it’s a wordy book for sure, it is the start of a new arc as well as part of a “five year mission”.

There is a problem with this book and the problem has very little to do with the creators. It is a timing problem. As is stands, at the time of writing, the area of the UK I live in is in tier four, meaning that due to the actual corona virus pandemic, I have to stay at home, there are no gyms, barbers, no non-essential shops open and the threat of school closures. Now, I know that I am not the only one who is going through this. There are people in worse situations, who have lost so much more than me. So my question for IDW; is now really the best time to release a pandemic arc, when the entire world is living it?

From a comic book only point of view, the production quality of the book’s writing and art meets what fans have come to expect from IDW’s Star Trek line.

Writing – 3.5 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars
Timing – 0 Stars

Overall – 3.5 Stars

Written by; Jim McCann
Art by; Angel Hernandez
Colors by; Fran Gamboa
Letters by; Neil Uyetake
Published by; IDW Publishing

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