Review: Star Trek Hell's Mirror

Talk to any old school Trekkie / Trekker which are their favourite episodes of Classic Trek and you will be hard pressed to come up with a top three that doesn’t include, “City on the Edge of Forever”, “Mirror, Mirror” and “Space Seed”.Â It is the latter two that get the mash-up treatment, with a book that could classed as Khan Through the Looking Glass.

This is an ambitious one-shot book that looks at some of the tertiary aspects of both the original episodes.Â In this book, Spock has deserted the Empire to ally himself with Khan who has a secret plan in which to free the galaxy from the thrall of the Empire.Â Kirk, wanting to be on the winning side, also defects after he looks to sacrifice all he holds dear to prove his worth.Â But is every mirror reflection is a true representation?

Old school Trek has the reputation of phaser first and ask questions later.Â This book is therefore a different type of beast with debate and different points of view replacing phasers and photon torpedoes.Â Who better then, to chart this new course than J.M. DeMatteis, a writer who excels a delivering thought provoking comic book stories.Â Hell’s Mirror is no exception as the seeds of Mirror Spock is taken to its logical conclusion and married to a more regal and royal Khan who is. a far cry from his last movie appearance.Â Khan possess the one classic characteristic that is in every great villain; he doesn’t see himself as the villain; he believes totally in his world view.Â Here in lies the true conflict in this book as whilst Kahn may have a great deal to feel superior about, does he have Kirk’s level of commitment. DeMatteis use of dialogue supplies a strong recognition of the main characters involved along with well worked secrets that fit well into the nuanced threads from the respective episodes.

The art is supplied by Matthew Dow Smith whose pencils are just recognisable enough to pass muster for a tie-in book.Â Poses may seem a tad wooden in places and no matter how hard he tries, there is a lack of movement which hinders one of the best classic Trek motifs; the fist fight!Â There is almost a sense of “Gold Key” about the art that’s is almost, but not quite Trek.Â The facial elements are a tad lacking and it is probably reader’s choice as to whether the art is a step too far.Â Candice Han supplies the colors in a scheme that tries hard to add depth to proceedings; I don’t think that Han is well served with some closed environments to contend with.Â Finally letterer Neil Uyetake does a great job with the sheer wordage in this book; I especially liked the black text boxes with the yellow font.

I have said many times in the past, thatÂ comics work best when the writing and art work in conjunction.Â If that doesn’t happen, then I can handle great writing with poor art, but not the reverse.Â Thankfully, the fantastically clever writing of DeMatteis is strong enough to carry the, at times, less than stellar art.Â This book is an interesting read of a Trek universe that never was.

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 3 Stars
Colors – 3.5 Stars

Overall – 4 Stars

Written by; J.M. DeMatteis
Art by; Matthew Dow Smith
Colors by; Candice Han
Letters by; Neil Uyetake
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