REVIEW: STAR TREK YEAR FIVE TP VOL 01 ODYSSEYS END

“Congratulations on not blowing up the ship Jim.” – Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy

Synopsis:

The opening to this volume is intense as a figure in the shadows is holding Kirk at gun point. Kirk is doing, apparently, his last Captain’s log as the shadowy figure is commanding him to. kirk is reciting the prolog to the original series and is in desperate need of assistance. Then we flashback to the crew about to embark on another mission towards the end of her five year journey.

The Creative Team:

Jackson Lanzing. Brandon Easton, and Jody Hauser have the crew going on a mission called Project Ouroboros. This involves the prevention of a massive explosion which would cause the sterilization of many races within the quadrant. We cut to Kirk’s quarters where Dr. McCoy enters and his friend tells him that he just made admiral, but this news doesn’t seem to make him happy. An old enemy rears it’s ugly, literally, head in the person of the Tholians. I’m enjoying where part one is leading as it’s creating a good mystery for the enterprise crew. One fault I do find with ST comics though is that they keep revisiting what we’ve already seen. They keep drawing from TOS instead of taking our crew in different directions and new aliens to seek out. But this is a good tale. I enjoyed seeing Uhura come up with a way to break through the Tholians defenses. I am especially enjoying the scene where Kirk tries to connect with a Tholian that they have in captivity. It’s some thought provoking dialog and fits well within Trek lore. This writing team gives us a delicate balance between peace and war. Kirk and crew are trying desperately to avoid the latter and at the same time maintain Starfleet’s dignity. Some of the best comic book writing in Star Trek, including all incarnations from Gold Key in 1967 to the present day. Great stuff includes the cat and mouse game between the enterprise and a Tholian ship also, the return of the Iotians.

Thompson, Coccolo, and Califano all have their unique take on the iconic characters, but despite being different artists on different books, the art is fairly consistent here. All three make the iconic characters look like the iconic actors. The art work through the years on Star Trek comics has been so inconsistent, that is, until IDW took over the artistic chores, to be sure they also have their share of weak artists on some Trek books, but for the most part have delivered excellence in the art department. Highlights include the “Vote for Spock” poster and the look of Hesperides 1.

In Conclusion:

IDW, I feel, has done the best work with Star Trek in the medium of comic books and this title gives us a little bit of everything that made Star Trek great. The tension, the drama, the humor are all displayed here and all hold up to the best of what TOS brought us in the 1960s. Uhura has a better part then most of the regular crew and this seems fair since she was one of the most underused characters in TOS. In the final chapter the crew is pushed to the brink as something is causing tempers to flare, something is also causing them to hear things in this final piece of the puzzle. The final pages bring us a new look for an old adversary and if I have to tell you who they are you are clearly not a Star Trek fan. This was a great homage to an excellent show. I plan to read it again. **** (9.4 rating)

SCORE: 4/5

Writer – Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Brandon Easton, Jody Houser
Art – Stephen Thompson, Martin Coccolo, Sylvia Califano
Colors – Charlie Kirchoff, Fran Gamboa, Thomas Deer
Letters – Neil Uyetake
Publisher – IDW

Author Profile

Kevin Given

Kevin Given has studied with “ Longridge Writers Group ” and “ Writer’s Boot Camp ” a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the “ Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter ” franchise which includes novels and comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of “ Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter ” # 1 and “ Files of Karl Vincent ” # 1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series “ Dracula Rising ” (working title) and developing “ Foul Blood ” into comic book form. Don't forget to check out the YouTube show " Comics: Let's Talk " hosted by Kevin Given

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