My license to say that comes from the fact that I have watched plenty of Star Trek because the woman who’s womb I was pushed out of happened to be a Trekkie who would record episodes from the various series’ onto TDK tapes prior to the existence of DVD box sets; streamable content be damned! So I may not have a U.S.S. badge, but I certainly have earned my stripes to weigh in on this topic and to give credit where credit is due, and the Tipton’s and their crew deserve every ounce of that.
The story in issue five surrounds Picard and the rest of the dastardly I.S.S. attempting to goad the Klingon/Cardassian alliance into an all out war, for of course what all wars are fought for : resources. In this case, dilithium. Every member of the Enterprise here takes some form of center stage as they attempt to help their captain for their own selfish motivations, as Picard does what he can so his bosses do not shut down his operation and ultimately his Starfleet career. Though the focus shifts to Ryker and Data for a majority of this chapter, Deanna Troi is once more highlighted in her role as the crew’s residential sadist, in charge of interrogating one of the Klingon P.O.W.s. “The Mirror War” is Star Trek at it’s most brutal, exemplified as energy blasts go straight through Cardassian heads, and reader’s know that this Starfleet crew never heard an order to set their phasers to stun. Kirchoff’s colors bring such a bleak feel to the page that is instantly mood changing while going through the weekly comic book haul. Paired with Smith’s pencil work, this crew more than accomplishes bringing the Tipton’s dark vision to life.
The cut off sleeve designs of the StarFleet suits are not the only thing that let’s readers know that this version of Star Trek is oozing with machismo. The unbridled violence, the disregard in the faces of Picard’s crew whenever he screws up, shows just how threatening “The Mirror War” corner of Star Trek really is, where everybody is in it for themselves and nothing is ever what it seems.
Fresh and surprising, this is a Star Trek story that will stay in the heads of Trekkie’s for years to come, out of fond memorability not mockery. If the dialogue is as gripping as heads being blown off, then what the Tipton’s’ and their team have created here in “Mirror War” is a treasure deep as a dilithium mine.
Score : 4.5/5
(W) David Tipton, Scott Tipton (A) Gavin Smith (CA) J. K. Woodward
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