By
GustavoLeao /
18:39, 12 November 2012 /
Trek Books
Star Trek Ongoing #14
Review by Patrick Hayes aka PatBorg
The covers: The regular pattern for a trio of fronts
this month. The Regular cover is by Tim Bradstreet with colors by Grant
Goleash. Scotty and Keenser are in the delta shield. To their left and
right is the interior of the Delta Vega base, while below is that
beastie that almost ate Kirk in the last film. This is a winner in every
way. The RI A cover is the "sketch art" version of the regular cover.
It too is good, but Scotty looks so scary on this one! The RI B Photo
cover is that gorgeous shot of the Enterprise coming out of Saturn's rings from the film. Cool, but shouldn't this be a photo of Keenser since the whole issue is about him? Overall grades: Regular A, and RI A and RI B both A-
The story: The origin of Keenser brought to you by Mike
Johnson. Let's be honest: this character was a C level contribution to
the film, and he did nothing for the movie but provide some comedy and
an alien presence. This issue raises him up to an A character. The issue
begins with how Keenser feels aboard the Enterprise. Out of
place isn't detailed to describe it. Scotty doesn't exactly help, and
speaking in standard is awkward. Flash to the past and Keenser was the
wrong size for his world as well. We follow his path into and through
Starfleet (great cameos on Pages 6 - 9), then to Delta Vega and a
historic meeting with Scotty. I am always impressed when a supporting
character is transformed into a full-fledged character. I didn't ask for
this story, and I probably never would have, but I'm glad I got it. The
final page made me smile. Overall grade: A
The art: The focus of this issue has got to be a tough
character to draw. Keenser is wrinkly and oddly shaped, and that makes
artist Stephen Molnar's work all the more impressive. Every image of
Keenser looks just like his film counterpart. Addtionally, Scotty looks
fantastic, as does the creature they encounter. Not only do the
characters look good, but the settings do, too: Delta Vega's base is
great! And that last page perfectly sets up my smile. Overall grade: A
The colors: This issues seems as though it's been
printed through a filter, but I think that's due to John Rauch's
choices. Look at Page 1. Couldn't this have been brighter? It's so
muted. Granted the Enterprise's engine room and the Royla
homeworld are dark, but shouldn't that justify the need to brighten
something up somewhere? Pages 6 and 7 shat out due to the purple sky.
This was a great choice by Rauch and I needed more of this, but again
things went dim. Even the creature on Delta Vega was muted. What gives? Overall grade: B
The letters: Excellent job by Neil Uyetake, especially the baning on the door effects by Scotty. Perfection! Overall grade: A
The final line: A background character becomes fully realized, going where the movie couldn't. All are to be congratulated for this comic! Overall grade: A
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Star Trek: The Next Generation: Hive #2
Review by Patrick Hayes aka PatBorg
The covers: The Borg Queen and Locutus on the left,
Picard and Borged-up Seven of Nine on the right. Great contrast by Joe
Corroney, with ink assist by Matt Fillback and Shawn Fillback. Wow! What
a Cover A! Cover B is a Photo cover of Alice Krige as the Borg Queen.
Again, wow! And the RI A cover is by David Messina with colors by Ilaria
Traversi, showing the Lincoln Memorial that's undergone a radical
change. No Lincoln, but Locutus seated, above him the Borg mantra.
Freaky cool! Overall grades: All A
The story: Hold on to something because Terry Matalas
& Travis Fickett, working from a story by Brannon Braga, have got
quite the rollercoaster ride in store! The story opens with Locutus
realizing the Borg have become complacent, so he destroys the Borg fleet
around him. He and his newly awakened compatriot, Data, await the
Queen's sentinel--Seven of Nine! From the waist up, she Borgified Jeri
Ryan, while from the waist down she's a mechanical spider body with a
scorpion tail. And that's the first four pages, so you're going to have
to settle for teases: Picard and Seven forge a plan that lasts three
years. I was suprised the Captain even green lit such a plan. The
results of this mission are dramatic and horrific, which include an
exciting away mission for Worf. I was surprised at the sudden death of a
character on Page 21, and how one character showed more emotion at this
passing than the other. Great story! Overall grade: A
The art: There are several full page spreads in this
book that could be posters (Pages 2, 4, 5, 12, 14, 15, and 20). These
pages are done because each is a "Wow!" moment. And when not wowing the
reader with these pages, the detail put into the "normal" pages with
panels are amazing: the scenes with the characters on the Enterprise are
fantastic! I've sung the praises of Joe Corroney for his many covers,
but his interior work deserves just as much. I've gushed a lot about
women drawn by certain artists (and Corroney's Seven is amazing!), but
his Picard is dynamite! Be he Borg or Captain, this is an exceptional
Jean Luc on every page. Overall grade: A+
The colors: For such a dark story, you would feel
justified if this was a darkly colored book, but it's not. The future
story is appropriately evil in Borg green, but in the past things
illuminate with such color, especially aboard the Enterprise! Hi-Fi has made exceptional artwork even more stunning with their contributions. Overall grade: A+
The letters: With the exception of two sound effects,
nothing but dialogue and narration from Shawn Lee. Half the fun of
comics are the sounds, but sadly this book is mostly mute. Overall grade: B
The final line: You want this book, resistance is
futile. You want this book now. And once you read it, you'll be counting
down the days for the next issue to appear. Overall grade: A
