IDW Publishing 2019
Written by Kirsten Beyer & Mike Johnson
Illustrated by Tony Shasteen
Coloured by J.D. Mettler
Lettered by Neil Uyetake
You saw the stunning conclusion of the second season of Star Trek: Discovery—now prepare yourselves for the ending of the Aftermath! With the fragile peace between the Klingons and the Federation hanging by a thread, Spock, Captain Pike, and Chancellor L’Rell make a last stand against the forces threatening to ignite a new galactic war!
I really like this story. I have been a fan of the new show and this is a perfect companion to that series. While this is a great stand alone story as well it does work so much better as a companion piece as the impact of the story we see and the actions taken is so much greater. Another thing about this that I really do like is that it covers ground that the original, nor anything after, covered and that's the bits of history that impacted the Star Trek Universe. Not just first contacts or when Pike saw his future but this first step in a peace between the Klingons and Federation. These are the moments that are the most important and we're finally getting to see them come to life.
I really like the way that this is being told. The story & plot development easily read as if this were a television episode. With the sequence of events as well as how the reader learns information is extremely well done. The character development here is marvellous and it really feels like a progression of who they've been established as. The situations they find themselves in continue to help the change and grow in a natural way. The pacing here is excellent and the twists and turns we see along the way do wonders in helping to build tension and affect the story's ebb & flow. I like that these characters have this wonderful aspects of their personalities being brought out.
I can honestly say that with this story I believe that L'Rell might be one of my absolute favourite characters right now. This is saying something since we've been introduced to quite a few remarkable characters and beings along the way. It is just the way that this is being written that impresses me with how the characterisation and the story itself is written and how the reader perceives it, this is just absofreakinglutely without a doubt one of the most amazing stories you'll see anywhere.
I a huge fan of Tony and the work he does. He's a gifted illustrator and his linework is exquisite as he utilises the varying weights in the linework to bring some of the highest quality attention to detail you'll see. I mean look at the shot of L'Rell's ship and then how the city emerges from the ice, which in and of itself is beyond marvellously rendered. The composition within the panels and how backgrounds are utilised to show depth perception, scale and bring this sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masters eye for storytelling. The colour is outrageous. From those mountains of ice and cities jutting skyward, the falling snow and all the rest the colour work is so beautifully done with the various hues and tones within the colours.
If this is the kind of storytelling we're going to be getting out of this creative team let the stories keep coming. Personally I want to see more tales like this because I just can't enough, We slip and slide as we fall in love And I just can't seem to get enough of, We walk together, We're walking down the street, And I just can't get enough.