IDW Publishing 2018
Written by Kirsten Beyer & Mike Johnson
Illustrated by Angel Hernandez
Coloured by Mark Roberts
Lettered by AndWorld Designed
This story takes place in direct correlation to what happened on the television show and is a continuation of what occurred in the Mirror Universe after they left. As fans I am sure many will agree that we love the idea of the Mirror Universe as it gives creators to show the characters not only in a different light but to unleash them with all they’ve got. Human nature isn’t always good as a rule there are those who believe in selfish ways of life, of greed and of power and see all of what we consider the worst traits in people be the most celebrated.
Before he was the Captain of the Discovery Gabriel was Michael’s lover in the Mirror Universe and the two of them planned to overthrow the Emperor. This is how the book opens and it’s effective, seductive and ominous and more than that it’s eye catching and makes you want to read further. The way that this is structured is very well done in that regard, before we can spend any serious amount of time with any one character we’re off to another part of this Universe to see what is happening. No real time spent to get attached to anyone, after all in this universe what’s that point in that what with all the backstabbing and wanton murder that takes place.
As we start to see the aftermath from the whole destruction of the Emperor’s ship. While we know that the Emperor is alive and well in the regular universe in her own she’s been killed and we all know that nature abhors a vacuum. It doesn’t take long before her cousin takes over and the alliance of those races against Terran tyranny begins in earnest. The flow of events and how it all works together here is amazing to see. Then of course there is also the characterisation and how the familiar faces are redone so that in this reality they are almost unrecognisable. Captain Detmer’s emergence as one of the more ruthless and ambitious well that’s against character so it’s all the more delightful.
Just the fact that so many familiar faces find themselves in such different roles makes this so much easier to identify with the show itself. Though to be honest even if they’d not been so familiar it wouldn’t have matter just by using this congregation of species would have been more than enough to raise the curiosity level. Also it would have served to let the reader understand the scope of all that we are seeing. In the end nothing else matters, I put my trust in you sorry wrong track but regardless a good uprising is always a welcome sight.
Angel is an amazing artist and illustrator and the work he does here with Mark is utterly fantastic. The linework we see with it’s varying weights so that we see these subtle then bold and everything in between shows off the attention to detail exceptionally well. The way that backgrounds are utilised with their patterns and the colours in their lights and lighting are just some pretty damn wow moments. The way that page layouts are done and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a very strong, seasoned eye for storytelling. There is a real almost regal aspect to the work that is so very welcome.
From the plot tot he storyline and development here and the freedom to explore beyond what we’ve seen is why arcs in an ongoing franchise work as well as this one right here does. I look forward to seeing what these creators have in store for us.