IDW Publishing 2019
Written by Scott & David Tipton
Pencilled by David Messina
Inked by Elisabetta D’Amico
Coloured by Alesandra Alexakis
Colour Assist by Carola Borelli
Lettered by Neil Uyetake
PREVIOUSLY IN STAR TREK: THE Q CONFLICT:
After a battle between Q, the Metrons, the Organians, and Trelane puts the universe at risk, the legendary captains of Starfleet – Kathryn Janeway, Benjamin Sisko, James T. Kirk, and Jean-Luc Picard – and their crews are pulled into a contest where they act as proxies for the godlike beings, competing in a series of challenges to decide the winner of the war. Janeway and her team won the first contest by recovering the Iconian gateway device, but the games aren’t over yet...
I still cannot get over the whole concept of this book and how it’s being executed. These four beings of great power come from the series and the encounters they had. The Brothers really did a number on us with this and while each of them is inherently flawed in their own way, their greed and arrogance pretty much know no bounds, they all wish to see Q put in his place. The writing and the dialogue here couldn’t be any better it is really rather perfect. Each character with their own unique personalities being juggled here is simply amazing, that they not only show us exactly what we remember but make seem like it’s no big deal and we see this kind of thing all the time.
I am digging the way that this book is structured. The flow is fun and interesting and by adding these four beings into the mix of things you never know what is going to happen next and that’s how it should be. The overall ebb & flow here and how we see the story and the dialogue expand upon it and the characterisation is superb. I was curious as to how the mixing of personnel on the different ships was going to play out and as far as I can see the balance is much smarter than I could have expected. Plus with the twist they put into play here well let’s just say things have a tendency to work out for these Starfleet personnel.
I have been a fan of David’s for quite some time now and the linework that he produces is always strong clean and crisp and delights in how the varying weights are utilised to cajole the attention to detail. These guys look like their television counterparts and yet it still maintains a perfect comic book style. Plus oh my goodness Trelane’s jacket is marvellous, which of course makes me want to have the entire outfit in my wardrobe. Elisabetta inks really bring that linework solidly to life and a superb foundation for Alessandra and Carola who expertly colour this. Seriously the colour gradation, the shading and utilisation of light sources are stunning.
The brothers Tipton make me wish these were the kinds of specials that should appear on that CBS All Access channel. Can you imagine having the opportunity to see this come to life before your eyes and yeah animated would be just fine for me! I have always been a Star Trek fan, I grew up with it on reruns and bonded with folks over it so it holds that special place for me, while I am not an uber-fan I do love the franchise and this, this showcases why in a nutshell.
With absolutely stunning interior artwork and amazing writing with it’s story & plot development, pacing and yes the characterisation do make this one of the best limited series I have seen so far this year!