Reading a new licensed comic is sort of a crapshoot. You may get something that impacts the property’s canon in a positive way (Star Wars, and more recently IDW’s own X-Files: Season 10 come to mind), but other times it’s plainly a money grab; a hastily thrown together collection of panels that constitute a comic book in only the most basic of definitions, in hopes that fans of said property will buy anything with its logo slapped on it.
With that said, we’ve got our hands on Galaxy Quest: The Journey Continues from IDW Publishing. Where on the spectrum of licensed comics will this one fall? Is it good?
Galaxy Quest: The Journey Continues #1 (IDW Publishing)
For the uninitiated, Galaxy Quest is a 1999 sci-fi/comedy starring Tim Allen about a group of actors from a Star Trek analogue who get mistaken for actual intergalactic warriors by an alien race. Hijinks ensue, yadda yadda yadda, the universe is saved (oops, spoiler). This comic follows the movie’s continuity, taking place after the events of the cult classic movie.
And honestly, not a lot happens here. Issue #1 feels like a condensed setup of the movie, in an “oh boy, here we go again!” kind of way. If you’ve seen the movie, you have an understanding of the plot of this issue, even if it’s technically a sequel. And if you haven’t seen the movie, I don’t know that you’ll be reading this at all, so I’m not sure why it’s written so similarly to the movie. Either way, it’s not badly written—Erik Burnham knows what he’s doing, it’s just a little…uneventful.
Nacho Arranz’s artwork is pretty nice, and for the most part each character is a faithful recreation of the actors who originally portrayed the characters (though oddly, Tim Allen’s character looks nothing like him. Money disputes?). There isn’t a hell of a lot of action in this issue as it’s mainly setup, but for what it is, the artwork helps.
Is It Good?
Galaxy Quest: The Journey Continues #1 is sort of in a weird place, as it is likely not a comic non-fans will be reading, and it just retreads familiar territory for fans of the movie. This is a #1 though and the story can go basically anywhere from here, so if you’re hoping this series will end up being an enjoyable adaptation, “never give up, never surrender” on this series!
…I’ll be here all week, folks, have a good night.
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