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Picard and his crew of ragtag bastards face off against the Cardassians/Klingon war armada.
So what’s it about?
The official summary reads:
With the newly stolen I.S.S. Enterprise-D caught between the forces of the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance and a trio of Imperial warships, Jean-Luc Picard finds himself in unexpected territory. Which will crack first, his untested vessel, or an untested crew?
Why does this matter?
One of my favorite Star Trek comics ever is coming to an end this week, but here’s hoping sales are so good the creators get an ongoing out of this. It’s great, because it isn’t beholden to the continuity of Next Generation yet still has all the characters we know and love. In evil form! It’s cool to see Picard as a sleeveless badass and how corrupt the crew can be and at the same time still work together. They face their greatest threat yet in this issue, but how can they come out alive when the Cardassians and Klingons are allied together?
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Not looking good captain.
This issue opens with Picard and his crew surrounded by Klingon and Cardassian ships. There’s no way out, but he could run for it. Problem is there are other Federation ships in danger and even though Picard stole the Enterprise and is a wanted man he does the right thing. Writers David and Scott Tipton have done a great job with this series, reminding us Picard is a cold blooded killer and a real bastard, but this issue reveals he may not be all bad. He’s aware if he lets his people die humanity is one step closer to annihilation. This makes this issue a bit of a surprise as Picard ends up heroically battling the bad guys — though he does fight dirty and ruthlessly.
The writers have also done a good job to show how this crew is bonding. They’ve all come aboard this ship for personal gain, but by the end it’s clear there’s a bond forming. Riker basically has wanted to backstab Picard from the beginning, but through heroic actions and trust he and Picard seem to have grown a fondness for each other. It makes the series as a whole more exciting (if we can get more chapters that is) because the dynamics are shifting nicely.
The art is at times excellent, especially with the space battles. As far as I’m concerned J.K. Woodward was born to draw spaceships with colorful space backdrops. Character likenesses continue to be up and down, but when they’re good they’re photorealistic. There’s also an excellent double page layout featuring the Enterprise separated into its saucer and yacht. Bottom line, the art can be a bit messy, but you’ll utter “wow” throughout.
The space scenes are very pretty.
It can’t be perfect can it?
Like I said above, the art can be pretty rough. The likenesses can drop down to a point where it’s hard to gauge who we’re looking at. That may start with the lighting as the shadows on the face can throw off the likeness and end up making the image look muddy.
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The plot of this issue is about a space battle and while most of the characters have something to say or do it’s mostly Picard and Riker’s story. Data, Ripley, and others end up being background characters more than anything else. Previous issues have managed to pack a ton of story, character, and plot into a single issue, but this issue is a bit thinner on that front. It’s not a bad issue, but compared to the excellent pace and plotting of the past issues it’s obvious this one is a bit simpler.
Is It Good?
A fine conclusion that’ll make you want more of this series, stat. The creators have done an excellent job fleshing out a Mirror universe only hinted at by the show. This finale shows great promise for the crew and will make you want more.
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