There was a point, around when I was twelvish or so, that I lost interest in comics for a bit. I vaguely remember it having something to do with a desire to "grow-up". Y'know, cast aside childish things and all that. However, something had to fill that genre-sized void in my schedule of attention. And much like a heroin addict will fall on methadone, I found Star Trek. Not the original series of course. That looked like shit and was boring. But Star Trek the Next Generation had just debuted and I had a crush on Tasha Yar (the blond one that died). Needless to say, the bright tights were quickly replaced in my mind by the Federation issue spandex. I slavishly followed the Star Trek universe for a few glorious years before tiring of it and returning to my familiar superfriends, never to return. Until now.
Star Trek The Next Generation: The Space Between debuted a couple of weeks ago from IDW Publishing. Intrigued by the fact that there was apparently still a demand for stories from that specific era of the mythos, I gave it a chance. I try to stray away from licensed titles because of a deserved stigma of half-baked writing and spastic art. But my gamble paid off as this was a great little done-in-one story that felt just like a lost episode of the show. The writer, David Tischman balances the large cast well, giving each of the major members something to do. Especially Riker (Douche), Data (Robot), and Picard (Awesome). All of whom are beautifully in character. The art from Casey Maloney was also surprisingly sharp for a licensed book. He clearly did a great deal of photo reference and research on his subjects as they look fairly close to their television counterparts while maintaining a sense of the artist's style. Very impressive. We get a mysterious new planet, time travel, a clever escape, and my favorite part: the Enterprise firing on a planet!
But I think that the most striking aspect of this comic is the economy with which it is told. Not to harp on licensed comics yet again in this post, but they do tend to be a bit heavy on the explanatory text boxes. This makes sense, as most of them are telling stories that rely heavily on a continuity which exists completely outside their immediate tales, and many editors and writers may be scared of losing readers by dumping them in the middle of a situation they have no reference for. But Tischman has grasped the same storytelling principles that the TV show used to make almost every episode a jumping on point for new viewers. The reader is given just enough to know about each of the major players within the first few pages without making it a slog for anyone who is already familiar with the property. Also, as opposed to jumping into some headache involving the Borg, Q, and a crossover with Voyager, the plot is kept simple and straightforward: go to new planet, encounter hostility, deal with hostility. Yay!
Also, in terms of bringing in new readers to comics, I don't think this title is really going to do that. But on the off chance that some new nerd who wasn't old enough to catch the series happened to pick it up because Professor X is on the cover, I doubt they would have any problems getting into it. This comic is a perfect example of how to write stories that are accessible to new readers while still giving the loyal fans something to geek out about.
This book might turn the nerd level up to 11, but if you've ever been into Star Trek: TNG you should beam it up!
(Yeah, I don't like me anymore either...)
Also Purchased Over The Past Couple Of Weeks:
Fables Vol. 7: Arabian Nights (and Days)
Fables Vol. 8: Wolves
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