Ratings7
Average rating3.7
Absolutely outstanding.
I don't really enjoy Trek comics. They're always a bit flat. But not so in the Mirror Universe! Woodward's art and character designs are phenomenal. It's not often that a comic makes you wish you had arms big enough to cosplay as J-L Pipes.
Pros: great artwork, interesting story, thought provoking messages
Cons: story drags a bit in the middle, some unnecessary characters
A drug dealer on the Enterprise teleports to a planet that has been making the chronometers on the ship count backwards. When an away team follows, the fugitive passes through a portal to Earth in the 1930s. A change there affects the present, forcing Kirk and Spock to go after him.
The story has Kirk fall for a woman who's making things better for those living in the depression era, but Spock discovers that she's fated to die and saving her life is what changed the timeline.
There are a lot of differences between the original screen play and the episode that aired under this name. Several characters are removed entirely or condensed, making the plot tighter. The guardian is the same in essence but not in execution. I thought some of the changes made the story stronger but others changed its ultimate message. See my blog for a spoilery compare/contrast section (http://scififanletter.blogspot.com/2015/01/comic-review-star-trek-city-on-edge-of.html).
The artwork is in a realistic style that I enjoyed. The shading is done in such a way that each panel looks more like an oil painting than a comic book page. Expressions are clear and give added emotion to the story. Even full pages of dialogue have interesting backgrounds and character motion.
Ultimately, I preferred the TV episode to the screenplay, but I think the screenplay has a lot to offer and this comic rendition of it is beautifully done. It's an excellent story and a wonderful tribute to Star Trek fans to make it available.