Comic Book Review: Star Trek: Waypoint #2
Star Trek: Waypoint brings us another issue, and another set of stories looking to bring a smile to your faces. In this issue we’re given two tales both centering around the Original Series (TOS) crew. With the latest television show expected to debut this coming summer, [easyazon_link identifier=”B01N0A9MWW” locale=”US” tag=”bounintocomi-20″]Star Trek: Waypoint #2[/easyazon_link] is a welcomed way to hold out, as we wait to go where no man has gone before.
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The first tale, “The Menace of Mechanitrons” captures the feeling of TOS. Writers Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore not only capture the style of dialog that fans of TOS come to expect, but even some of the verbal mannerisms of Captain Kirk; they were spot on. However, while the dialog captures the feeling of TOS some of it can be a little too much and it slows the pacing of the story down quite bit. The story itself feels just like an episode from the series, with all the trimmings you would expect. You get the the Kingons, a planet in danger, and an away mission that ties it all together.
Gordon Purcell brings the story to life with his art that captures the 70s Star Trek Saturday morning cartoon. As you go through each page the artwork pays tribute the that era’s style. With the characters, their movement, and the environment in which they operate. Colorist Jason Lewis uses a straightforward color palette to make the pages pop without overshadowing the story itself; it brings a real richness to the illustration. The combined effort of the art by Gordon Purcell and colors by Jason Lewis give this story the look and feel of something you’d expect to buy if you were living forty years ago in a comic shop. For some it can come off as cheesy, but it brings a level of depth and character as well as nostalgia that captures the essence of Star Trek from TOS.
The second story is interesting to say the least. Unlike in the duo of stories in Star Trek: Waypoint #1 or the first story in Star Trek: Waypoint #2, we aren’t given something that centers around the usual suspects aboard the Enterprise. Writer Sam Maggs opens up a whole new world through the eyes of Engineering Officer Yeoman Leslie Thompson in Legacy the second story of this issue.
The narration and reflective style of the story gives us a rarely seen view of the bridge crew, their exploits, and those who work in the background to make everything possible for the rest of the Star Trek crew. The main theme in the book centers around one of the world’s oldest questions, what will your personal legacy be? Through Engineering Officer Thompson’s eyes eyes you get to witness what it means for her, and how she feels about it in the end. This is a strong story element because at some point in our own lives we will reflect on the years spent, and how they’ve been used. For some it can be quite depressing and others and testament of a lifetime’s worth of work and achievement. This element is so far the most human that has been attempted in the short life of this series.
Artist Rachael Stott does a fantastic job at guiding us through Officer Thompson’s personal exploration to discover her legacy within Starfleet. The way he sets up the panel it’s as if Yeoman is guiding the reader through her own life in the third person. This style compliments story and allows it to flow in a smooth manner. The colors by Mark Roberts are fresh. They don’t pop too much. but didn’t pop too much. It was there, but felt like wasn’t trying to help the story move along. Though the writing and art itself worked hard to capture the eyes, the colors felt like it wasn’t a part of the team as much as it could. It didn’t enhance the story as it could have and with that it felt that some of the key emotions were left dull in their presentation.
The Verdict
[easyazon_link identifier=”B01N0A9MWW” locale=”US” tag=”bounintocomi-20″]Star Trek: Waypoint #2[/easyazon_link] beams to your hands two tales based off the classic original series. One feels like it belongs as an episode of the series, and the second which brings to life some of the forgotten people in the background of the Enterprise. The art helps to bring the stories to life while the colors do their best to match the genre they are attempting to portray. Some of the dialog in the first story could have used a bit more work, it was still a good, fun read. The color in the second story could have done more to engage the eyes, but overall it did its job.
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