- Writers: Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly
- Artists: Kieran McKeown, Silvia Califano, and Stephen Thompson
- Colorists: Thomas Deer, John-Paul Bove, and Charlie Kirchoff
- Letterer: Neil Uyetake
- Editors: Chase Marotz
- Assistant Editor: Denton J. Tipton
Thanks to IDW Publishing for the review copy!
STAR TREK: YEAR FIVE tells the story of the last year of the Enterprise’s five year mission. While the show was cancelled before the fifth year could be filmed, writing this series is harder than simply thinking of cool things for the crew to do, because it is close enough in time to the episodes we saw that the characters have to be as we remember them and the adventures have to fit with what happens later in the movies. So far, this series has done an admirable job of telling interesting new stories but remaining true to the characters and consistent with the existing Trek canon. The series is organized in two issue arcs, that can be thought of an an episode, with an overarching plot tying the stories together.
Issue 12 picks up where issue 11 left off, with original television series character Gary Seven taking over the Enterprise. Kirk evacuated the crew, leaving himself to face off with their former ally. Interestingly, the artists shifted for this issue, giving this issue a decidedly different look, with an almost cell shading appearance reminiscent of A Scanner Darkly. The characters look a little less like their human counterparts, but you can still tell who they are and the dialogue fits them like a glove. Also, while the series has largely focused on the main characters, we do get to see some red shirts in this issue.
Plot wise, I found this to be one of the most enjoyable issues in the run. This issue has some nifty fight scenes and classic Trek problem solving/science talk. I also like how the book takes characters from the series (like Gary Seven) that hard core Star Trek fans will recognize, but tells stories that does not require extensive Trek knowledge.
In keeping with the two issue arc pattern, I recommend reading issue 11 before this one. There are also connections to the first issue, so if possible, I would read that as well.
STAR TREK: YEAR FIVE #12 is available now.
Check back soon for my thoughts on issue 13 of this series.
Have you read the issue? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter.
