By GustavoLeao / 00:44, 19 March 2009 / Trek Books

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Star Trek: Countdown #3

Review by Patrick Hayes aka PatBorg

The covers: The "regular" cover by David Messina is a tight close up of Picard.  Is it angry, upset, thoughtful, or focused?  All of the above or none.  All I know is if I were on the receiving end of that look I'd tell him any damn thing he wanted to know.  "Retailer Incentive Cover" is a photo of the new Kirk, taken from the teaser posters.  I am DEFINITELY going to hunt for this one!   Overall grade: Both covers A+

The story: Continuing from the "gang of four," the "Story by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman, with Writers Mike Johnson & Tim Jones" has every single page end in a dramatic turn that makes you devour each page like you're starving!  I like to point this out as often as I can when I see it: a good comic has got to have that "can't put it down feel" much as a television show leaves you at a cliffhanger when it goes to commercial.  The writers of this issue have ended each page with tension that compels you to continue on.  Thank God there were no ads (lousy commercials) to stop the flow of story.  As always, no specifics after the first five pages: Page 1, three words that provide the motivation the readers of this series have been waiting for.  Pages 2 and 3 are a double page spread, so I'm counting it as a technical "one page," and the reader is given a one hour (?) flashback from the first page.&nbs p; You know what Nero feels, and I completely understand why he begins his war.  He's completely wrong, but I get it now.  The 'net has already been abuzz with the impossibility of the Federation ships being destroyed in the manner they are.  I can make the leap that the ships' transporters recognized them as mining tools (albeit active ones) rather than weapons.  And anyone must admit, Nero's method in destroying those ships comes right out of the Kirk playbook.  Perhaps Nero learned a little too well in his studies of James T. Kirk.  Page 5 has the Romulan ruling council transport to Nero's ship, and the final words from Nero at the bottom of the page should foreshadow well enough the council's fate.  Okay, now for non-spoiler raves: Page 6, saw it coming, understood it's happening, and realized that Nero is now gone to the point of no return.  Page 7 brings the reader up to the "present" of Page 1, and, again, the final thoug ht box lets the readers know how solidified Nero's position is.  Page 8, glad to see this alien race come to their senses.  I was horribly afraid that they were going to regress to their first appearances in the previous issue.  Page 9, great ship and nice justification for an OS fan.  The dialogue at the bottom gave me warm fuzzies!  Pages 10 and 11 had me wondering where this was all heading; and Page 11, damn!  That's an entrance!  Page 12 is a movie spoiler!  The big reveal behind that piece of technology!  It's been popping up on the Internet, but now it's confirmed.  It really is a "duh" sort of reveal.  What could the Romulans cook up to destroy other planets?  The answer: "Duh!"  Now that I know, I'm actually concerned for the rebooted Enterprise crew.  How in the blue blazes are they going to defeat this thing?  I hope it's not in the same way Nero took o ut the Federation ships on pages 2 and 3.  I can't wait to see!  I yelled out loud the character's name that enters on Page 13.  Again, his final dialogue, and the final on the page, made me speed along.  Page 14 has our protagonists hashing out a possible solution to Nero's villany.  It's the technobable you WANT to have in Trek -- advanced enough, yet you can still believe it if you're scientifically impared.  I'm wondering though, would this object create time travel?  Page 15, a man on a mission.  Page 16, will give any NG fan chills.  Pages 17 and 18 have the two planners of this mission debating what to do.  Page 19, Wow!  I've never seen this in Trek.  You know it would happen--it'd have to!--but I can't think of a Trek movie or episode where you see this type of explicit carnage in space.  Made me think of the opening of Enemy Mine.  Pages 20 and 21 are, again, a double page spread and it contains the only major race that hasn't appeared.  And when they do, yo u better hold on to something, because the final page, Page 22, is going to hit you as hard as the final page of Issue 1 did.  Do you see it coming?  I did, and I was hopeful as hell that it was going to happen.  I feel like Ricky Ricardo, 'cause these writers "got some splainin' to do."  I've had questions answered, I've had new ones arise, I've had bits of the trailer explained, and I cannot wait to see how this is going to end.  Yeah, in the movie in May, duh, I know.  The worst thing I can say about this book is that I, and all of its readers, have to wait a month!  Overall grade: A+ 

The art: If it would take personal contributions to have David Messina continue to illustrate Trek comics, I'm willing to start making deductions from my monthy paycheck now.  He gets Trek.  He can create a mood.  And, heaven love the man, he can make the characters resemble the actors.  Page 1, what else could heighten the power of those words but that image?  I knew exactly why Nero is involved in that action without being told.  I hope the intensity in his face is as good as Bana gives in the film.  Messina's art tells in a look much in the way an actor silently telegraphs to an audience their character's heart: look in the second to last panel on Page 3.  You know damn well what's going to be done without it being explained.  Page 7 could have been copied from a still, and I believe Nero has been, but I've seen none of those surrounding characters.  I was delighted, and f rightened, to see that his crew has unfied under him not only in motivation but look.  Page 9 has an absolutely gorgeous ship design that matches its name.  Page 11, "That's an entrance!"  Messina captures that OS Trek vibe of having all the antagonist women be draw droppingly gorgeous!  She's probably not in the movie, but she made me yearn!  Okay, now a not-a-fawning phrase from me: Page 14's Data in panel three...I know Spiner says he can't play the character anymore because of his age, but is he that big?  He looks ginormous!  Okay, back to fawning: Page 19 is shocking.  Again, this is what I would expect to see, but seeing it nonetheless was startling.  Gorgeously executed and horrifying at once.  After going through this issue, and Messina's previous work, shouldn't there be an Eisner Award for best licensed artwork not orginating in comic form?  Overall gra de: A+

The colors: Color Art by Giovanna Niro and Color Consultant Ilaria Traversi.  It's a dark story, so there's going to be a lot of blacks.  That said, when color comes into play it heightens every page: the explosion on Page 3; the contrast of blue on the Federation ship, also on 3; the heat of Vulcan on Page 13; the orange background used to impress the urgency of Data's dialogue on Page 14; that shocking panel on 19; and the deep reds and browns on Page 22 that had Jerry Goldsmith music playing in my head.  Overall grade: A+

The letters: Robbie Robbins does a good job on dialogue and thoughts, but he doesn't have too many opportunities for sound effects.  I thought the effects given on Page 6 were necessary, but, and I have whined about this in other Trek comics, no transporter sound effects?  C'mon, IDW!  That's a Trek hallmark!  You could play that audio clip to a casual Trek fan and they'll know what it is.  To not have it in the comic really stands out in a negative way for me.  I don't blame Robbie for it's absence here; I merely mention it since it comes under this contribution to the comic.  Also, no ship explosions?  It's not Firefly, IDW.  Or...could this be what the new movie will be like for space battles?  I hope not.  I'm old enough to remember watching Buster Crabbe's ships on television making noise, and I want "my" Trek ship battles to have 'em.  Overall grade: A

Creative Consultant: David Baronoff.  I'd give you a grade if I knew what you did.  Perhaps in the paperback collection?

Overall grade: You've read the first two issues, and this one won't disappoint you.  If you're just starting with this issue, you'll still be able to be right in the mix of things.  In fact, this comic only increases the need for you to see the next issue and start sitting in line to see the film.  And this is exactly what a "Prequel" comic should do.  Thank you to everyone involved!  Overall grade: A+