Alien Spotlights so far (Gorn and Vulcans)

[8of5]

Two issues into IDW's Alien Spotlight series it's meeting my expectations of it being a bit more interesting than the try an emulate of an episode of TOS and TNG style they've been working with for most of their other comics so far. Though it still does that to an extent, but less repetitively so as each issue is by a different creative team. And the settings so far have been more a-typical - the Reliant crew and Enterprise under Pike.

I really enjoyed the first issue, on the Gorn, the basic premise of the story was a bit underwhelming and unoriginal, but it was carried out interesting enough to keep my attention and the David Messina aesthetic worked really well for the Gorn and the movie era uniforms.

I'm less impressed with the Vulcan issue; the art seemed caricatured and quite garish and annoying at times. The guest planet story was interesting, but the Enterprise crew story, of xenophobia towards Spock, I found really out of character for a Starfleet crew. That didn't sit well with me at all and ruined an otherwise really good story.

Anyone else picked either of these up?

 

[Therin of Andor]

Yes, I've read both and enjoyed them. They did seem very short, though, especially when followed by numerous glossy pages of advertising and hype for upcoming non ST comics.

But I fear you've missed the point about the pre-"The Cage" reactions to Spock. Early 23rd century crews did have trouble working together. We saw that in ENT and in "Balance of Terror". This issue shows how one crew came to accept a Vulcan in their midst. It was the story.

 

[8of5]

I felt both, but especially the Vulcan issue, did a fairly good job of feeling like a complete story, certainly more so than any of the "quick the story must be short and empty" Year Four issues.

I get the point of the anti-Spock stuff, but it was just too strong, there were panels when the entire bridge crew were giving Spock dirty looks, it was bonkers. It's not as if the Vulcans are some strange unknown in this time period, they've had a lot to do with Humans for two centuries preceding. And if any group of Humans should be accepting and embracing of other species and cultures it's Starfleet, they are face of the Federation to the galaxy.

 

[Ronald Held]

I just got the Vulcan issue, so I have not had time to read it.

 

[Trent Roman]

Therin of Andor said:
Early 23rd century crews did have trouble working together. We saw that in ENT and in "Balance of Terror". This issue shows how one crew came to accept a Vulcan in their midst. It was the story.

Er? The ENT crew adapted readily and with little difficulty to Phlox and his methodology. The real problem with T'Pol wasn't so much a question of species but of her associations with the policies of the Vulcan High Council. To have later crews behave in a xenophobic manner is certainly a throwback, and unworthy of Starfleet officers.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Turtletrekker]

Nope. My comic-buying budget gets smaller and smaller, and the Trek comics just haven't been doing it for me.

Although I think that I've finally put my finger on what's missing from IDW's Trek books (IMHO, anyway)-- on-going stories and sub-plots. My favorite Trek comic offerings have been the first DC run (and the PAD issues of the second) and Marvel's Starfleet Academy (and to a lesser extent, Early Voyages, but my collection is incomplete, missing about eight issues). Both had ongoing storylines, original characters and a sense that the stories were going somewhere and building to something.

The IDW books have been very formulatic and too episodic for my tastes. They haven't seemed to be playing to the strength of the comics medium, instead seeming to mimic how Trek was done on TV (Which is fine when your writing for TV, but comics are a completely different beast).

At least IDW's efforts are better than the Richard Arnold-era TOS and TNG comics.

 

[8of5]

Turtletrekker said:
The IDW books have been very formulatic and too episodic for my tastes. They haven't seemed to be playing to the strength of the comics medium, instead seeming to mimic how Trek was done on TV (Which is fine when your writing for TV, but comics are a completely different beast).

Too right, they really need to play to the format's advantages rather than constantly mimic episodes. Blood Will Tell was a part story, but still felt quite episodey as four of the five issues were flashbacks to episodes. I think the Tipton/Messina TNG series next year is to be a bigger five part story too, which should be good.

I can't decide whether I favour the 5-6 part miniseries format to something on going. It gives them the chance to try a lot of different things which is good and varied. But also limits anything ongoing to the confines of those 5 or 6 parts. What was great about say Early Voyages was how despite the stories being reasonably stand alone there were plot threads gradually introduced, sometimes very subtly, which might not get a resolution until many issues later.

 

[Steve Roby]

Trent Roman said:

Therin of Andor said:
We saw that in ENT and in "Balance of Terror".

To have later crews behave in a xenophobic manner is certainly a throwback, and unworthy of Starfleet officers.

Like Ian says, we saw that in "Balance of Terror." A TOS episode, and a damn good one. Not a general exhibition of xenophobia, but a certain distrust of Spock by certain characters (one in particular, really) when it was revealed that Romulans had a surprising resemblance to Vulcans.

What happened in TOS counts just as much as what happened in the other Trek TV series.

 

[Christopher]

Stiles's hatred was toward Romulans; he didn't turn it against Spock until he had reason to suspect that Spock was a Romulan agent. So it would be incorrect to cite Stiles as an example of anti-Vulcan prejudice.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Trent Roman said:
Er? The ENT crew adapted readily and with little difficulty to Phlox and his methodology. The real problem with T'Pol wasn't so much a question of species but of her associations with the policies of the Vulcan High Council.

I thought ENT did xenophobia well. There is often no "actual reason" behind prejudices, once an individual is put on the spot. Thus Phlox was accepted quite readily by the crew, but T'Pol less so, at first. The comments about human scent didn't help her.

Then we had Trip getting along extremely well with a Xyrillian ("Unexpected"), but everyone finding the Andorians difficult to understand ("The Andorian Incident").

As for subplots in the IDW mini-series so far, they are there. "The Space Between" and "Blood Will Tell" have both been mini-series where the individual issues still tell complete stories, yet they make a more complete story when read consecutively.

8of5 said:
What was great about say Early Voyages was how despite the stories being reasonably stand alone there were plot threads gradually introduced, sometimes very subtly, which might not get a resolution until many issues later.

Hey, you can't get more subtle than "The Space Between" and the admiral's "special delivery" canapes! When a Trek trivia hound like me has to research on Memory Alpha just to understand the ending of a mini-series, that's subtle!

IDW's marketing research has obviously told them that casual ST readers will only pick up a ST comic if they can be assured of getting a complete story within.

I also like that the trade omnibus collections are scheduled to arrive just after the single issues complete their run, which must help some fans cope with the spottier release of smaller-press comics, such as IDW, than when ST was licensed out to Marvel, DC, Malibu, Marvel/Paramount or WildStorm.

 

[William Leisner]

Christopher said:
Stiles's hatred was toward Romulans; he didn't turn it against Spock until he had reason to suspect that Spock was a Romulan agent. So it would be incorrect to cite Stiles as an example of anti-Vulcan prejudice.

Except that Stiles was real quick to think the absolute worst of a highly-decorated Starfleet officer of some fifteen years, just because he had pointed ears. I don't think there can be any question that he was at the very least predisposed to hate Spock, and more likely a closet bigot who felt justified in finally voicing his hatred after seeing the Romulans.

 

[Trent Roman]

Therin of Andor said:
I thought ENT did xenophobia well. There is often no "actual reason" behind prejudices, once an individual is put on the spot. Thus Phlox was accepted quite readily by the crew, but T'Pol less so, at first. The comments about human scent didn't help her. Then we had Trip getting along extremely well with a Xyrillian ("Unexpected"), but everyone finding the Andorians difficult to understand ("The Andorian Incident").

To me, that suggests that the ENT crew weren't xenophobic. Rather, they reacted to the people they encountered on the basis of actions rather than species. Thus, friendly to friendly aliens like Phlox or the Xyrillians, hostile to a snobbish interloper like T'Pol was initially, or a group of aggressive, armed men attacking an (apparent) monastery. And the fact that despite this poor 'first impression', the crew came around to see the Andorians' side of things demonstrates an admirable lack of judgementalism.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Therin of Andor]

Trent Roman said:
To me, that suggests that the ENT crew weren't xenophobic. Rather, they reacted to the people they encountered on the basis of actions rather than species.

That was my point. I don't see that IDW's story was any different. The crew was surprised at their own reactions to Spock, and tempered them as the story unfolded.

In the 21st century, many people take much longer to forgive smaller differences.

 

[Parakalo]

Here, a very good review:
http://trekweb.com/stbbs/showThread.php?...=#473213c293eb2

 

[fleetcaptain]

I have to say both issues so far were good. I really enjoyed the artwork and just seeing more of the Reliant crew as well.
It was nice to see Captain Pike and the old Enterprise crew once again as well. I figured when I first saw the cover image for the Vulcans splotlight, it was going to be about when the Vulcans first arrived on Earth, but it was nice to see one focused on Spock as well. Can't wait to see what the Andorians issue is about.

 

[Starfury]

I really enjoyed the Gorn issue. Both, story and artwork mached very good for me. I liked the way the gorn were described. As intelligent beings and not as coldblood killers. But the Vulcan story? Bwah. The art was horrible! The crew looked like puppets. And that's the way the charakters acted...

 

[Parakalo]

Well, now, this is a "in deep" critic of Vulcan´s issue! Seems there are people who hate and people who love the comic.

 

[Therin of Andor]

fleetcaptain said:
Can't wait to see what the Andorians issue is about.

Spotlight on... Andorians

 

[JD]

Do we have any idea yet during what era it takes place ?

 

[8of5]

JD said:
Do we have any idea yet during what era it takes place ?

Nothing for sure as far as I know, but as the Gorn, Vulcan, Orion and Romulan issues are all TOS I would imagine this would be a TNG one.