IDW Alien Spotlight: Cardassians
- Thread starter Nerys Ghemor
- Start date
My understanding of the ending was that we were to determine which way we thought it would go, so I doubt the story will necessarily be followed up with 50 comic books and 10 years. I didn't mind that at all, actually. I've read comics for more than 50 years and I'm glad to see Trek getting good titles. I don't know what goes haywire when IDW does Next Gen titles, though. All but one have been awful, IMHO.
Yeah, but even if they did use to start another series, all of IDW Trek series have just been 4-6 issue miniseries, so it still wouldn't take that long to get the whole story.
I don't know about anyone else, but I think 50 issues of post-tv series DS9 comics would be great. I'd love to see all the books of the DS9-R adapted as mini-series. It worked for Buffy, and I bet it would work for DS9. I for one would definitely pick it up, while the mini-series that's coming out soon (Fool's Gold?), which takes place during the tv run, holds little appeal to me.
When I looked at the preview over on Trekmovie myself, Kira's uniform kind of looked wierd. I guess its tied to a flashback during the ending of the Dominion War. I honestly don't know if I will pick this one up but just wait til the trade comes out since I only bought the Q spotlight, out of all the ones that came out this year.
All this agonizing!?
Reading and owning - and rereading - a comic book is a very different experience to reading a ST novel. It's difficult to equate one with the other, and you seem determined to consider the word count and page count only. And seem overly concerned about pages of advertising, which is the only way comic books are able to remain profitable - and IDW is probably the only comics publisher I know who bury all of the ads after the story rather than interfile them with pages of the story/art.
Your bias against comics as a storytelling medium will probably prevent you from enjoying this comic, no matter how many Cardassians are in it.
I enjoy ST novels very much, but they're nothing like comics. As we've said, the standard of all of the "Alien Spotlight" issues has been consistently very good, and often excellent.Are you really so penniless that you can't afford to gamble a few dollars on a single ST comic - something that you can probably resell easily on eBay in a few years - and at least get your money back, and may well make a profit on?
It's funny, I think the opposite about novels. They want like $10 and there aren't even any pictures!
Actually, I agree with Therin. While most of the Trek comics I've ever read haven't been very good (from issues of the old TNG series DC did to Countdown, which just serves to make the bad situation regarding the backstory of Trek 11 worse), the medium itself shouldn't be directly compared--especially not page-to-page--with prose. The strength of comics is the visual aspect, which makes for better spectacle and for the more efficient relay of information than a novel could hope for. I've always thought particularly that dialogue in comics works much better than in a novel: you don't need to break the flow to identify the speaker or to describe their expression or body language; the art does it, and it comes through as a frozen moment in time. Depending on the artist, it's better in this regard than either prose or film. The infirmity of comics is that bland exposition and lengthy conversation are a bit harder to pull off, although I don't mean to say impossible.
Ultimately, it is its own medium, with its own rules. Any story can be done, it's just a matter of execution and skill. But a novel can't be mapped onto a comic, any more than a novel can be mapped onto film... it stands by analogy that direct comparisons are inherently somewhat unfair as well.
Edit: although based on the preview, I wouldn't risk a few dollars either. Do Trek artists, like, charge extra for backgrounds or something? How about for panel layouts that don't put 100 words over someone's face? Reminds me of poor Whilce Portacio after the coma.
Last edited:
All this agonizing!?
Reading and owning - and rereading - a comic book is a very different experience to reading a ST novel. It's difficult to equate one with the other, and you seem determined to consider the word count and page count only. And seem overly concerned about pages of advertising, which is the only way comic books are able to remain profitable - and IDW is probably the only comics publisher I know who bury all of the ads after the story rather than interfile them with pages of the story/art.
Your bias against comics as a storytelling medium will probably prevent you from enjoying this comic, no matter how many Cardassians are in it.
Are you really so penniless that you can't afford to gamble a few dollars on a single ST comic - something that you can probably resell easily on eBay in a few years - and at least get your money back, and may well make a profit on?
I have to agree with Therin here. I don't like comics - I never have and I will be shocked if I ever do. Therefore, I wouldn't buy a comic no matter its topic because I just do not enjoy this form of storytelling even a little bit (and I don't really like comic book art, either), so I know I wouldn't enjoy it no matter how good the story is.
I think your hesitation is probably a sign that you feel the same way, Nerys/Noel. If that's how you feel, that's how you feel.
Unless maybe you're just starting to get into comics or think you might be just starting to get into comics? It could happen.
The problem isn't as much the money I'd have to spend on it--it's the drive. I'm not that close to a comic book shop that carries it, and I'd have to go way out of my way to get there.
Thanks for mentioning the preview over at Trekmovie. Just had a quick read...dialogue sucks big time (boy, do they ever state the obvious, and in hyperdramatic and stilted ways to boot), and the art--well, I like some of it, but I can't say it was THAT well done.
(Now, I say that and I recognize that my own artwork is not to that level...but that doesn't mean I don't know what I do and don't like.)
So, looks like a "no" on this unless I happen to see one really cheap on eBay.
Thanks for mentioning the preview over at Trekmovie. Just had a quick read...dialogue sucks big time (boy, do they ever state the obvious, and in hyperdramatic and stilted ways to boot), and the art--well, I like some of it, but I can't say it was THAT well done.
(Now, I say that and I recognize that my own artwork is not to that level...but that doesn't mean I don't know what I do and don't like.)
So, looks like a "no" on this unless I happen to see one really cheap on eBay.
Then you'd like the Next Gen/DS9R crossover DC and Malibu (I think) did a number of years ago. Not only did it give Counselor Troi the most useful strategy she ever had, but it gave us a gander at the new Andorian, and I really like Andorians. I'd like to see more new stories in the comics since the novels were written to be ... novels!
I don't see what's so awful about Fool's Gold before you've even read it. Hey, it's DS9, TV series time or not. That's not to say, however, that they couldn't improve their quality by bringing in Marco Palmieri as their DS9 editor! But I'll give it the benefit of the doubt until after I peruse its pages.
OK, that's more for the rest of us who have 399 quatloos to shell out for more Star Trek.
Then you'd like the Next Gen/DS9R crossover DC and Malibu (I think) did a number of years ago. Not only did it give Counselor Troi the most useful strategy she ever had, but it gave us a gander at the new Andorian, and I really like Andorians. I'd like to see more new stories in the comics since the novels were written to be ... novels!
You must be thinking of Wildstorm's Divided We Fall by John Ordover and David Mack, which was Relaunch-era. The DC/Malibu crossover was set during the series and had no Andorians as far as I recall.
Captain Randy Hall,
I didn't think about the ending in the way you described. That's interesting, though a bit anticlimatic. Though I think the writer's fleshed out Demos well enough in a short amount of time, its not like I like the character enough to particularly care which way he goes. And I know that in any event the person facing him will come out unscathed. I wouldn't mind a follow up. I wasn't thinking it would take 50 issues, just one. Though a miniseries about post-war Cardassia would be sweet.
Unfortunately I can't say that I've liked all of the Trek comics I've read, or even most of them. I really liked the old Marvel series Early Voyages and Starfleet Academy. For IDW, I liked Blood Will Tell, Countdown, the first half of the Nero miniseries, and the Borg and Andorian alien spotlights, and the occassional issue here or there. But for the most part I've been unimpressed with the writing for most of the IDW Trek comics. The premises are pretty good and the cover artwork, and most of the time the artwork within the book, are pretty good, but the stories have been largely lackluster IMO. The New Frontier comic was the biggest disappointment for me. All that being said, I'm still looking forward to the DS9 comic coming out.
I didn't think about the ending in the way you described. That's interesting, though a bit anticlimatic. Though I think the writer's fleshed out Demos well enough in a short amount of time, its not like I like the character enough to particularly care which way he goes. And I know that in any event the person facing him will come out unscathed. I wouldn't mind a follow up. I wasn't thinking it would take 50 issues, just one. Though a miniseries about post-war Cardassia would be sweet.
Unfortunately I can't say that I've liked all of the Trek comics I've read, or even most of them. I really liked the old Marvel series Early Voyages and Starfleet Academy. For IDW, I liked Blood Will Tell, Countdown, the first half of the Nero miniseries, and the Borg and Andorian alien spotlights, and the occassional issue here or there. But for the most part I've been unimpressed with the writing for most of the IDW Trek comics. The premises are pretty good and the cover artwork, and most of the time the artwork within the book, are pretty good, but the stories have been largely lackluster IMO. The New Frontier comic was the biggest disappointment for me. All that being said, I'm still looking forward to the DS9 comic coming out.
When I read the end of the book, it seemed that the author was pitting Cardassia's past against its future, with Garak representing the future and Demos the past. In that regard, it looked to me like the decision the whole race will have to make boiled down to two individuals. Granted it's pretty unlikely that Garak would be killed since he's so popular, but you never know these days.
Sorry you haven't enjoyed the current comics as much as I have. I agree that Blood Will Tell was a good read, and Early Voyages has been released in a trade paperback form. I also enjoyed The Last Generation, which was pencilled by Gordon Purcell. He also drew The Enterprise Experiment by Dorothy Fontana. Still, everyone has different tastes, and I hope you enjoy the new DS9 mini. I'm looking forward to it since I really love DS9!
Captain Randy Hall,
Past v. Future. That's pretty interesting. I like that. However, I think that would've been better served if they had changed Demos's backstory, and made him more of a patriot in my opinion.
One of the older comics I really liked was the Gorn Crisis. I also liked the trade that had the Bodai Shin assassins in it. I wish they would bring those guys back. I got the Early Voyages trade, and I'm hoping that they release a Starfleet Academy trade soon. I read one issue of Enterprise Experiment but I haven't read the others or the trade. I flipped through the Mirror Images trade and was impressed. I had previously bought the first issue and the one with Tom Hardy as Picard on the covers. The story reads better as a trade. I usually will try to get the first issue of a miniseries and if it doesn't knock me out, I'll usually not buy anymore. The cost of the IDW books are too high for my taste. Though I am a sucker for the Alien Spotlights and I've bought them all so far.
I'm curious about the Peter David/DC Trek comics. Were they any good? Also, did you read Enter the Wolves? That was one I would like to check out.
Past v. Future. That's pretty interesting. I like that. However, I think that would've been better served if they had changed Demos's backstory, and made him more of a patriot in my opinion.
One of the older comics I really liked was the Gorn Crisis. I also liked the trade that had the Bodai Shin assassins in it. I wish they would bring those guys back. I got the Early Voyages trade, and I'm hoping that they release a Starfleet Academy trade soon. I read one issue of Enterprise Experiment but I haven't read the others or the trade. I flipped through the Mirror Images trade and was impressed. I had previously bought the first issue and the one with Tom Hardy as Picard on the covers. The story reads better as a trade. I usually will try to get the first issue of a miniseries and if it doesn't knock me out, I'll usually not buy anymore. The cost of the IDW books are too high for my taste. Though I am a sucker for the Alien Spotlights and I've bought them all so far.
I'm curious about the Peter David/DC Trek comics. Were they any good? Also, did you read Enter the Wolves? That was one I would like to check out.
