Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever Comic

[Villordsutch]

Villordsutch reviews Star Trek: Harlan Ellison’s City on the Edge of Forever #1…

“For the first time ever, a visual presentation of the much-discussed, unrevised, unadulterated version of Harlan Ellison’s award-winning Star Trek teleplay script, “The City on the Edge of Forever!” This Hugo- and Writer’s Guild of America Award-winning teleplay has been much discussed for decades but only here can you see the story as Mr. Ellison originally intended!”

I’ve been rather excited about seeing this series of Star Trekcomics since it was mentioned back in March and just and yesterday we were teased with a few pages of the comic too. Well I say excited – I’ve been watching the dispatch list like a hawk waiting for my prey to raise its head slightly above the grass so I can pounce and grab it in my talons. I want this comic so badly and woe betide IDW if this is done wrong as I’ve been filing these talons to a point, as you don’t mess with this bit of history.

What this series of IDW Trek comics is setting out to do is tackle the original teleplay of Harlan Ellison’s The City of the Edge of Forever, which is not the same as what you witnessed on the screen. Here you have a rather interesting script that went against the Roddenberry perfect harmony of the Federation. You’ll see even within the opening pages that some of the crew aren’t at their most stable within the first few years of their five-year mission and illegal drugs are being sold amongst themselves for profit which, in turn, is leading to murder. It’s our murderer, Beckwith, that escapes the Enterprise by sealing himself in the transporter room and beaming down to the planet; he then becomes the Time-Jumper – not a Crazed McCoy as in the TV show. Eventually when our Away Team arrive on the planet they discover the city on the edge of “Forever” and communicate with the guardians watching over it.

Our opening issue is a good one. The writin…

Full article <<<

 

[dswynne1]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

I find it sexist for this reviewer to find it "bizarre" (his words) that Rand is competent enough to utilize a phaser rifle.

 

[Paris]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

I find it sexist for this reviewer to find it "bizarre" (his words) that Rand is competent enough to utilize a phaser rifle.

That's quite a stretch. At no point did he say it was bizarre due to her gender. YOU are the one who is sexist due to the conclusions you drew. I suggest that you look inwards. That's where the sexism lies

 

[Christopher]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

I read the preview, and... wow, that's painfully stilted opening narration. "We have followed the radiation to its planet-source"? "We have continuous psych-probes, but we know some have been altered"? That's barely coherent. And the dialogue isn't much better, the worst kind of "As you know, Bob" expository writing. I know Ellison's better than this -- has the dialogue been changed by the comic's writer? Or maybe this is the problem with adapting a first draft, with all its roughness intact.

The art is good, but it's kind of odd to see a story that's such a departure from the TOS we know rendered in a style so much like the TOS we know.

 

[Iamnotspock]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

I find it sexist for this reviewer to find it "bizarre" (his words) that Rand is competent enough to utilize a phaser rifle.

That's quite a stretch. At no point did he say it was bizarre due her gender. YOU are the one who is sexist due to the conclusions you drew. I suggest that you look inwards. That's where the sexism lies

Indeed. Surely the reviewer meant that he found it bizarre that Rand would use a large rifle to unseal the transporter door, rather than a simple hand phaser or some other method?

 

[Villordsutch]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

Paris and IamnotSpock got it right dswynne1.

As a husband with three daughters I wouldn't at any point say my wife or daughter couldn't do something due to the fact they aren't men...1) I'd be a dead man before I could finish the sentence 2) I'd lose the respect of my family 3) It isn't true.

When you see the picture of Rand with the Phaser Rifle you to will think 'No that's odd?' Other than that I thought the rest of this comic was brilliant.

Just to say, after I posted the review I was tweeted by the artist J.K. Woodward who said I may be interested in seeing how he achieves his finished piece and it's rather fascinating in how much work goes into it - http://www.jkwoodwardart.blogspot.c...05/star-trekharlan-ellisons-city-on-edge.html

 

[Christopher]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

Seeing Rand wielding a phaser rifle is odd because it's not something you expect from a clerical worker. But then, this was written early in the series before the characters were well-defined. Seeing a murderous drug dealer on the Enterprise is odd too. As is hearing Spock say "You've been walking around this bridge like a man under water for two hours." (On top of the simile being out of character for Spock, why would the helmsman be walking around the bridge at all?)

 

[dswynne1]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

Paris and IamnotSpock got it right dswynne1.

As a husband with three daughters I wouldn't at any point say my wife or daughter couldn't do something due to the fact they aren't men...1) I'd be a dead man before I could finish the sentence 2) I'd lose the respect of my family 3) It isn't true.

When you see the picture of Rand with the Phaser Rifle you to will think 'No that's odd?' Other than that I thought the rest of this comic was brilliant.

Just to say, after I posted the review I was tweeted by the artist J.K. Woodward who said I may be interested in seeing how he achieves his finished piece and it's rather fascinating in how much work goes into it - http://www.jkwoodwardart.blogspot.c...05/star-trekharlan-ellisons-city-on-edge.html

Fair enough, and apologies all around.

Admittedly, my original objection was a bit of a nit-pick, when you used the word "bizarre" when describing the Rand scene. Had you used the phrase "out of character", in relation to the history of the Rand character (as depicted on the actual show), I would not have made my objection. But seeing Rand being more involved in the plot, other than just standing around reacting, reminded me of how progressive Star Trek was back in the day on one hand, and not so much on the other. Seeing Kirk casually telling Rand to perform a job, as if it wasn't a big deal, was something "cool" to me, harkening back to "The Cage", when Number One was clearly in command of the situation, in Pike's absence during that episode. Neat.

 

[Agent Richard07]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

I picked up my issue today and that's the cover I got. I flipped through it and I like the painting-style artwork. I also saw that there was an apparition that looked like an old man. A humanoid Guardian? Can't wait to see what other changes there are.

 

[BritishSeaPower]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

Just picked this up from Comixology. Will check it out soon. I wonder if this is the "Scotty is a drug dealer" draft.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

I wonder if this is the "Scotty is a drug dealer" draft.

There never was such a thing.

 

[Pauln6]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

Seeing Rand wielding a phaser rifle is odd because it's not something you expect from a clerical worker. But then, this was written early in the series before the characters were well-defined. Seeing a murderous drug dealer on the Enterprise is odd too. As is hearing Spock say "You've been walking around this bridge like a man under water for two hours." (On top of the simile being out of character for Spock, why would the helmsman be walking around the bridge at all?)

There are odd shades of NuBSG lol. But I wouldn't have minded so much as a kid.

I think it would have been essential to broaden Rand's scope as the series progressed. Also Yeoman Landon was a clerical worker who knew martial arts. It's more notable that Kirk didn't just pick it up and blast away himself - that's what he'd do in the later series after ripping his shirt first.

I think this would just have been one way to show that all the crew are fully trained in all basic functions of the ship. I noted that Rand is also the one operating the science tricorder - a task most often left to Spock or Chekov later on.

I will say that the iconic image of the other-worldly Gateway is more memorable than a disembodied old dude though.

 

[BritishSeaPower]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

I wonder if this is the "Scotty is a drug dealer" draft.

There never was such a thing.

I knew I should have put a winky in there.

 

[PaulSimpson]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

Our look - http://scifibulletin.com/comics/review-star-trek-harlan-ellisons-the-city-on-the-edge-of-forever-1/

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

The Artwork was really good on this, really evoking the look of Trek's First Season. The Story, well I'll always understand both the Network and Roddenberry's stand that the people of this Show would be beyond Greed and using Narcotics to attain more things, but I'm enjoying this take on the classic tale

 

[Paris]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

Having cooled on the IDW trek books of late, i decided i'd actually check this one out. I really like JK Woodward's artwork, and the chance to see the original script on the page was too much to resist. I agree with Christopher's observations about the dialogue seeming a bit terrible, but overall, i liked it. I got the cover with the cool spotlight/running drug dealer lieutenant.

 

[Maurice]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

It's weird that the reviewer commented on the use of the phaser rifle since it was dropped by a redshirt Beckwith clobbered. Why would she or anyone else go get another weapon when that big sucker was right there?

 

[Saul]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

I find it sexist for this reviewer to find it "bizarre" (his words) that Rand is competent enough to utilize a phaser rifle.

Well since they can't fly saucers without hitting something.....

 

[Pauln6]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

I find it sexist for this reviewer to find it "bizarre" (his words) that Rand is competent enough to utilize a phaser rifle.

Well since they can't fly saucers without hitting something.....

In Rand's defence, she flew the ship in the Naked Time and didn't crash into anything. I'm aware of the history but if they really were going to show off Rand as being competent in a number of areas then it's even more of a shame that she didn't stay.

However, I'm unconvinced. Mears came up with no useful ideas in the Galileo 7. Most of the yeomen were there to state the obvious and ask really stupid questions.

 

[Patrick O'Brien]

Re: Star Trek - City on the Edge of Forever #1

The cover Art is amazing! Ortiz does great work. I cannot wait to see the inside of this comic.