The Best of Star Trek
by Mike W. Barr
A collection of Star Trek Comics published by DC between 1984 and 1990.
If these stories represent the best of the tie-in comics up to 1990, we can only hope things have improved since then. Mortal Gods, Double Blind, and Retrospect are familiar tales of false gods, sheep in wolves' clothing, and lost love for Scotty (although the sketches of him highland dancing are amusing). The Final Voyage chronicles the final adventure in the five-year mission, a needless revisiting of Talos IV and Captain Pike. The Menagerie wasn't exactly crying out for a sequel. Only the final three comics, a trilogy recounting the trails of Kirk after The Voyage Home, are remotely worth reading. They tie up some loose ends of the film. (For an actual sequel, try the novel Probe by Margaret Wander Bonanno). Lest we think the writers are the only ones at fault, the artists haven't done a great job either. Since the stories are mostly set during the film series, these comics show every wrinkle on our actors' faces. Their world is rendered in gaudy primary colors. This anthology, ripe with clichés and sloppy writing, presents the worst of Star Trek rather than the best.