FAMILYFANS Books & Comics

review by

Mike Nappa

Star Trek The Next Generation, The Space Between: Light of the Day

by David Tischman and Casey Maloney

(IDW Publishing)

Reader Appeal: Adults

Genre: Comic Books / Sci-Fi

Wow, is this a bad comic book or what?

You'd think that, given the wealth of the Star Trek universe, the depth of its characters, and the unlimited possibilities in a "federation" storyline, that IDW publishing would strive to turn out imaginative, intriguing, high-quality, stories for this series of Star Trek The Next Generation, The Space Between. As it is, the story I read was so hackneyed and cheesy that  I'm amazed that this comic has made it all the way to issue #4: "Light of Day."

"Light of Day" begins with the classic trope as three of the Enterprise crew members are stranded on a desert island...excuse me, on a strange world. Here, Worf, Ro, and Geordi quickly discern that they are on the planet Riat, a place where peaceful monks reside. But (gasp!) these monks have drunk bad water and are now wild, zombie-like cannibals impervious to phaser blasts but (of course) easily subdued with a solid punch to the jaw. (Don't worry, it gets worse...) Meanwhile on the Enterprise, Captain Picard and crew are transporting an former world despot (responsible for the death of millions) back to his home earth to stand trial for war crimes, but they have to stop long enough to find their lost comrades. And the despot, now something of a religious fanatic, of course helps them track down Worf and the others...And Data looks thoughtful as he tries to understand humans...and Worf rescues Geordi from a zombie monk...and the ship arrives just in time to save all three stranded crew members...and the zombie monks are easily restored to their former peace-loving demeanor...and, well, you get the idea. This comic is so full of clichés, disjointed storytelling, one-dimensional characterizations, and unimaginative, derivative plotting that it is amazing Star Trek is willing to have its name associated with the pages here. If this comic were a ball of cheese, it'd fill the entire room - and then some.

The illustrations here are the best part of this book...and they're simply not that good. Compared to the stunning skill of other comic books artists on the rack, the panels in here look as though they might have been drawn by a high-schooler with certain raw talent, but no real flash of artistry.

And, to add insult to bad writing, the last third of this book is a "sneak preview" of some upcoming vampire comic. So, as expected from hackneyed imaginations, it begins with a vampire rape scene which quickly creates a new vampire out of the female victim. I'd yawn if it weren't so childishly imitative and gratuitously gory. This "sneak preview" is what makes this book appropriate for adults only...but honestly, I feel sorry for any adult who might pick this up and actually try to read it.

FAMILYFANS RATING: D-

AFTER THE STORY

If your family members are interested in this comic, then encourage discussion about it afterward. You can use these questions to get started:

• What makes for a good comic book story? How did this comic meet, or fail to meet, those expectations?

• How would you interpret to religious characterizations in this story? What message do you think the writer was trying to communicate about religion?

• Besides firing the writer and the illustrator, what would you do to make this series worth reading?

Note: All comics-related graphics in this column are standard publicity/promotional shots and are owned by their respective publisher.