IDW Publishing Forums

[sulfur]

I reviewed this one on monday at TrekMovie

I'm not a New Frontier reader, or really a Trek novels reader... so take my thoughts with that in mind.

I think that it's a good story for New Frontier readers/fans, but I'm not 100% convinced on its cross-marketability just yet.

[Denyer]

Mmm, follows directly, including a short story in Tales From the Captain's Table I haven't read. Catch-22 as far as balance goes; it might be a bit confusing for newcomers, and it's recapping stuff that older readers know (though moving some characters forward...)

I'm in. Happy with the interior art, and it's too early to expect surprises. The general feel is of a novel with the, 'hem, novelty of characters being given visuals.
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[riker2049]

I've only read the first book, and that was 11 years ago now. So I remember little things here and there and I recognized about half of the characters. But the whole thing of Robin Lefler on the planet and the floating head of the bald guy and all his stuff...I had no idea what was going on with all that.

On the plus side the art was fantastic, Thompson does amazing backgrounds and does a great likeness of Ronny Cox. Just the fact that Ronny Cox is in a comic is great.

I dunno if I'll pick up issue 2. Maybe if I have enough money that week or something, but since I'm not all that familiar with the series, it's gonna be tough getting into it. I think this is definitely a series more for the people who have read all the books.
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"Let us make sure, that history never forgets the name...Enterprise."--Captain Picard

[8of5]

Well I've read one New Frontier book, the one in the Gateways novel crossover, that I found hard to get into. But I didn't struggle with this issue at all. Sure I don't really know any of the characters, but I know the universe and the story was written well enough that it doesn't matter whether I can identify the characters as quickly as I might a TOS or TNG comic.

That said I wasn't really blown away with it, the first half with the ship be stolen, and the bit with Calhoun and Shelby, was pretty enjoyable, the rest seemed a little too much like a setup, the issue didn't really seem to get anywhere far, just began the story. But I suppose that's just a symptom of being used to one-shot stories.
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Numerically challenged drone
8of5's Star Trek blog -- Updated October 14.

[Denyer]

[GustavoLeao]

TrekWeb reviews Star Trek New Frontier Issue 1

http://trekweb.com/articles/2008/04/02/Comics-Review-Star-Trek-New-Frontier-Issue-1.shtml

Gustavo Leao
TrekWeb Editor
gl2000@uol.com.br

[Denyer]

Coming back to this, since the paper copy just showed up, it's looking good and feels like it has a lot more pace than it had initially (when I'd read the preview pages shortly before the issue.) Thumbs up, looking forward to more.
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[Zriza]

Loved it !!! It was like reading one of the novels. Can't wait for the rest of the Turnaround issues.
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http://zriza.blogspot.com/

[Silverdeck]

I loved this book too, how cool to have an ongoing NF series, Peter David is my favourite Star Trek writer, he really gets into the heads of the crew and I loved this opening issue.

Bravo Station is way cooler looking than it was in my head, more the Voyager style design than the old star-base idea I had in my head.

I like seeing Mac Henry again, I wondered what he had been up to, Also seeing New Thallon was a blast and how cool is Lefler now?

Looking forward to this whole run.

[Baximal]

Hello,
I agree that Peter David is one of the best ST writers. I just wished that IDW had done some 'background' material on NF. I am having a hard time following along. I would love to get into it with some help. Maybe a sourcebook on these characters?
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Everything I write is ok to print.

[Denyer]

Easiest way to meet most of 'em is to pick up the start of NF --

http://www.amazon.com/New-Frontier-Star-Trek/dp/0671019783/
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[Samy]

I am coming to this series as never having read a New Frontier book before in my life.

As such, I did have some problems with accessibility. At the end of the day, it did no harm to comprehending the story. Comprehending the story was perfectly fine. But I couldn't help feeling that I would have felt much more immersed in the story if PAD had chosen to use a narrator that would have introduced the characters as we met them. Even simple identifying captions like Geoff Johns used recently in "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" would have helped a lot. You know the type, like a narration box with an arrow pointing to a character, saying, "Yera Allon -- Chameleon Girl. Homeworld: Durla. Powers: Shapeshifting." Something like that, identifying all the key characters, would have helped a LOT. Not with understanding -- I understood everything perfectly fine. But with immersion.

The hurdles a new reader faces are just about my only problem with the story. PAD is great with continuity porn, it gives me huge immersion bonuses when I see characters like Jellico, Shelby, Lefler and the Majel Barrett lookalike character. I really could have used catchups on how Shelby ended an admiral so quickly when the main cast of TNG and VOY barely advanced a single pip in seven years. I also could have used a catchup on Lefler who seemed a drastically different character compared to "The Game". Maybe those catchups are upcoming in future issues, or maybe PAD is hoping to push people to read his prose novels. Frankly, I'd prefer the former because I'm lazy. But at the end of the day, the continuity is far more a plus for me than the trivial minuses that the lack of catchups is. The lack of catchups is a minor irritant, but the presence of continuity is a huge immersion bonus. It's a big net plus.

PAD also writes just about the most sophisticated IDW Trek story so far. I just wrote a tirade (in the Intelligence Gathering thread) on how the Tiptons, IMO, don't write deep enough. PAD gives me exactly what I felt was missing from the Tiptons' work -- debates, and interpersonal conflict that makes the characters feel real and not just plot elements. From Shelby's concerns over the marriage, to Lefler's debate with Kalinda about how to view the afterlife, I feel like there is meaningful dialogue between the characters, not just going through the motions of executing the plot.

Thompson's art is sufficient for my needs. As people probably know by now, I've criticized IDW Trek art. Well, this is good enough. Thompson joins Purcell and Byrne in my book as IDW Trek artists who are "good enough". Great pick, hiring him.

Overall I give this B+. More intro and more catchup (expanding the series to six issues if you have to) would have made this a solid A- experience.

[Samy]

Also, it was funny because I heard "Grozit", and expected to see Genis-Vell.

[Denyer]

[Samy]

It seems like awfully fast career progression. Commander I'd have had no problem with, captain I could've stomached, but admiral is a bit much. I don't like when bit characters outpace the main characters. Maybe it's just me.