Sept 5th Comic RoundUp

posted by JediSheltie @ 6:56 PM

Star Trek Year Four 2

Can't say what I'm missing with this series. I want to like it, but the plotting is simply beating me back yet again. Even though my personal "favorite Trek period is the original cast films", I started out with TOS in syndication and will always have a soft spot for it. These comics are simply not finding that soft spot.

Issue 2 brings us "The one with the Prime Directive," as a Friends episode may have put it. The Enterprise stops by Aarak 3 to pick up some shiny new dilithium on the way to Starbase 14. This is certainly a nod to TOS, as from what I recall, damn near everything that ever happened to the Enterprise happened when they were on the way to a starbase.

Kirk, Spock, and McCoy soon find themselves the attempted collateral damage in what appears to be an assassination attempt of the local head honcho. The Federation officers prevent the attempt and McCoy gets to rattle off an only mildly amusing "I'm a doctor, not a..." line. What follows is supposed to be a tale of political intrigue and philosophical rumination on the nature of the Prime Directive.

What it ends up being is a confused mess that makes a play for being a "relevant episode" somewhere in the middle. That Kirk and Company don't entirely sit out the climax of the story is one of the few improvements over the first issue. I was going to complain about how the Prime Directive was handled as well, but research has shown it eventually grew beyond dealing with "primitive, un-contacted" species to deal with interfering with any planets internal affairs.

Pacing is certainly the same problem here. Not to say much of this could have been salvaged with some additional pages, but it may have helped. I might counsel Tischman to start thinking about writing some "2 part episodes" instead of trying to cram everything into a single issue. He has yet to prove up to the task. Art is the same, which I found acceptable in the first issue and can faithfully report that it was equally acceptable here.

Supergirl 21

Okay, I can say Bedard is doing much better, that's for sure. At no point did I feel anyone trying to reach out and touch the teenage girl within. Fortunately I had her surgically removed years ago. Rather expensive operation, actually...

Coming off events in Amazons Attack, Kara is suffering from a bit of anxiety. (Didn't bother reviewing much of AA, did I? Take that for what it's worth..). She seeks solace at the Kent farm, which is point 1 in Bedard's favor. The Kents are the understanding parents you wish you had. They mention that their other adopted kid isn't perfect and he's screwed up from time to time as well. Kara is slightly reassured, but she knows she's going to have to face up to him sooner or later. Kinda-sorta-almost killing the President of the United States is one of those "let's talk" moments, after all.

Her reckoning is delayed by a crossover event, though. If you haven't been reading Countdown, then perhaps you're not altogether familiar with Karate Kid and "Una," otherwise known as Triplicate Girl when there's more than one of her. Don't fret, as long as you can glean they've been wrongfully pegged as meta-human terrorists playing hobos on a train, you'll be okay. Much like the Enterprise and any particular part of the universe, Kara is the nearest member of the Teen Titans able to respond after this "threat" has been called in.

I had been wondering if Karate Kid had any enhanced strength or something for a while now, and Bedard answered that question in an entertaining fashion. The Kid discovered that attempting to apply even the best karate in the universe against an earth-bound Kryptonian doesn't work so well. Though that fight doesn't last long, the instigator of the terrorist complaint soon appears to provide a slightly higher challenge.

Equus, a 2 bit C-lister who made his debut being beaten up by Kara's cousin, decides to take matters into his own be-clawed hands after Kara and the assembled law enforcement officers fail to off his targets for him. Bedard is the guy who finally gets to wrap some of Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes into the main comic, and so far it's handled well. Kara suddenly notices her two terrorists look very familiar, in a strange way, which allows Equuis to get the drop on her.

Guedes art is awesome as always. I'm disappointed he's only around for 2 more issues, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts. Overall I'm feeling better about this comic. Definitely looking forward to see how Bedard handles this first arc, which promises to let Kara "find her place" in the current DCU.