Manga Review: Star Trek

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Manga Review: Star Trek

February 6th 2009 12:09

The original crew of the USS Enterprise is back, truly going where no Star Trek crew has gone before: to the pages of manga.

And as a Star Trek fan since childhood, let me just say, Woohoo!

There are a number of anime references in the ST franchise, most notably in The Next Generation, so it’s only natural that the favor should be returned. There are three volumes currently available (and an omnibus that collects all three in one package), and all of them are anthologies of stand-alone adventures. None of the stories connect to each other, although a few do connect to events of the TV series or elements of the larger Star Trek universe. And, all are from different creators, so the stories have a wide variety of drawing styles. The characters are immediately recognizable in some, not quite so much in others, but the reader will catch on pretty quick. Each book also includes a written short story.

The authors did a superb job of staying true to the mythology of Star Trek. McCoy and Spock still feud like a couple of old ladies, Spock still struggles with his emotions, and Kirk is still the womanizing captain who’s primary concern is the safety of his crew and whose first love will always be Enterprise.

The Omnibus Volume

The stories also live up to the Star Trek name, dealing with many of the same issues that the series did. Perhaps inevitably, this leads to some stories looking suspiciously like episodes from the series. In one story, Kirk and a Klingon captain have to work together (“Day of the Dove”, “Darmok”). An alien princess falls in love with McCoy in another (“For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky”). And in three others, creatures get loose aboard the Enterprise and wreak havoc (the classic “Trouble with Tribbles”). Still, even if you consider those pieces knock-offs (an opinion with which I am sympathetic), they’re still worth reading. Most of the works are more original, and deal with topics never seen in the original series. In the story “Humanitarian,” for example, Mr. Spock is in command of the Enterprise on a mission helping a planet rebuild after a devastating war. While on the planet, an accident kills or injures over a quarter of the ship’s crew. Seeing the emotionless-but-not-quite Vulcan deal with a tragedy of that magnitude is something we’ve never seen before.

The secondary characters are fairly well-represented as well, although personally I would have like to have seen more of them in this series. The best story from this point of view is the Uhura-centric “Communications Breakdown,” set right after the episode “The Changling”. Unfortunately, Uhura is the only one (besides Kirk, Spock, and McCoy) that gets her own story.

Great moments: Aside from the stories already mentioned, “Orphans” is one of the best. Think Star Trek meets Gundam. A funny and dramatic story with space battle action besides.

Summary: Well-written stories in the ST tradition. Definitely a must-read for any Trekker. Grade: A minus.

Age rating: Official age rating is 13 and up, but in terms of appropriateness for children, it’s no worse than the Star Trek original series.