Star Trek: The Next Generation Annual #6

From the stack of random unread comics.

Title: Star Trek: The Next Generation Annual
Issue: 6
Date: 1995
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Michael Jan Friedman
Penciler: Ken Save
Inker: Sam de la Rosa
Colorist: Rick Taylor
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Margaret Clark

Written by multi-time Star Trek novelist Michael Jan Friedman, this is the second part of a crossover with 1995's Star Trek (original series) Annual. The basic setup is that various key individuals have been abducted by the time-traveling Devidians as part of a plot to manipulate the timestream. Among the abduction victims are Spock and Data, along with a fun selection of fan-favorite characters from various points in Trek history.

Rescue missions led respectively by Picard and Kirk are underway, while another powerful force, the mysterious Aegis, are also involved in the altered timestream..

Friedman shows as good a grasp of the style and interactions of the Star Trek universe as one would expect, given his impressive credentials. The flavor of the story is spot-on, and there are some fun alterations to continuity for the sake of the altered timeline.

It was also fun seeing the versions of Kirk, Spock, and crew in their older incarnations from the era of the films, rather then the original TV series.

The climactic battle is hindered by a mechanism that keeps the two rescue parties slightly out of synch in time with each other, limiting communication. This is fine, but the way it's depicted visually in the comic medium just doesn't work all that well. The silent and essentially faceless Devidians don't make for very interesting villains either. There is a lot of talk about how dangerous they are as foes, but when they actually show up, they just engage in a shootout with the two rescue parties, and the battle is over quickly and anticlimactically.

The Aegis then perform a bit of deus-ex-machina, which, while not very good plot, is at least well in flavor for Star Trek, and timelines are arbitrarily restored to status quo.

This definitely captures the essence of a Star Trek story; it's just not one of the better Star Trek stories.

Rating: 5.5/10