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

Batman And Robin Annual #1

I had some time to kill at the Cape Cod Mall this afternoon, so I picked this up at Newbury Comics. I wanted something that would be a self-contained story.

Title: Batman And Robin Annual
Issue: 1
Date: March, 2013
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciler: Adrian Syaf
Inker: Vincente Cifuentes
Colorist: John Kalisz
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Rickey Purdin, Rachel Gluckstern
Cover: Andy Kubert, Brad Anderson

Here's something surprising: A Damian Wayne story that I actually liked.

Damian has set up a scavenger hunt for the Batman, his way of saying thanks for Bruce Wayne's efforts to care for him and mentor him. Damian has discovered a series of moments from the lives of Thomas and Martha Wayne during their time in Europe, and he is traveling through Europe, leaving a trail of clues for the Batman to follow.

Except that he's not.

Damian's plan has more than one layer, and while Bruce is off on the vacation that Damian has devised, Damian is having his own kind of vacation.

This had a surprisingly Silver Age feel to it, especially considering that it centered on Damian, who is usually used in darker fare. It was nice to see Damian having fun, Bruce having fun, and a plot that wasn't overloaded with blood and gore on a massive scale. You can't do stories like this all the time (well, in the Silver Age, actually, you kinda could), but it was a really nice breath of fresh air for the annual.

The insights into the lives of Bruce Wayne's parents were great. Not continuity-shattering. Just nice little insights and vivid details.

Not everything here worked. The villain in the Gotham-based subplot felt thrown-together. And some attempted comedy in the ending sequence fell a bit flat.

But overall, this was a good story about the growth of trust between Damian and Bruce in a situation that was not life-or-death.

Rating: 7.5/10