It’s this month’s issue of IDW Publishing’s Star Trek comic series: the final installment of “Reunion,” the next adventure in the new Five Year Mission.

This month’s story offers a pair of cover presentations:

Order Star Trek #54: Reunion, Part 2

• Gaila is trapped in an enormous cage, seemingly constructed from the pieces of monstrous insects. She holds the bars, pleading to be rescued. Sadly, it seems that she’s being offered by someone of her own species, as the hands holding the cage are the same color as her own flesh.At the top of the cage, melding with the starry background, are a pair of female eyes. This is a great cover by interior artist Tony Shasteen that sums up the poor Orion’s situation. Readers will be quickly transported to last month’s conclusion by this image.

• The subscription cover is by Derek Charm, who is the artist of IDW’s current Starfleet Academy series.This is a thematic cover that crossed into ten other books for the month of February. It’s a Valentine’s Day card cover whose content will either be a hit or miss with readers.It features a bust shot of Kirk looking lovingly at the Enterprise above him, accompanied by the text “You’re the only one in the galaxy for me.” This sentiment is consistent with Kirk’s beliefs. The cover continues onto the back where one can fill out a “To:” and “From:” should one wish to give this book as a gift. This is cute and funny.

The conclusion to “Reunion” by Mike Johnson begins aboard the Enterprise with Kirk’s captain’s log, summarizing last issue’s events and his dialogue with Scotty stating their current situation: “The warp core is complaining.” As soon as the ship is fixed, Kirk plans on getting as close as possible to Orion space to retrieve Lieutenants Gaila and Kai.

Meanwhile, the kidnapper, their mother Vila, has taken them so that her daughter may marry a member of the Pacari to cement a business relationship. Surprisingly, it takes Scotty much longer than usual to get the Enterprise tip top, allowing the wedding ceremony to proceed.

The majority of this story doesn’t involve everyone’s Starfleet favorites, instead focusing on Gaila and Kai and their attempts to escape from their mother and her plans. It’s a decent little tale, but it’s very similar to any outing involving John Carter or Dejah Thoris. It was hard not to picture Tharks while looking at the Orions in this issue.

I was hoping to see a greater presence from the Pacari, but they’re forgotten once the action begins. The final two pages do venture into promising territory with a question asked. This was an okay character piece, but this tale has been told many times before.

Artist Tony Shasteen has much to be proud of this issue. His character works continues to be impressive. He’s able to render the fan favorites so that they resemble the actors who play them and he has them emote exceptionally well: Kirk on Pages 2, 15, and 20; Scotty on 1 and 5; and Spock on 2.

He also does some really incredible work on the new characters. Gaila is a fantastic character, looking frightened, resigned, and fierce as the tale progresses. Her brother Kai looks like a cool and collect officer in his Starfleet uniform, but on Page 8 he becomes an formidable fighter once stripped of all his clothing. Their mother Vila is wonderful lounging, evoking memories of Deep Space Nine‘s Intendant Kira, and chasing her children, looking marvelously maniacal on 15.

The design of the Orion technology is also strong, with that repeated ring motif excellent. The vehicle that appears on Page 12 is sensational — I need to see more of that somewhere else soon. Even the devices that appear in the first panel on 19 look sharp and fit in flawlessly with the design of the films.

The backgrounds continue to plague my enjoyment of Shasteen’s work. I want them to be as sharp and clean as his characters, but they’re blurry and smeared, creating a distracting experience: Pages 1, 8, and 14. They don’t occur frequently, but enough to call unwarranted attention.

The work of Davide Mastrolonardo is very good on this book. The crew of the Enterprise pop against the monochrome colors of the ship’s interiors, mirroring the films, but his work really pops on Vondem.

Gaila and Vila look great with their olive skin and violet dresses, while Kai looks spectacular in arena. Page 16 has a terrific explosion that Mastrolonardo brings to life with many shades of orange.

The captain’s log, dialogue, transmissions (all three are the same font), Pacari dialogue, and sounds hail from Neil Uyetake.

I’m disappointed that the first types of text used are the same font. They should each be their own unique design. Thankfully, Uyetake more than redeems himself with some slick sound effects and the outstanding font used for the Pacari’s speech.

– Reviewed by Comics Editor Patrick Hayes