Star Trek: The Next Generation returns to the Mirror Universe in Through the Mirror #1, a follow-up to last year’s Mirror Broken saga — and it’s the Star Trek comic we all want.

In as much as fans are wont to proclaim the Utopian vision of Star Trek as one of its major virtues, we are still drawn to the dark underbelly of the Mirror Universe in a perverse desire to see how our heroes are warped into villains.

The story by Scott and David Tipton is divided into a pair of parallel tales, first focused on Lieutenant Commander Worf (and a pair of security officers) who have beamed down to the mining facility on planet Naia VII for a routine follow-up check.

IDW Star Trek readers may remember the facility from the 2012 Star Trek / Doctor Who crossover Assimilation². The facility is a critical one, that supplies resources and manufacturing for the decimated fleet after the battle at Wolf 359. However, the base’s commanding officer reports to Worf that that they have discovered a decrease in stores and sundries, and he would like the team from the Enterprise to investigate.

It’s a fairly straightforward premise, drawn by Marcus To and colored by Brittany Peer, but one that would seamlessly fit into the beginning of any Next Generation episode. The draw, of course, is the Mirror Universe, and what promises to be a match-up between Captain Picard and ‘our’ Enterprise crew and the Mirror Picard we were introduced to in the Tiptons’ first series, Mirror Broken.

To’s pencilling is crisp and solid. No distractions or fancy tricks; it is focused work and full of energy. I can see the effort he takes in displaying the characters’ emotions. The expression of disdain on one of the Mirror Universe characters in his part of the story is particularly enjoyable — if you read Mirror Broken.

In the second half of the book, “Ripe for the Plunder,” the tale flashes back a few months — and jumps across dimensions to Picard and his Mirror Universe warship Enterprise. We get a hint of how the Mirror Next Generation crew begin to realize that there is more than just their own universe out there.

(When you remember that there have been multiple incursions in the 23rd century — most recently seen in Star Trek: Discovery —  it makes sense that must still be some of the Terran Empire’s classified information remaining for the wily Mirror Picard to pilfer.)

J.K. Woodward paints this part, following the art style of Mirror Broken, and once again the work is no disappointment. Painted work is so fascinating. I am a firm devotee of illustrator John Bolton’s work, for instance, but it never fails to surprise me how precise the work rendered by talented artists like Bolton and Woodward can be. Such is the case in this book.

I’m curious to see how the Tiptons will reconcile all of this with established Star Trek canon, especially with the new Discovery comic, Succession, which takes place in the aftermath of the first season of the television series. Factions vying for control after the apparent death of Emperor Georgiou, so with this story set more than a century later, will there be any ties to that story in this new tale? (Clearly, I have lots of questions!)

Still, it’s glorious stuff. I’ve always wanted to see the Next Generation crew interact with the Mirror Universe. The fact that the Tiptons take it one step further, actually having them interact with their quantum duplicates, makes this a story well worth anticipating — not just out of a sense of a return to this perversely fascinating place, but because we want to see if good will triumph over evil.

There is a great variety of covers for this book, and save for one are quite excellent in execution.

• Cover ‘A’ is by J.K. Woodward, featuring a stoic pair of parallel half-face portraits of both Picards staring each other down. It’s not only technically brilliant but it also has an emotional resonance to it that certainly conveys the nature of the inevitable confrontation between the two captains. This one ranks as my favourite cover, and is the first of five covers which will span across all the issues of this minieries.
• Cover ‘B’ is by Marcus To, centered on Worf’s action-packed chase that we see in the first story. A cover should convey some sense of the story in my opinion, so this is not only an excellent piece of work but also relevant. It’s good stuff.
• The retailer-incentive ‘A’ cover is a simple photograph of Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard. Of course, my problem with this is not only is it a photograph — depriving some artist of work — but it’s also the same autographed photo I have on my office door.
• The retailer-incentive ‘B’ cover by Peter McKinstry is what the previous cover should have been; a thoroughly dramatic rendition of the Mirror Universe Picard — simple in execution and definitely striking. McKinstry and I are both fans of the British comic 2000 AD. He grew up wanting to draw sci-fi and space ships and now he does. It’s a great piece of work and I hope IDW keeps him on with other projects in the future.
• The retailer-incentive ‘C’ cover is an exciting presentation of both Picards and Rikers from Mark Laming, locked in mortal combat with each other. Not only does this give us a flavour of the eventual face-offs that are about to come, it’s also a great cover to look at.
• There’s also a convention-exclusive cover for this book, a black-and-white rendition of J.K. Woodward’s ‘A’ cover. It doesn’t lose any of its intimidating nature and, while I prefer the colour, the desaturated version gives the picture a stark quality that seems to enhance its confrontational essence. I’m looking forward to picking up this one myself.

Through the Mirror is an exciting tale, and I think it’s one that a lot of Star Trek fans will want to read, since it’s an aspect of the Trek universe ignored by The Next Generation. 

I’m eagerly anticipating the conclusion of this story, but with four more issues to go this month — and the Terra Incognita sequel series still to follow this summer — there’s plenty of TNG-era Mirror Universe adventure ahead of us.

Watch for my review of Star Trek: TNG — Through the Mirror #2 next week!