Anthologies are probably my favourite story formats.
Like a collection of appetizers instead of a full meal, an assortment ofcomic short stories makes for a refreshing change from reading a series. Maybe not all the offerings are to your liking, but there’s always something new to try.
Sad to say, April is always a killer catch-up month for me and for that reason, I missed this particular variety of Star Trek treats. However, it’s definitely time to rectify that oversight and delve into 2019’s Star Trek Waypoint One-Shot without any further delay.
Following up on the original six-issue run of Star Trek Waypoint stories from 2017, the title returned last fall in a four-story special collection spanning the Trek universe — and IDW continues to explore facets of the prime Trek universe in this new one-shot release, touching on the Original Series era as well as the mid-24th century in this year’s new anthology.
The first story up is “Hearts and Bones,” an Original Series story scripted and penciled by the incredibly talented Stephen Mooney. Tapping into the rivalry between Dr. McCoy and Commander Spock, my favourite Chief Medical Officer finds himself enamored of the most unlikely of romantic targets: a visiting Vulcan surgeon.
This is a delightful tale that sees McCoy seeking love advice from both Kirk and Spock. Mooney gives us a wonderful moment in Kirk’s quarters where we see the tables turned. Instead of Kirk leaning on McCoy for advice, it is McCoy on the receiving end of this relationship. Kirk’s impish smile effectively communicates the light humour of this story in a highly effective way, giving us not only a taste of McCoy’s discomfort but also provides for a flavour that is thoroughly TOS in nature.
This was certainly my favourite out of the entire book. Mooney is a rare talent, being able to script and pencil his stories. He also provides the art for the cover which is simply outstanding.
“Unfathom,” written by Corinna Bechko and drawn by Daniel Irizarri is a story from the earliest days of The Next Generation, where we see Doctor Crusher and Tasha Yar respond to a medical mystery in which most of the crew from a disabled starship have disappeared — both physically, as well as erased from memory of the remaining ones on board.
While I couldn’t find anything critically wrong with the straightforward art, I found the story’s resolution to be a little weak, as I didn’t fully understand how Crusher and the missing crew were able to affect things outside the storage container. I’m open to discussion on this one and be willing to hear what other people thought about it. However, it was a first introduction for me to these creators’ works and it’s always good to be introduced to new things.
The third story, “The Swift Spoke” by Malachi Ward and Matt Sheann, sees an episode from an early adventure in Kathryn Janeway’s career. Serving on board the USS Billings with a then-Lieutenant Tuvok, Janeway leads an away team to a planet known as Arali make first contact with a truly unique alien species known as the Adegeda.
I found this story to be less than satisfying. The away team accomplishes very little due to the differing nature of Adegeda’s reality, and Janeway’s team returns back to the ship with very little to show for their trouble. The story really doesn’t seem to go anywhere and I have to confess to a degree of disappointment.
Ward’s artwork made use of fluid and abstract shapes to represent the Adegeda and their mysterious ship. the background was fairly minimal yet I did like his interpretation of a young, short-haired Commander Janeway.
Finally, Thom Zahler and Andy Price give us “The First Year” – a touching story featuring Worf and Ezri Dax marking the first anniversary of Jadzia Dax’s death on the Klingon homeworld.
This story touched on a significant plot line, making it memorably authentic. After his duties concluded on Deep Space 9, we see Worf in his role as an ambassador in the First City on Qo’noS. However, in the story it is unclear whether he is a Federation or a Klingon ambassador, as even though he seems to have an office in the Federation embassy, he’s also referred to as ‘the Klingon ambassador’ so it’s not quite sure what was intended.
Despite that slight inconsistency, the meat of the story is a friend helping a friend. Ezri counsels Worf into acknowledging his loss and the truth he has kept from himself, as their discussion leads to flashes of Jadzia from within Worf’s memory. This is a touching interlude that sees Klingon angst express itself in the form of personal combat and passion. All in all, an entertaining read with acceptably good artwork.
Like I said, the anthology is an opportunity to try a variety of different flavours. While some are well-known favourites, others are new and are first time experiences.
Variety is the spice of life, after all, and with Star Trek, that’s not such a bad thing — and here’s hoping the Star Trek Waypoint title will be back again soon with more unique stories from around the galaxy.