Villordsutch reviews Star Trek: New Visions – “The Hollow Man″…
A mysterious message draws Mr. Spock on a solo mission to a distant part of the Federation, where an old friend awaits, as well as a menace with the potential to threaten the entire galaxy.
There have been ups and downs throughout John Byrne’s Star Trek “Photoplays” from IDW; when they’re good they are very enjoyable and when they are bad they are atrocious. The last release The Survival Equation fell into the latter, however the issue before 1971/4860.2 was brilliant and scored highly. However, the Photoplays don’t tend to follow a trend of staying at a steady level of quality in either story or photo-manipulation, and this is why when a good issue comes along like The Hollow Man you tend to be rather pleased.
Calling back to the original Star Trek episode This Side of Paradise, Spock receives a personal message and he requests a ten day leave of absence. After numerous steps to subtly get to his destination we discover that a former close friend of his – Lelia – sent the message and she needs his help. This planet she now resides upon is practically automated and jammed-packed with Dilithium. The only inhabitants are Lelia and her husband Alan; Leila is convinced Alan is no-longer the real Alan, hence the reason she’s called Spock. Upon further investigation and maneuvering by Alan, Spock makes and unbelievable discovery about the planet which puts both his life and Lelia’s in danger.
John Byrne really does slow-release, confined stories so well. With what feels like minimum sets after Spock finishes his initial travel, the story beds in and builds up the tension up to an excellent climax. Not only this but due to the fact we’re working with limited characters, more attention is carefully placed upon the “Photoplay” manipulation aspect, giving the comic and John’s talents the true time to show themselves off. Even with the web-like lifeform and normally I’m not a fan of John’s past CGI, his up to date CGI – seen on his forum – is fantastic, but this is blended well with the imagery seen here.
Considering I wasn’t that big a fan of This Side of Paradise on television, John Byrne has managed to follow this episode up with something quite brilliant. One question I’d like clarified however is it Photoplay or Photomontage, as the cover says “Play” and the inner-cover says “Montage”?
Rating: 9/10
Villordsutch likes his sci-fi and looks like a tubby Viking according to his children. Visit his website and follow him on Twitter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=_SyT3SfEj2Q
Originally published November 4, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
