Villordsutch reviews IDW’s Greatest Hits: Star Trek #1…
Introducing IDW’s Greatest Hits! One-dollar versions of key issues and launch-points from your favorite IDW books! This month, it’s Star Trek #1! Picking up where the 2009 film left off, this is the jumping-on point for everything that’s come after for the new cast!
IDW has begun a rather interesting and pocket friendly $1 (USD) comic book series called IDW’s Greatest Hits. In this series we are going to see numerous reprints of some of their vast back catalogues classic stories and also some ongoing series launch points; to be delivered for a rather splendid tiny dollar, or possibly (hopefully) 71p if you live in the UK like myself.
Our first issue sees the mighty Star Trek brought into play and it’s a reprint of Mike Johnson’s retelling of the Original TV Series episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before”. If you’re unaware of the screenplay written by Samuel E. Peeples then shame on you, shame on you! However to rapidly go over this episode, the Enterprise and her crew are crossing the boundary of our Galaxy, truly stepping into the great unknown. Passing a distress beacon from the USS Valiant they finally attempt to crossover, both Ship and her crew are battered by an unknown force field.
During some serious wound-licking we discover nine crew members perished, as the Enterprise attempted to leave the Milky Way. Along with this Kirk’s close friend appears to have been affected by this incident, gaining both ESP and also an extremely short, violent temper.
IDW have started well by picking Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before from Mike Johnson along with both art and colours from Stephen Molar and John Rauch. Originally this was part of the ongoing series issue #2 and our art duo have made this comic look rather splendid; with this original Star Trek story being one of my favourites seeing it get a slight lick of paint – to freshen it up – from Mike Johnson has done it no harm – bringing it up to speed with a mere few lines to the NuTrek universe.
The only issue I have with Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before is nothing to do with Mike Johnson, IDW, Stephen Molar or John Rauch, mainly it falls down to the total angry nerd that sits within my core. The Enterprise crossing the outer rim of the Milky Way!? When Voyager was flung to the furthest reaches of the Delta Quadrant and it was unceremoniously dumped near the outer rim it took years just to cover even a cluster of light years, without the aid of Q, Borg Transwarp corridors or Reg Barclay. However this tale treats it like it’s just another day in the Captain’s Chair; not only this, but the story was written decades before the planet Vulcan was just a short warp away.
Returning to the comic in hand, there is absolutely no reason why anybody who missed this story on the first run should not be picking it up for a mere $1. In these times of limited funds IDW have brought to our homes a truly genius idea called IDW’s Greatest Hits.
Rating:- 8/10
Originally published March 23, 2016. Updated June 30, 2023.
