Villordsutch reviews Star Trek: Manifest Destiny #1…
IDW Publishing has now begun the four-part Star Trek: Manifest Destiny story, which is written by both Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott, who are both currently helming the rather enjoyable Starfleet Academy series, with artwork provided by Angel Hernandez, recently seen working with Mike on the Star Trek/Green Lantern crossover; this bi-weekly Klingon tale will also see a release in the Klingon tongue too.
Opening with a brutal occupation from a marauding Klingon Fleet as the Empire expands, we witness how the “Rules of War” are put into play depending on which Commander is at the front of the charge. After this bloodshed one month later the scene is quite different as we arrive in the Medical Bay with both McCoy and Scotty delicately delivering an alien child to a “stuck in his old fashioned ways” alien father. After recounting the birth story on the bridge, a Federation distress beacon is detected and Kirk sends Sulu, McCoy and an Away Team to investigate.
Upon the planet, through numerous deep-caves, they locate the signal source though it rapidly becomes apparent it is more bait than beacon and with this the Klingons emerge, ambushing the Away Team in the caves and uncloaking in-front of the Enterprise.
Here are the Klingons! Brutal from the start, they are yet to be neutered by any sort of Organian meddling or even the Khitomer Accord. Take the opening pages as they slaughter the village, discussing the massacre of the villagers along with the children, and then look at the descending Bat’leths in the closing panels. The image of Khan eradicating a whole platoon of Klingon Warriors will soon be washed away from your memory thanks to Mike, Ryan and Angel.
Manifest Destiny is setting the stage for a full-on conflict between Kirk and the Klingons here, and I am truly excited by this. I have to admit over the years the Klingons have become, shall we say, not as fearsome as they once were; however instantly they have been given such a dominating presence within Issue #1 of Manifest Destiny. Both Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott have given this warrior race back their teeth.
I loved Angel Hernandez’s artwork in the Star Trek/Green Lantern crossover and here too it’s excellent. There are so many panels I could pick out as outstanding, but there is a minor small panel on the third page where a Klingon Warrior seems to just be tearing the head off a poor sod of a planet inhabitant! This panel is just tucked into a corner but it just highlights the ferocity of these warriors.
Not only this, but along with the excellent Angel Hernandez covers you’ll get a fantastic Tony Shasteen (After Bob Peak) Motion Picture Subscription cover and an equally fantastic Rachael Stott Dr McCoy Retailer Incentive cover.
Tony Shasteen (After Bob Peak) Subscription CoverStar Trek Manifest Destiny #1 needs to be bought. I cannot sing the praises of this comic enough.
Rating: 9/10
Originally published April 20, 2016. Updated October 29, 2022.
