It’s been a moment since I’ve written about comics but I got the call to sub in while JP is on vacation so I guess I’m RUNNING this WEDNESDAY or something. Anyways…comics!
Sons of Star Trek #1
Morgan Hampton (W)
Angel Hernandez (A)
IDW Publishing
This is a real Star Trek heavy week for me (come back for Figure Friday and you’ll see) and I love it. I was pretty stoked to check out Sons of Star Trek #1 and it did not disappoint!
Here’s the blurb:
From the mighty pen of acclaimed Cyborg writer Morgan Hampton comes a new four-part miniseries spinning out of IDW’s Eisner-nominated Star Trek series and fan favorite Star Trek: Defiant series! In the aftermath of Kahless’ harrowing Day of Blood, Jake Sisko struggles to find his place in the universe now that his family has been reunited and his father, Benjamin Sisko, has once again saved the galaxy.
Meanwhile, Alexander Rozhenko is recovering mentally and emotionally from his time as one of Kahless’ devout followers. Although his father, Worf, was able to break him away from the Red Path cult, Alexander is haunted by his actions during the bloody coup and is unsure of his ability to atone for the devastation he caused.
Jake and Alexander find their stories intertwined as they’re thrust into an alternate universe where they followed their father’s footsteps into Starfleet stardom. As officers aboard the U.S.S. Avery, Jake and Alexander encounter alternate versions of other children of Starfleet legends who show them they all may have a bit more in common than it would seem.
I’m digging the IDW Trek stuff because it’s exploring a hitherto unexplored portion of the post-DS9 era. It also doesn’t hurt that Deep Space Nine is my favorite iteration of Trek and that Sisko is my favourite captain.
Jake Sisko is front and center in this book and Morgan Hampton is doing a stellar job of tapping into what makes him a compelling character. During the early days of Deep Space Nine, we all collectively kind of thought Jake could have been a Wesley Crusher in the making. Insomuch as he’d ship off to Starfleet Academy after a few seasons, not the “dropping out and becoming a space god before possibly re-enlisting and then leaving Starfleet again” part. My point here is that Jake, and a lot of other characters in the book, had a lot left to explore after the TV series ended.
Without spoiling things, the book goes pretty deep in the bench for Trek characters I did not expect to see and they were (almost) all welcome returns. A more fitting title for the book may have been Star Trek: Legacy but, well, you know…
Sons of Star Trek is out TODAY! Boldly go check it out.
The Bat-Man: First Knight #1
Dan Jurgens (W)
Mike Perkins (A)
DC Black Label
This his the stands last week and caught my attention. Here’s the blurb:
From legendary comics writer Dan Jurgens and superstar Batman artist Mike Perkins comes a pulp-influenced noir take on the caped crusader set in his debut year, 1939.
It’s 1939, fascism is on the rise, and Batman is in his early days, labeled by those in Gotham as “the vigilante”. At the center of a series of crimes, Batman comes to the conclusion that their prime suspect in each case were deceased. With the Caped Crusader’s only ally being Detective James Gordon of the Gotham City Police Department, both detectives must uncover who these “reanimated criminals” are and how to stop them.
Now, I know this is a DC Black Label book and everything, but if ever there was an Elseworlds title…this is it. I know that the term Elseworlds is making a comeback as part of James Gunn’s stewardship of the DC movies AND there are some new, official Elseworlds titles coming this year, but this really feels like a book that could have kicked off the imprint’s grand return.
If memory serves, DC’s Elseworlds unofficially began with the Gotham by Gaslight one-shot back in 1989. A friend’s older brother had a copy and it absolutely blew my mind when I read it. It was kind of like Marvel’s What If…? series, but it had an edge to it they could never hope to replicate.
In the years following, Elseworlds had published some legitimate bangers and some that were…not so much. With The Bat-Man: First Knight, everything about the book hits all the right notes for an Elseworlds tale.
The book is decidedly for mature readers and draws heavily from year one Batman; not Batman: Year One, but rather 1939. The Bat-Man: First Knight is as advertised; it’s pulpy, heavily noir, and exactly what I needed to combat the slight Batman fatigue I’d been feeling as of late.
If you can snag of copy at your LCS, check it out!
