A Missed Opportunity: Where No Man Has STILL NOT Gone Before Author: Michael Kure Source: TOKYOPOP

As a kid, I grew up collecting the usual Marvel and DC comic books. My selections in the titles I bought were driven primarily by the art, though I did have a special fondness for Spider-Man. Thanks to a tip from a friend, I discovered a back issue of a Japanese comic book called Shonen Jump which featured a manga version of Spider-Man with art by Ryoichi Ikegami. This phone book-sized comic broke my manga virginity, and though I could not read a word of Japanese, I was hooked. Sure, I had seen a few sample illustrations from other manga such as Cyborg 009 and Astro-Boy (Tetsuwan Atomu) with their big-eye style of art, which I admittedly sneered at and deemed not worth my time. But here before me in a single volume was an infinitely diverse combination of art styles, from cartoony to dramatic, from over-the-top action to the subtlety and beauty of Ikebana. I had no idea at the time that manga art could be so wonderfully varied... and emotional. Ikegami’s work, especially, shattered my previously bigoted perception of what manga was. This was my IDIC moment. Since then, other ground-breaking manga artists such have Yoshitaka Amano have continued to fuel my love of the art form. Star Trek the Manga – Uchu (which loosely translates to “universe” or “space”) continues TOKYOPOP’s trek into the final frontier with their third volume of the original series (TOS) tales, drawn in manga style. Ahhh, but there’s the rub, for only HALF of the stories in this volume were drawn that way. Yes, you read that right – only two of the four stories published herein were illustrated in the manga style! Um, what’s the title of this book again? When I first learned of TOKYOPOP’s plan to publish a manga anthology of Star Trek TOS stories, I was struck by the ingenuity of that idea. Why had no one thought of this before? How brilliant! I went back to my earlier IDIC moment and anticipated a cornucopia of manga styles illustrating the adventures of James T. Kirk and his U.S.S. Enterprise. I was so excited! When the first volume came out, I found the stories enjoyable, but was dissatisfied by the stylistic cookie-cutter art throughout the book. Sure, the art looked good enough, but every story appeared to be drawn in only one manga style. There was no trace of the diversity of manga that I knew existed and expected to see. What a major bummer. The second volume fared better, including a couple of gems, story and art-wise, but I was once again disappointed that TOKYOPOP didn’t step up by offering a more diverse range of manga styles. Quite perplexing was the fact that one story ignored the manga style completely and was drawn in the more traditional Western way. (You can read my complete review of Volume 2 here.)

With the third volume, I was hoping, actually, expecting, that TOKYOPOP would break out and offer new stories of the Federation illustrated by different manga artists, offering readers a whole new perspective on the manga art form. I don’t know how many other fans of Star Trek have been exposed to manga beyond this anthology series, or what their notion of manga might be after going through the first two volumes. But here was TOKYOPOP’s opportunity to offer all of them their IDIC moment – to see their favorite Trek characters portrayed by other talented manga artists from the global Trek community. How awesome would it be to see these new Trek adventures illustrated in various manga styles by talents from, say, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, or Brazil... are you feeling the love here? Instead, TOKYOPOP gives us the same old-same old and even disregards its own editorial directive by inexplicably publishing two non-manga stories. TOKYOPOP could have taken us to where no one has artistically gone before. Could have, but did not. What a major missed opportunity. Anyway, here’s what you’ll find inside of Star Trek the Manga – Uchu: Opening the volume is “Art of War”, written by Wil Wheaton and illustrated by three-time Star Trek the Manga veteran EJ Su. Wheaton, as I am sure you must know, is the actor who portrayed “Wesley Crusher” on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION from several years ago. Today, Wheaton is a creative talent who has demonstrated for a second time his knack for writing good Star Trek. His “Art of War” is a fast-paced, sharp, and poignant tale story about the differences, and equally, the similarities between officers of Star Fleet and the Klingon Empire. For me, the story brought to mind an earlier television episode from the original series titled, “Day of the Dove”, where Kirk and company, after fighting a boarding party of Klingons, put aside their differences to dispatch a common enemy. Wheaton takes that one common element and explodes it into his own, embellishing his deep and meaningful story with plenty of action and adventure that we’ve all come to expect from classic Trek. This is a good one, folks. Well done, indeed.

Returning to Star Trek the Manga is artist EJ Su. His line work is thicker and bolder than what I remember him doing before. And this time, Su at least portrays Sulu and Spock closer to adult age as opposed to making them look like little kids in Star Fleet Halloween costumes, which was my only gripe about his work in Volume 2. “Bandi” by David Gerrold and Don Hudson is in the number two spot. Writer David Gerrold is a genuine science fiction writing legend, and is known to fans of TOS far and wide for penning “The Trouble with Tribbles”, arguably one of the two oft-cited and best-remembered episodes of the original series. In “Tribbles”, Gerrold brought out the repressed side of Captain Kirk in a rather humorous way, and he repeats again in “Bandi”. This time, an alien stowaway in the form of a silly-looking teddy bear is discovered aboard the enterprise and inflicts emotional havoc on the crew. It’s familiar stuff to be sure, but the usual banter between Spock and McCoy is still refreshing, and Gerrold treats his readers to an adventure just different enough that it might even make you laugh. As for the art by Don Hudson, his traditional, non-manga style stands out like an ostrich in a sea of gerbils because it is so out of place. But, there is one page he drew that made me laugh out loud, and yeah, it was SUPPOSED to be a funny. Hudson tries to infuse some manga-isms and nuances into his work, but it’s not enough. Ironically, it is because of his non-manga style that Hudson best captures the likenesses of William Shatner and others. Editor Luis Reyes contributes “The Humanitarian”, a top-notch, emotion-driven excursion spotlighting the decidedly non-emotional Mr. Spock, with Captain Kirk only making a brief but pivotal appearance. Spock gets schooled on the harsh realities of duty, responsibility, and leadership, and the high price one pays for sitting in that command chair of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Keep in mind that this is about Spock in some very tense and emotional situations, a tough hurdle for any Trek writer to jump. Yet, none of the interactions and actions of the key players seemed out-of character or forced, and editor Reyes does a commendable job of keeping writer Reyes on track. The end-result is that “The Humanitarian”, in my opinion, is one of the best stories of the entire three-volume anthology. Bravo. The artwork by Nate Watson is surprisingly effective. I say “surprisingly” because Watson chose to illustrate the story in a very non-manga manner. I say “effective” because the short sequence between Kirk and Spock is a standout in terms of traditional American comic book style graphic narrative. Watson, to his credit, has a distinct, raw style which in some ways reminds me of early Frank Miller, especially in his use of blacks and shadows. Unfortunately, it’s all unsuitable for a manga anthology. Look, if the name of this anthology was "Star Trek Black and White" instead of Star Trek the Manga, then I’d be the first to celebrate his work. Unfortunately, in this case, Watson’s non-manga style is a mis-match akin to finding a beef-kabob at a vegan buffet. Serving as the terminus to Star Trek the Manga – Uchu, is “Inalienable Rights” by Nathanial Bowden and Heidi Arnhold. The weakest narrative of the volume, the story starts off interestingly enough with the Enterprise discovering a strange new world on the brink of warp-drive technology, and Starfleet ordering Kirk to make first contact with the alien civilization. But this extremely talky tale quickly turns dull as it shifts its attention to the rather formulaic social and culture clashes which ensue.

Unfortunately, the aliens of this story come off as rather predictable and boring, and none of them are able to sustain any sense of drama or excitement. Well, none except for maybe Jeena, the female protagonist who manages to make her own “first contact” with Kirk. Yeah, you heard me right. In this important first-contact mission, for Kirk to lose his sense of diplomacy and priority like that just doesn’t make sense. What makes less sense is how Kirk is able to transport out of the story at the end and leaving a supine and unconscious Jeena without any show of concern. Hmm...maybe their “first contact” wasn’t so great after all. “Inalienable Rights” is not a bad story, but it is so benign to be forgettable, and a regretful choice to close Star Trek the Manga – Uchu. One big plus about “Inalienable Rights” is the art by Heidi Arnhold, which does follow the manga template, thank goodness. Her detail work is amazing, and she expertly mixes her POVs to keep the graphic narrative moving without any awkward breaks. The gray tones by Dominic Prestera must be noted for adding depth and power to Arnhold’s black and white art without overwhelming it. My one big gripe here is that neither Kirk nor Scotty nor McCoy look like who they are supposed to be. In fact, if you just look at the art without reading the captions or dialogue balloons, you’d be extremely hard pressed to pick out McCoy, who is one of the major players in the story. But regardless of this flaw, Arnhold’s art is a welcome addition to the book. According to the contributor bios in Star Trek the Manga – Uchu, Tokyopop will be releasing a Star Trek: The Next Generation manga anthology sometime in the near future. Like Kirk did in front of the Guardian of Forever, I can only look up to the stars and hope that TOKYOPOP won’t let its Star Trek readership suffer from more missed opportunities! Scotty??????????! Star Trek: the Manga – Uchu Paperback: 192 pages Publisher: TOKYOPOP ISBN #: 1-4278-0787-6 SRP: $10.99 Available Now