‘Star Trek’ mash-up is uneven hybrid
Written by Jim Beard | | news@toledofreepress.comEveryone loves a good mash-up. YouTube would be a very boring place without the bastard offspring of The Beatles and The Monkees, or even Lady GaGa vs. the Ghostbusters. In comics, mash-ups aren’t exactly new, but a book like “Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes” can still raise a few Vulcan eyebrows. Unfortunately, the first issue of the new miniseries, a joint venture between DC Comics and IDW Publishing, beams in as a lopsided two-headed whatzit.
The uneven nature of the series begins with the multimedia “Trek” being paired with the lesser-known comic book super-team, which claims a fervent fanbase but just doesn’t have the worldwide clout of Kirk, Spock and co. The comic tries to present both equally, but it’s soon apparent that this is intended to be a “Trek”-heavy project. The Legion is actually an older property, begun in 1958, but DC’s super-heroic teenagers of the far future have never really taken off outside of the comics industry. And this book tends to reflect that situation.
“Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes” begins with a glimpse at a dystopian future not dissimilar to that in the famous “Mirror, Mirror” episode of the original “Star Trek” show. But, since this is just the beginning of the tale, no explanations are forthcoming as to that dark scene’s existence. Then we’re shown the real Enterprise and the real Legion, each in their own respective future universes, falling into the aforementioned troubled times. The two casts do not meet, but one assumes they eventually will; why else would we be here?
Overall, there’s not much that transpires in the 22 pages, nothing that you haven’t already seen in countless comics and “Trek” episodes. The art is nice and the writing competent, but for $3.99 you yearn for a bit more meat on the bone. First issues are generally just introductions to the situations, but there’s little here to urge you to buy No. 2. In all, the book stands as a kind of gateway drug, a bit too obviously trying to hook you on either of the properties therein. Whether you fall for it depends on how desperate you are for mash-ups.
Tags: Comic books, Ghostbusters, Jim Beard, Lady Gaga, Legion of Super-Heroes, Star Trek, The Beatles, The Monkees
