by Mike W. Barr (writer) and Tom Sutton and Ricardo Villagran (artists) (Hoopla Comic Books)
This multi-issue storyline was compiled into a graphic novel several years ago and is available through the digital resources in our Hoopla service. The Mirror Universe Saga originally came out in the two-year span between Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), and deals – in part – with the after-effects of the events in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), in which Spock sacrificed his own life to save the rest of the Enterprise crew, and Star Trek III, in which Spock is mysteriously resurrected as a result of the untested scientific effects of the newly-created Genesis Planet.
But this multi-part story is far more
than merely time-filler between movies. Comic book writer Mike W. Barr, along
with artists Tom Sutton and Ricardo Villagran, tap into some fan-favorite
elements of Star Trek mythology to tell a rip-roaring tale of adventure,
revenge, grief, and empire-building. Back on October 6, 1967, in classic Star
Trek’s second season, the concept of a parallel Star Trek universe with an
alternate timeline was introduced in the episode, “Mirror, Mirror”. In
that story, Kirk, McCoy, Uhura and Scotty end up beaming up to the Enterprise
during a violent ion storm and find themselves suddenly in a violent new world,
where they must assume the roles of their doppelganger counterparts, who rose
to positions of authority through deceit, bloodshed, treachery and torture. Only
the Mirror Universe version of Spock (sporting a dashing mustache and goatee)
seemed to offer them a chance at returning to their normal universe (after he
discovers the truth about their origins), and Kirk leaves Mirror Spock in a
position to potentially affect positive change in the violent Mirror Universe.
The Mirror Universe Saga is set over 25 years
after “Mirror, Mirror” and reveals that the Mirror Universe Kirk and
his crew have been waiting for an opportunity to cross through into our
universe to attempt to expand their bloodthirsty Empire. The events of the
early Classic Trek movies serve as a backdrop to our well-known Kirk and crew
having to deal with monstrous versions of themselves. Characters who have died
in the main universe films still exist in Mirror Universe versions. We finally
have a showdown between two different James T. Kirks, and fans get to see the
distinguished Mirror Spock again, and learn why his goal of leading a rebellion
in the Mirror Universe never came to pass. The writing is absolutely terrific,
though events in later Trek movies ended up making what happens in this
mini-series completely non-canon. The artwork varies, from excellent versions
of the movie-era appearances of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, et. al., to barely
recognizable. And the “bad guys” from the Mirror Universe are portrayed as
cartoonish megalomaniacs. None-the-less, this is one of my favorite storylines
from the comic book history of Star Trek, and I strongly recommend it to any
Star Trek fan who hasn’t already read it!
( entry for The Mirror Universe Saga in the Memory Alpha Star
Trek fan databse ) | ( official Mike W. Barr web site ) | ( Wikipedia entry for
artist Tom Sutton )
See
many more reviews like this on the Star Trek Reviews page here on BookGuide!
Recommended
by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service
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