Star Trek 1381: Schism, Issue 2

1381. Schism, Issue 2

PUBLICATION: Star Trek: Romulans - Schism #2, IDW Comics, October 2009

CREATORS: John Byrne (writer), John Byrne (artist)

STARDATE: Unknown (before, during and just after the last issue)

PLOT: On Romulus, the Praetor visits his new flagship. In the not too distant past, Number One is given the task of installing and testing the Romulan cloaking device stolen by Kirk. She soon runs afoul of a a Romulan fleet that has claimed a perimeter well outside the Neutral Zone. They fight well, but must eventually flee. That's when they encounter Kor's unmarked ship. Not long after that, after finding the Klingon princess stowing away on his ship, Koloth finds the wreckage of Kor's cruiser...

CONTINUITY: See previous issue (Kor, Koloth, USS Yorktown, Federation cloaking device, Number One). The Romulans use a plasma weapon derived from the one in Balane of Terror.

DIVERGENCES: This time, the engineer on the bridge is miscolored in sciences blue. Other positions may also be miscolored. The fact that swarthy Klingons and bumpy-headed Klingons are interacting doesn't not explicitly contradict onscreen events, though no canonical explanation exists for it (or indeed, for the return of the bumpy heads).

PANEL OF THE DAY - Now that's a paint job worthy of the Romulans.
REVIEW: We go back in time to see the Federation side of things as Number One takes charge of the cloak, but as we inexorably move towards the shocking final moment of the first issue, there is still no clue as to how the Yorktown gets out of it. Exciting stuff with nice battle strategies from Number One (Byrne really does like this character) and the Romulans are holding their own with technological escalation. I was a bit disappointed in the Praetor's giant warbird, simply because it was drawn in such broad strokes. It's neat to see the spacedock and all that, but if you're gonna do a splashy reveal, make it a little more impressive with, I dunno, DETAILS. But a minor complaint. I'm now wondering how far the story can be taken in this chapter with only one issue left.