Star Trek 1120: My Brother's Keeper

1120. My Brother's Keeper

PUBLICATION: Star Trek: The Next Generation: Shadowheart #3, DC Comics, February 1995

CREATORS: Michael Jan Friedman (writer), Steve Erwin and Charles Barnett III (artists)

STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last issue)

PLOT: The plot thickens. Gowron has been supplying Northa's rebels with weapons to keep a known Duras sympathizer busy, but now needs the "Shadowheart" to be discredited lest the Empire fall to more fundamentalist ways. On Nothra, Worf, Riker and Kurn escape the ants and follow the river, where more dangers await - river dragons, storms - even as they are being followed by a Klingon death squad. The rebels attack and carry the trio off...

CONTINUITY: See previous issues (Gowron, the Rozhenkos, Kurn). Young Worf used to play soccer (Let He Who Is Without Sin).

DIVERGENCES: The same title is used for a series of TOS novels.

PANEL OF THE DAY - Worf, also a skater
REVIEW: As Worf goes deeper and deeper into the jungle, his flashbacks to Nikolai go further and further back in time. I was going to applaud Friedman for invoking Conrad's Heart of Darkness, but then he hits it a little too squarely on the nose by having Riker say that title. Ah well, still a strong central structure. Worf's relationship to both his brothers is well explored even though the various dangers are more or less random. The political moves made by Gowron really fit the character (and everything to come in DS9), but it does only leave one issue for Nikolai to make an appearance and explain himself. It's that explanation that scares me (bla bla bla), but we'll see. For now, good third issue.

Goodbye Cruel 2009, the Future Awaits!

So what has Science Fiction predicted for us in 2010?

In films...
2010: It's the year we make contact! And turn Jupiter into a second sun! Handy for, you know, global warming and stuff.

District 9: Let's all let a cheer for that alien saucer finally leaving. Been a long, hard 18 years.

On tv...
Doctor Who: A double-decker bus disappears and reappears next Easter, but I don't think we'll notice. Our collective facelift next Christmas, however, is gonna be DISTURBING.

Knight Rider 2010: I've been holding out on getting a driver's permit for this very year, when I can just download my consciousness into a sports car. That's what science has been leading up to all this time.

The Simpsons: Lisa gets married. How old is she, currently? Oh, that's gonna be all kinds of wrong.

In books...
Stand on Zanzibar (John Brunner): The only book I've read that takes place in 2010 predicts unmanageable over-population, media oversaturation, eugenics laws, rampant drug use and big ass world paranoia. I think we have ourselves a winner! DING! DING! DING!

Star Trek 1119: Dealers in Darkness

1119. Dealers in Darkness

PUBLICATION: Star Trek: The Next Generation: Shadowheart #2, DC Comics, January 1995

CREATORS: Michael Jan Friedman (writer), Steve Erwin and Charles Barnett III (artists)

STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last issue)

PLOT: Kurn, Worf and Riker reach the planet Nothra and meet an informant that sells them a map leading to Nikolai Rozhenko, who is posing as the Klingon demon of legend, Shadowheart and leading an insurgency. The Nothra governorship is in cahoots with the Duras, but the Sisters aren't happy that the insurgency has put their raids on border worlds on hold. The away team gets into trouble with the authorities and bolts through the jungle, but not before Worf's containment suit is destroyed, placing him at the mercy of the jungle gases. However, it's Riker who gets into trouble when he trips during a killer ant stampede...

CONTINUITY: See previous issue (the Rozhenkos, Kurn). The Duras Sisters were last seen in Past Prologue.

DIVERGENCES: Duras Sister cleavage has been colored in.

PANEL OF THE DAY - Worf was raised in a bunker.
REVIEW: Really does feel like a "Klingon episode", with the Duras coming out of the woodwork and politics being called into play. Worf is at the center both of the drama (his authority over his brother, the flashbacks to the Academy) and the action (the bar fight, him ripping off his jacket as the "disruptor energy" eats through it). Oh and bits of Klingon folklore too. Riker's a bit dour for my tastes, but otherwise, still a winner.

Cat of the Geek #42: Scratchy

Name: Scratchy
Stomping Grounds: Itchy & Scratchy comics and cartoon-within-a-cartoon
Side: Good (beware the propaganda machine)
Breed: American shorthair
Cat Powers: Coming back from the dead to suffer some more.
Skills: Eat 7, Sleep 4, Mischief 6, Wit 4, Assorted Weapons Skills 5
Cat Weaknesses: Itchy. Dying in the goriest possible way over and over and over again.
I'd Pay Money to Play This:

Star Trek 1118: The Lion and the Lamb

1118. The Lion and the Lamb

PUBLICATION: Star Trek: The Next Generation: Shadowheart #1, DC Comics, December 1994

CREATORS: Michael Jan Friedman (writer), Steve Erwin and Charles Barnett III (artists)

STARDATE: 46479.3 (between Aquiel and Face of the Enemy)

PLOT: Though believed dead, Worf's foster brother Nikolai Rozhenko has taken on the identity of the legendary Shadowheart and is fighting with Nothrani rebels against the Klingon governorship. Worf, Riker and Kurn are tasked with stopping him before his actions destroy the alliance between the Empire and the Federation.

CONTINUITY: Nikolai Rozhenko appeared in Homeward (in the future from the story), but was mentioned as early as Heart of Glory. Attending his "funeral" are his parents (Family) and Alexander. Jenna D'Sora (In Theory) is part of Worf's security team. Admiral Quinn (Conspiracy) gives the Enterprise its mission. Gowron appears. Kurn (last seen in Redemption) does not, but is assigned to the mission.

DIVERGENCES: None (as yet).

PANEL OF THE DAY - Channelling Dr. Seuss?
REVIEW: Shadowheart quickly shapes up to be a promising Klingon story. We get to see plenty of Klingon action, including new specialist uniforms and equipment, all very well drawn by Erwin and Barnett. It also acts as a prequel to Homeward, and thus as a strong Worf story. And the trio of Worf-Riker-Kurn (the three recurring Klingon heroes, Riker by virtue of A Matter of Honor) should work well together (as well as Worf, Dax and Kor? we'll see). I'm actually excited about this one.

Upgrade Complete!

Or pretty close, actually. My internet projects will now resume.

Star Trek 1117: The Unseen Enemy

1117. The Unseen Enemy

PUBLICATION: Deep Space Nine/Star Trek: The Next Generation #2 (part 4), DC Comics/Malibu Comics, January 1995

CREATORS: Michael Jan Friedman and Mike W. Barr (writers), Gordon Purcell and Terry Pallot (artists)

STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last issue)

PLOT: The combined TNG/DS9 crew escapes from the Gamma Quadrant aliens trying to sabotage the Wormhole and Odo reveals clues that the Cardassians may be the ones actually behind the scheme. They head for a Cardassian outpost and both defeat and implicate the Cardassians there. The GQ aliens get skittish and abandon their post. With the crisis resolved, the crews go their separate ways.

CONTINUITY: See previous issues (Dukat, Alexander)

DIVERGENCES: See previous issues.

PANEL OF THE DAY - Petty rivalry between the shows?
REVIEW: A disappointing finish. The art remains great, there's no dearth of action, and the Cardassians are well handled, but all the same, it seems fortuitous that the aliens would abandon their mission. The political landscape on Bajor was well used in previous issues, but there's no pay-off. Some nice goodbyes between characters, but both on the plot and character front, this is a slim resolution.