| Title | : | Star Trek: Year Five, Book 1: Odyssey's End |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1684055687 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781684055685 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 136 |
| Publication | : | Published February 4, 2020 |
Star Trek: Year Five, Book 1: Odyssey's End Reviews
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It makes sense that for the comic series, they just continue the Enterprise's five year mission. That mission is soon drawing to a close. While each two issue episode is it's own story, there is a larger plot thread running through the book as well. The authors have the character's voices down. Two of the three stories are sequels to actual episodes of the show. The art is very solid throughout. All in all, a good start any fan of the original Star Trek can get into.
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"We're being hailed by a Klingon ship, sir. We have no idea what kind of weapons . . ." [nervous pause] "We're going to die before we ever get back to Earth, aren't we?" -- Ensign Campbell
"It would be a failure on my part if I allowed that to happen." -- Capt. James T. Kirk, big damn hero
For the many of us familiar with the original Star Trek (1966-1969) TV series it is ingrained in our collective sci-fi memory that the opening monologue mentioned a 'five-year mission' for the U.S.S. Enterprise. This was apparently done in creator Gene Roddenberry's hope that the show would run for five seasons and thus have 100 episodes, guaranteeing it would one day be syndicated (or rerun) on UHF channels and reap additional profits. That did not quite pan out as expected, but it is now obvious that the series and its spin-offs ultimately succeeded wildly beyond anyone's expectations. Keeping this in mind, a graphic novel run detailing the missions / adventures in their fifth and final year of space truckin' makes for one delectable idea. Odyssey's End features three connected Trek stories - or 'episodes,' as they're referred to here (no doubt with a wink and a smile) - that showcase our intrepid crew pleasingly working together to handle such incidents as rescuing an orphaned alien child, having Spock run as a political candidate (?!) on planet inhabited by two cultures with severely strained relations, and some mysterious recovered archaeological artifacts that are causing crew members to become unusually irritated and then violent with each another. The illustrations of Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy et al. are consistently first-rate, and it's fun to imagine the original actors voicing the speech bubble dialogue. There's action, drama, and humor (both inside jokes like the expected 'red shirt' being attacked during a landing party AND the political, especially a few moments that jibe with current U.S. issues) in the solid narratives and I'm now looking forward to the next volume. -
A Star Trek comic that just gets it right in every possible way. Arranging the comic into two-issue "episodes", each written by a different author, could have gone wrong, but it's supported by an ongoing plot throughout. Well, two ongoing plots if you consider the fact that the Enterprise is also on the last year of its voyage, but that's really only a plot point in the first episode.
The individual episodes are also quite good, albeit with some variance (the third being the weakest). The authors do a great job of getting the characters' voices right and a lot of the graphic design work is very reminiscent of '60s TV shows. The individual episodes are also a lot of fun, both because of their relation to canon and just because of the writing of the stories. We get a sequel to "The Tholian Web" then a sequel to "A Piece of the Action", then finally a story that's reminiscent of "The Naked Time" while still going in an entirely original and interesting direction.
I look forward to the next volume in this series, though I'd like to see more focus on this as the Enterprise's final journey. -
The original Star Trek TV series is still my favourite from this long running franchise, & this graphic novel breathes new life into those iconic characters.
The dialogue & artwork bring back the crew of the Starship Enterprise with great affection. There are plenty of interesting ideas here, but the stories are a little too reliant on using characters & places already seen in old TV episodes for my liking. However, it's good to see Lieutenant Uhura given prominence here & it fits very well with the narrative.
This is a decent tribute to the characters from Star Trek, but I hope future editions will rely less on existing episodes & more on originality. -
This series of three episodes harken from the end of the USS Enterprise's five year mission. Lanzing/Kelly/Easton does an excellent job with the voices and personalities of the crew, with a particular focus on Kirk's career ending as a captain and his desire to connect with his son, David. Each episode is its own story, the Enterprise has rescued an orphan, the consequences of which run through all three episodes. There are also aliens from some of the original series' episodes: Tholians, Iolians, and Klingons. The artwork is decent too. I hope Lanzing/Kelly/Easton continue this odyssey.
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I just...really loved this. I don't quite know why. I'm not a classic Star Trek fan - I've seen all the movies, but never the TV series, and I definitely enjoyed the J.J. Abram's films more than the old ones (*hiss!* I know, sorry).
There was something here that just made me happy. Year Five contains three stories with an overarching theme of miscommunication. Each story was complex, yet understandable - often odd and funny and weird and charming, all mixed up in a wall of dialogue and simple, clear art. Something about how each story had to be resolved with logic rather than violence spoke to me. And the characters were true to themselves, unique and interesting, people I wanted to follow blindly into (verbal) battle.
I'm sure the non-violent ethos and likable characters are classic Trek, something I should have been aware of - but the other Star Trek books I've read have leaned harder on battle scenes, less on smart people talking it out. In any case, I just found Year Five endlessly fascinating and amusing. A book I basically expected to skim I found myself close reading. I'm just plain chuffed. -
The final two years of the starship Enterprise's five-year mission have proved a fertile ground for storytelling and examination over the past several decades. Pocket Books has multiple tie-in novels from the era and then a hit-or-miss series about the "Lost Years" between the end of the five-year mission and the start of the motion picture series.
Now, IDW attempts to give fans the final year of Captain James T. Kirk and company's tenure on the starship Enterprise with Star Trek: Year Five. This collection of the first six issues of the series contains three complete "episodes" that attempt to blend the stand-alone storytelling of the original Star Trek with the season-long arcs that are prevalent today. The hybrid works well enough, giving us some interesting character exploration as Kirk faces the prospect of becoming an admiral coupled with regrets about his past (his relationship with Carol and David Marcus serves as a launching point for the middle installment of the arc). There's even an apparent rift developing between Kirk and Spock (which interestingly plays into Pocket Books' "The Lost Years" saga) and the crew potentially becoming involved in some squabbling between the Tholians (last seen trapping our crew in their web).
The storytelling and artwork for these six collected issues is spot-on an feels like they came right out of a potential fifth season of the classic series. It's interesting to see the crew go back to "A Piece of the Action" to examine the implications of McCoy leaving his communicator behind (this is also explored by Peter David in his comic arc "The Trial of James T. Kirk" for D.C. years ago). The characters are well represented and some of the crew that aren't Kirk, Spock, or McCoy get a moment or two to shine as well.
In short, this is a diverting and entertaining collection of stories that Star Trek fans will enjoy. -
Well this was fun. Bought this on a whim after rewatching the brilliant documentary “For the Love of Spock”. The authors did a great job capturing the tone of ST: TOS, and the adventures felt like actual episodes from the TV series. The depiction of the main cast members was pretty much spot on, even incorporating Spock’s tendency to overexplain things. It was so nice finally seeing Uhura come into her own and play a pivotal role in the story, displaying her full range of abilities as a linguist and communications expert. I've always felt she was underrated as a character and got way too little screen time in the TV series and movies. The dollops of Star Trek humour spread throughout the book were also a great touch, e.g.:
[Lengthy (over)explanation by Spock]
Chekov: “That was a very long walk to get down a very short pier.”
Sulu: “It’s Spock, Pavel, if you want brevity, talk to a Klingon.
My favourite parts of the book involved the Tholians, probably one of the most intriguing species in Trek. I found episode 2 about the crew revisiting Sigma Iotia to be much less interesting. The art work was generally excellent, except that the faces of the main crew members looked a bit off at times. I realize that faces of such well-known characters are very hard to draw convincingly, but Bones in particular looked really weird in some scenes (a bit like a bloated demon on the verge of manic laughter). There were also a few bits that seemed a bit too unbelievable, even for gullible old me, such as Spock punching a Tholian in the chest, cracking its armoured skin. (This while Tholian skin apparently has the density of Andorian diamond.) I also never thought I would catch Spock making a grammatical error: “Every crew member must perform at their most optimal.” Most optimal? Hmmmm... Most illogical.
Still, I very much enjoyed this graphic novel, and I’ve already ordered the next one in the series. Highly recommended if you're a Trekkie! -
There's a lot, way too much in fact, packed in to the story lines of these first three collected "episodes" from the Enterprise's final year of its originally planned five year mission. Much of these tie back to story lines from the TOS series, and it was gratifying to see that material developed further. The threads include conflicts with the Tholians, Iotians, Klingons as well as several other very unusual threats to the crew. Plus, an uncharacteristically pensive Kirk as he contemplates his future in the face of the Enterprise's mission coming to an end and his prospects of taking up the role of father to his son David. All of these make for interesting threads, but just as one seems to be getting started it's quickly dropped in favor of something else unrelated. It seems that for resolution of any of these story lines you must continue with the series, which I'm not sure I'll do. Fantastic illustrations.
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"Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her five year mission: To explore strange new worlds, to see our new life and new civilisations. To boldly go where no man has gone before."
Only that five year mission was cut short when Star Trek was cancelled after the third season. So here we get to see the crew's final year as it prepares to return to Earth.
I find "Star Trek" comics and novels tend to be hit or miss, so I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this. It definitely feels like the old school Star Trek with the episodic missions and the focus on the Kirk/Spock/McCoy dynamic. I love the overall design of the comic, the new worlds and civilisations they encounter all feel like they were designed in the 1960s.
What really elevates this for me is the way it acknowledges how our society has evolved since the show first aired. There's more of a focus on the entire crew, particularly Uhura. There's references to the way our political theatre has changed, but it's done in a very old-school Star Trek way. The metaphors are clear but at least they are metaphors. And there's an ongoing plot that re-appears each "episode".
I also love that it acknowledges events that were referenced in the later movies. Kirk's relationship with Carol Marcus and their child David comes up as a sticking point. Kirk wants to be involved in his son's life but is quietly relieved when Carol tells him to stay away. He's torn because what he really wants is to be sitting in that Captain's chair.
This feels like the final season of Star Trek as it should have been, but it works because we know the destiny of these characters and it's worked into the plot.
The artwork is fantastic, from the retro-futuristic designs to the characters themselves. At times it feels more like we're looking at screenshots from the episodes.
It's really nice to be able to enjoy something that still feels like Star Trek to me. -
Okay but disposable stories about the original series of Star Trek. There's an overarching storyline about a diplomatic crisis with the aliens from the TV episode "The Tholian Web" due to Kirk taking aboard a Tholian child, the sole survivor of an unexplained massacre. But there are also side trips to other planets for a sequel to "A Piece of the Action" and a Klingon confrontation complicated by a communication breakdown due to an alien artifact.
I understand this is a nostalgia cash-in, but I think I would rather have the crew seeking out new life and new civilizations instead of going back over plowed ground. -
A bit too tied into the original series so that the casual fan can't fully enjoy the stories, and a bit simplistic and abbreviated when limited to a single issue stand-alone tale, but a faithful recreation of the experience nonetheless.
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A Whole Lot of Fun
This is a very fun collection to read and it's got some absolutely top notch artwork! Not much to recommend it to non-Trek fans, but that's sort of true of all Trek now. This does capture the spirit of the original series and then throws in a through line plot that's interesting too. I'll.probably wander back to read the other volumes soon. Really a 3.5 but since Goodreads boxes me in, I'll round up to a 4 because I had such a good time reading it. -
The Five Year Mission Draws to a Close
A vicious attack leaves an entire Tholian colony dead, apart from a lone child. When Captain Kirk discovers evidence that suggests that the colony was destroyed by the Tholian Government, he grants the child political asylum, fully aware that his decision could lead the Federation into war.
A fascinating series of episodic stories, which interlink well and address themes of growing older, separation anxiety and exploring consequences of more carefree days.
The artwork is wonderful and nuanced, as shown when Scotty hits the captain's chair companel with his left hand, which actor James Doohan did on the series to hide the missing finger on his right hand. -
Very few Trek comics perfectly capture the voice of Kirk and Co. like the writers have done in this volume. From Kirk’s introspection to the allusions to literature, this has the marks of classic TOS.
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Great stories that capture the original series. These really would have great tv episodes. Interesting to see the story continue.
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A look at some missions from the final year of the Enterprise's five year mission. We see the continuation of events from earlier TV episodes. Intriguing concepts, average stories.
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Uhura!! 💕💕💕 I love to see her getting the spotlight.
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This is a collection of three stories that had originally been published as original comics. There is an overarching story/plot, but each "episode" has it's own beginning/middle/end. It's own mission.
1st episode: rating: 3.15
The weakest story in the collection. Enterprise is sent on a mission to try to stop a gas giant from exploding and wiping out/steralizing a vast section of space. During the mission Kirk reflects on how this will be the last and final mission in their five year journey. And how he had received a communication from Starfleet indicating that he was going to be promoted to Admiral when Enterprise arrived home. Admiral at the age of 37.
Entire episode/story finds Kirk crying, whimpering, & being very angsty about about being forced to become an Admiral. Also he talks about the ancient Greeks a lot. Specifically their war with Troy.
At one point he makes a weird comment. Mentions Trojans had no history. It was all new for them. They didn't have histories, but collections of fables, of tales of the gods. Trojan war ocurred around ~1200BC. Research has suggested that Humans, the modern version of humans, have been 'modern' for roughly 50K years. No history before 12th century BC? WTF? From books we do have we see evidence of an extensive collection of works that are now gone, missing.
Hell, there have been roughly 300,000 Sumerian cuneiform tablets that have been discovered as of 2019, with only roughly 10%, 30,000, of them having been translated to date.
The Greeks had no history? WTF?
Epiosde 2/story 2: Rating: 3.33.
Enterprise returns to that planet they visited on the tv series, that one with human like aliens repeating earth history. Specifically 1920s Chicago gangs.
They returned because the aliens had moved from technology roughly equilevant to 1920s earth to building earth capable starships in 2 years.
While on the planet, Spock runs for office.
Not a bad story, in and of itself but . . . not great.
Episode 3/story 3: Rating: 3.66
Enterprise visits a planet with a long dead civilization and pick up some of the ruins to take back to earth. Doing so brings an unknown to them technology aboard that causes communication issues.
The best of the three stories in this collection.
This is the third work I've read free through Hoopla, and the second "double free", as in it didn't cost me a slot in the limited number of stuff I can borrow a month (I can't find documentation, but I think it's around 8 thingies I can borrow, so far I've borrowed 3 but only the first one I borrowed counted for that 8 a month thingie.
Rating: 3.15+3.33+3.66= 10.14 /3 = 3.38
Feb 23 2023 -
I was truly surprised by this series.
Honestly, I went into the first few issues more for amusement than anything else and because I hadn't read a Star Trek comic in a bit and was feeling the need for some calm, Star Trek positive-ness while inundated on all sides by terrible news and a world seemingly going mad.
But as I read this first story arc, I was pleasantly taken in and had a very enjoyable time. It was not the greatest start to an ongoing, however, it caught my interest by doing a few things well:
(1) It got the voices and characters of the main cast quite spot-on and I even enjoyed the banter between them, very reminiscent of the series,
(2) The basic pace and tone were very much like the old show, not overly amped up as many things/adaptations are, to fit into the more modern sensibility of story-telling,
(3) It felt like an adventure and not an action-packed extravanaganza and,
(4) It did all the above while still taking the time and care to tweak it all juuuust enough.
This first volume brings back the Tholians who were both a curious mystery in the show and one that never got the space it deserved, as well as laying down some tasty new mysteries that brings us a series that is both episodic and has an underlying plot that slowly reveals over the coming volumes/arcs. I appreciated the simple, clean, efficient first few issues as they were solidly in line with the source-material but were not, in my humble opinion, inaccessible to newer readers who hadn't seen the original series. -
What a great story! Really it’s a series of stories with a captivating frame tale that (fair warning) is not resolved in this first volume. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Also worth noting: I find there are two ways authors handle some of the slightly problematic aspects of The Original Series. One is they lean into it: Kirk gets a new, carefree alien girlfriend, the focus is absolutely on the three main men at the heart of the old show, and one or more utterly ridiculous and fantastic things happen. Two is they retcon it: people are emotionally tortured, everyone gets an important story, and the whole thing is more “real world” than fantasy. This one is firmly in the second approach camp and it works great.
Finally, a word about the art: it is just gorgeous! I don’t know if it’s the glossy paper, the ink, or what but the colors just explode off the page, rich and full and varied.
Volume 2 please! Actually I hope there are 4 or 5! -
I can’t understand why there are so many bad Star Trek comics. Comics really are their own worst enemy sometimes: so much product, you can’t find the gems you’re really looking for. Glad I stumbled onto this one. A fine extension of the original series that manages to capture the spirit and feel of the show. No small feat. I can’t count how many times I have read a Trek series and found myself saying, “Even Kirk wouldn’t do that” or “Why did Spock not immediately solve this problem?” This writer really seems to get Trek, and has respect for it. Really good art, honoring the look of Trek. I will continue this series.
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These are great!
Wonderful new classic series stories, well drawn, featuring interesting plot lines and characters.
I especially liked the ongoing story about the Tholian child that the Enterprise crew had rescued.
The characters of the crew are spot on, this could indeed fit right into the original run of the series. However, plotwise, these comics have a more modern feel, which I actually think is a good thing. Star Trek has come a long way, and it manages to come all together in these stories.
Well done. -
Odyssey's End does a fine job of recreating the tone of Star Trek's original series while also going in directions the series never could have. The writers also, thankfully, have done away with the blatant sexism of the original series. The art is a real treat for fans of the show's design. Looking forward to reading the next 3 volumes in the series.
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This was a fun book of episodic stories which do indeed strike the tone of what a fifth season of "Star Trek" would probably have looked like. The best part is the artwork, which is absolutely fantastic. Fans of the original series should love this book.
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Really, really good. I can’t say that it’s the best Star Trek comic ever made, but it’s the best that I’ve read. Highly recommended!
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Quality handling of the TOS crew and well integrated with original series plot points. I am not sure how the enterprise if ancient tech with only 5 years under its belt, but perhaps literary license
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Interesting take on the main characters of original Star Trek. Spock doesn't seem quite right to me, but it's interesting to see Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov doing more.
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It took me until about halfway through to really get into this, but once I did, it was fun! I liked the second & third stories the best. I love Bright Eyes <3 Though I did yell out loud when Spock left a copy of Plato’s Republic on Sigma Iotia II. That is the OPPOSITE of the kind of book he should have given them. There was also another point earlier on when Kirk was listing ancient epics that were meant to be sung…..and Journey to the West was one of them. I know this is Star Trek, but the writers desperately needed to fact check their ancient history lmao.
