STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION/DOCTOR WHO: ASSIMILATION2 #1

Review by: akamuu

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139
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Avg Rating: 3.9
 
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Story by Scott & David Tipton with Tony Lee
Art by J.K. Woodward
Cover by Woodward, David Messina

Size: 32 pages
Price: 3.99

I’m not a big fan of comics based on toy lines or television shows. So it was with much trepidation that I picked this up. But I’m a big Doctor Who fan, and have seen most of the episodes of the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th doctors. And though I’ve not watched it since they aired the finale, I did watch enough Star Trek TNG episodes to be pleasantly familiar with it.

When they reintroduced The Cybermen in the 2005-era Doctor Who, I was sad to see that they’d changed them from odd robot looking aliens to, essentially, The Borg. I didn’t think it led to exciting story prospects, so when they announced that the Doctor Who/Star Trek TNG comic would have The Cybermen and The Borg teaming up, I wondered why bother? Why not have them fighting villains with different agendas, or different powers. Toss in the Slavine or The Master or have The Borg fleeing from The Daleks (“You’d fight a million Borg with only three Daleks?” “No. We would need only ONE Da-lek.) Teaming the Borg and the Cybermen seems lazy.

Still, I tossed on my cliched flower colored spectacles, and opened the comic, hoping for some surprise fun.

I had to remove my spectacles almost immediately.

J.K. Woodward’s art repelled me. It has shades of Ariel Olivetti’s painting-like panels but with an attempt to make the comic characters look EXACTLY like the actors from the TV properties. In discussing the first issue of Smallville a few weeks ago the iFanboys mentioned that when you’re dealing with TV property comics it’s better to hint at an actor’s likeness then to attempt to make them look exactly like the actors. Because being slightly off is much worse than drawing stick figures with crayons (I have hyperbolated that last sentence, but that’s roughly how I feel). The faces in this comic are ever so slightly off. Thus, it hit my eyes the way a slightly sharp or flat note hits my ears.

The writing is…ok, but it’s not at a level that I can wrap my brain around why this project was greenlit. Tipton, Tipton, and Woodward are all IDW licensed property stalwarts, and I’m glad IDW is rewarding their in-house talent by letting then work on a what should have been a really interesting crossing of properties. Sadly, though, this book reads more like fanfic than official licensed property. And not the sort of fanfic with exciting ideas that push the envelopes of this series.

I’ll pick up the next issue because I have the luxury of being able to read comics before paying for them. Had I paid for this issue, I would not be picking up the second one. And can’t fathom who I would recommend this book to.

Story: 2 - Average
Art: 2 - Average

Comments

  1. I disagree with this entire review. I think the art is beautiful and dynamic

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