Star Trek 728: The Devil's Isle of Space

728. The Devil's Isle of Space

PUBLICATION: Star Trek #2, Gold Key Comics, March 1968

CREATORS: Unknown (writer), Nevio Zeccara (artist)

STARDATE: 19:03.4 - Follows the last issue.

PLOT: When the ship is snared in a planetoid's magnetic field, Kirk beams down to check things out. He finds out that the entire asteroid/planetoid field is a massive prison where convicts are sent via missile to await execution. To make it extra cruel, the asteroids are all geologically unstable and tend to explode into a "supernova". You just never know when. Captured by the convicts who just want to gorge on other people's rations before they blow up, Kirk hands the reigns over to Spock and tells him to leave the landing party and save the ship. Spock stages a rescue instead, and they all watch the planet and its prisoners explode from the safety of outer space.

CONTINUITY: Uhura appears for the first time in the comics, wearing her gold mini-skirt.

DIVERGENCES: The props are starting to look more like they should, but the Enterprise sets are still incredibly alien. Maybe Star Trek hadn't quite reached Italy yet(?). The transporter (pardon, transportation chamber) grabs everyone in a given area and can't pinpoint specific life signs.

PANEL OF THE DAY - Torgu always makes out. (Wish I were him.)
REVIEW: Another fine high concept, nonetheless with some crazy science, and well executed by Zeccara. The aliens are interesting to look at and the ships showcase the artist's slick European illustration skills. Zeccara definitely makes ship scenes more dynamic than those featuring characters, with some of the action at times unclear, but he does a sultry Uhura. As for the story, this one feels more like something that I might have aired on television, with Kirk being brave and putting the ship's safety before his own, and Spock getting out of his orders through his flawless logic (Kirk gave him command and THEN asked him to leave, the second order invalidated by the first). I like how Kirk is still furious at him, but the story doesn't have the pages to explore that in more detail. Spock's a bit of a joker there, teasing Kirk about not giving command back to him. The final end is rather grisly though, especially since we met at least one sympathetic convict on the planetoid. Ah well. Prime directive and all that.