Star Trek 1309: Light of the Day

1309. Light of the Day

PUBLICATION: Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Space Between #4, IDW Comics, April 2007

CREATORS: David Tischman (writer), Casey Maloney and Stacie Ponder (artists)

STARDATE: Unknown (between Man of the People and Relics)

PLOT: Geordi, Worf and Ro crash a shuttle near a Dracon monastery, but solar flares have activated algae in the drinking water which has driven the monks to kill. Phasers on stun do not work on them, so the away team must go hand to hand against the hordes of battling monks. Meanwhile, the Enterprise is ferrying a planet's tyrant who had escaped after fueling a civil war to stand trial. He claims to have seen the light and feels his crimes are now irrelevant. He was also a sensor expert, so he helps the ship find its missing crew, which are beamed away in the nick of time. Dr. Crusher cures the monks off-panel and the tyrant is delivered at peace with himself.

CONTINUITY: Ro Laren appears (Ensign Ro). Worf quotes Kirk when he throws a monk down a hole, "I... have had... enough... of you!" (The Search for Spock).

DIVERGENCES: None.

PANEL OF THE DAY - Oh short tyrants, will you never learn?
REVIEW: I've decided that Tischman's stories are just too big to fit in single issues. There's always some nice stuff in there, especially the character work, but things often seem unfinished. In this issue, Picard throws a lot of doubt in the tyrant's direction vis à vis his conversion, but nothing comes of it. Nor are we made to understand how this might impact the man's trial. Similarly, there's a half-formed rivalry between Worf and Ro that has a resolution, but not much of a set-up. At times, we get the big picture, but there are missing details. At others, we get details, but not the big picture. That said, let's talk about the good bits, like Data stopping mid-sentence because by now he expects to be cut off whenever he gives too much information. Or how well the tyrant is written. Or the away team spending all their belts (from their environmental suits) on tying up some monks. Stacie Ponder is a much better inker for Maloney than Leach was as well.