743. Museum at the End of TimePUBLICATION: Star Trek #15, Gold Key Comics, August 1972
CREATORS: Len Wein (writer), Alberto Giolitti (artist)
STARDATE: 25:53.2 - Follows the last issue (Season 3).
PLOT: The Enterprise runs into a black hole which sends it to Limbo, a timeless space that has trapped many ships before it, as well as a displaced city thrown for a loop by a comet. It has become a museum and sanctuary for all the lost souls finding themselves in Limbo. In addition to the Enterprise, a Klingon cruiser has also been snared by the anomaly, and they immediately try to take over the museum. Kirk and crew defeat them, but give them a way out - the two starships need only to pierce the black hole open with the full brunt of their weapons, which they kinda have to do because Limbo is on the verge of imploding. They succeed, but the lost astronauts choose to remain behind rather than become relics. The two warring foes choose to fight another day and leave.
CONTINUITY: The Klingons have a rudimentary cloaking device in this story, so this is after their technology-sharing alliance with the Romulans. The spatial anomaly from the last issue is mentioned, showing that Wein is trying to get some internal continuity going. This story is a heck of a lot like the Animated Series episode "The Time Trap", which would only air later (and so, Voyager's "Void"). Coincidence?
DIVERGENCES: Giolitti's head Klingon gets it right, sash and beard and everything, but his warriors are those baldies from the last issue.
PANEL OF THE DAY - Was it like this for Argo City?
REVIEW: Quite a likable story, which might be why it was redone twice on televised Trek, with a more balanced ratio of talking and action, and something that feels less like fantasy than usual. The real weakness, I find, is the art. In addition to Giolitti never having seen a Klingon (though their ship looks fine) and possibly using photo reference of Mirror Spock for their leader, he also fills the museum with archaeological treasures from Earth, which is really weird. And then there's the museum's guard dog...
My theory? Giolitti can only work from photo reference from the show and past issues of his own comic. And this was in a previous issue, wasn't it?
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