1125. Ill Wind, Part ThreePUBLICATION: Star Trek: The Next Generation: Ill Wind #3, DC Comics, January 1996
CREATORS: Diane Duane (writer), John Montgomery and Ken Save (artists)
STARDATE: 47962.1 (follows the last issue)
PLOT: The crew of the Enterprise figure out who planted the bomb on that ship last issue, but Picard plans only to call them on it after the race since there's no danger for the time being. Crusher gets worried about Troi's sleepiness - something's interfering with her mind. The Mestral is then attacked by her oldest bodyguard - who is shot dead - and her consort turns against her, threatening that she may not last the night unless she listens to him...
CONTINUITY: None.
DIVERGENCES: None.
PANEL OF THE DAY - Troi nods off.
REVIEW: The new art team of Montgommery and Save isn't perfect, but at least I can understand their ship choreography. And you know what? I just now noticed that the Mestral's people have pointy ears. The fact that none of the alien species are known has two effects, in my opinion. One is that it obscures who was responsible for the bomb - I had to check past issues to verify who was meant. The other is that it gives Ill Wind the feeling of a "mercenary story", i.e. something Duane might have written for another medium that was shoehorned into the Trek franchise. The Mestral is the lead character here, not the TNG cast. Oh, her bits are interesting and all, but it still leaves me wanting more TNG action.
Comments
I completely understand your point, and had this been a novel, I think it would have worked out great. In the shorter serial form, it feels like there was too much detail that couldn't pay off.
As you'll see tomorrow (with #4), I enjoyed the main story and the small details, but it didn't quite come together for me. Trying to do too much in 4 issues?
But getting all the stuff you've planned to fit in there... yeah, it's always a challenge. :)
I do love your books, which is perhaps why I'm a little hard on you in other media.