1324. Alien Spotlight: The GornPUBLICATION: Alien Spotlight: The Gorn, IDW Comics, October 2007
CREATORS: Scott Tipton and David Tipton (writers), David Messina (artist)
STARDATE: 7952.6 (15 years after Arena, before The Wrath of Khan)
PLOT: Chekov, Captain Terrell and a small crew complement crash a shuttle on a Gorn training planet. Soon, one of their numbers is killed by a trap and another panics, shooting a member of the Gorn rescue party. The Reliant's doctor heals the wounded Gorn physician who stops the subsequent Gorn war party from attacking, averting a tragedy.
CONTINUITY: The Gorn first appeared in Arena. Chekov joined the USS Reliant crew sometime before The Wrath of Khan. Captain Terrell is also from that film.
DIVERGENCES: None.
PANEL OF THE DAY - The shoe's on the other claw.
REVIEW: While a series of one-shots focusing on various Star Trek races is an intriguing concept, my fear is that they might lack the depth (and page count) to tell a worthwhile story about each species. Those fears are realized in the first installment. The Brothers Tipton do a competent job with the script, and Messina's art is pleasant and his Gorn vehicle designs interesting, but there just isn't enough to the story for it to be satisfying. At 22 pages, it certainly doesn't manage the detail achieved in Wildstorm's Gorn-themed graphic novel, partly because it's really a Reliant/Chekov story. The human point of view takes away from the comic's focus, and because we know the Gorn aren't hostile, it defuses much of the tension. There just aren't any bad guys in this story, and haven't we already gone down that road with the Gorn before?
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