Written by – Mike Johnson
Story Consultant – Roberto Orci
Pencils & Inks (present day) – David Messina
Pencils (flashback) – Claudia Balboni
Inks (flashback) – Marina Castelvetro with supervision by Claudia Balboni
Colors by – Claudia Scarlet Gothica
Letters by – Neil Uyetake
Publisher – IDW Publishing
I was in my LCS last week picking up my comics and as usual I perused the comic shelves to see if there were any extra goodies to take home. Nothing was really grabbing me until I got to the “S” section. There was a new Star Trek series called: Star Trek: Khan sitting there that I had heard nothing about whatsoever. It had a tag line above the title that said “Inspired By: Star Trek into Darkness” and some cool artwork depicting Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan on it so I said, “What the hell? I loved Into Darkness” so I picked it up and let it sit at the bottom of a pile of other comics for a week! I finally got around to checking it out and was blown away by it.
The book opens with the Federation trial of Khan taking place directly after the events of Star Trek into Darkness. Khan pleads innocent to the charges against him and the trial begins. Khan is then asked why he doesn’t resemble the image of Khan Noonien Singh that The Federation has on file and is ordered to reveal who he truly is.
This is where it really got me. For the first time, to my knowledge, Khan’s origin story is being told!
I was blown away by the story of how Khan became the genetically altered Superman we all know from the movies and TV series and in my opinion Star Trek: Khan is one of the most interesting Star Trek stories I have seen in a long time.
We are taken from his beginnings as a crippled homeless kid in the streets of New Delhi; to the genetics lab he is abducted by, to his eventual rise as a leader of the other test subjects. It is a surprisingly powerful story. As hardcore and ruthless as this character is, you want him to get away, at least I did!
I won’t reveal any more of the story here to avoid spoiling it but I must recommend this book to fans of the recent Trek movies (hard-line Trekkers may have their problems with it), however I was raised on Star Trek:The Original Series by my father and I loved the new movies and this comic!
Mike Johnson, with story consultant Roberto Orci, really nailed Khan’s demeanor, his ruthless attitude, and his intelligence right on the head.
The art team of David Messina, Claudia Balboni, Marina Castelvetro, and Claudia Scarlet Gothica with letters by Neil Uyetake capture the different eras of the cold, futuristic Federation courtroom and the vibrant, warm tones of Khan’s 1970’s Earth origins brilliantly.
The only criticism I could come up with is there is a certain escape scene that seemed a little far fetched and isn’t adequately explained in my opinion. Aside from that one little inconsistency I absolutely loved this book.
By the authority of Starfleet and The United Federation of Planets I give Star Trek: Khan #1 a very solid…..
4.5 out of 5 nerds
Irwin Fletcher
I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.
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