Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness by Roberto Orci, Mike Johnson and David Messina
To accompany the latest Star Trek movie to hit the silver screen Titan Books have released Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness by Roberto Orci, Mike Johnson and David Messina. This graphic novel is a prequel to the movie Into Darkness
The crew of the Enterprise are on a routine mission to observe Phaedus, a planet with a large population but without the advanced technology to achieve space travel. The crew are under orders to observe from a distance so as not to make the inhabitants aware of their presence and potentially disrupt their evolutionary rate. As they position themselves a high-frequency energy field emanates from Phaedus and knocks out their communications. Intrigued as to who or what has given the planet this new technology Captain Kirk pulls together a small team and breaks the rules in descending to the surface of the planet but as they prepare to land their ship is attacked and they crash land. Suddenly finding themselves surrounded by creatures and in the midst of a civil war, a blast from the past surfaces to help them but can he really be trusted?
Countdown to Darkness introduces us to Spock and Kirk at the beginning of their relationship and it’s interesting to see some of the groundwork between then, especially the influences that drive Spock. The artwork is crisp and sharp and there are some extra single pages pieces of exclusive artwork that separate the graphic novel into sections. The story reads easily and the overall idea of a previous Captain returning made for a great page-turner. If you have any interest in Star Trek whatsoever then Countdown to Darkness is sure to impress.
Buy Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness