What we have here is the beginning to something truly special in the medium of comic books. For the first time ever, we are being treated to a comic book adaptation of the classic Star Trek episode City on the Edge of Forever, but not the version that we all know and love from that venerable classic series. Instead we are witness to the original draft, one that is unrevised, and untouched by television censor hands.
Harlan Ellison is a legend in his own right and was responsible for bringing one of Star Treks most beloved episodes to screens around the world, so being able to read his original, less television friendly script is a complete joy. IDW should be commended for taking a huge leap with their Star Trek license to bring out a limited series of this nature when they could have easily shoveled out anything.
For those that may not be aware of the episode, “The City on the Edge of Forever” was the second to last episode of the of the original Star Trek. It was one of the most critically acclaimed episodes of the series and was awarded the 1968 award for Best Dramatic Presentation. The plot (I’ll keep it tied to only this issue) sees the Enterprise investigating temporal disturbance on a nearby planet. During their investigation, Sulu is injured in an explosion and Dr. McCoy gives him a shot of cordrazine but manages to accidentally injects himself with an overdose of the drug when the ship is shaken. McCoy goes crazy from the injection and flees to the Transporter Room, beaming himself down to the planet.
Pretty standard stuff so far, but upon reading only the first few panels of this book things started out a whole lot different. In fact, Sulu and McCoy aren’t involved in this first issue at all. Sulu has been replaced with a random Lieutenant that has a drug fixation and is dogged into disabling the ship so that his dealer can search the surface for things to steal and sell on the black market. It’s a much darker take than what we saw on television with the drug addiction angle being the strong motivator. Back when Star Trek was on the air, episodes of any show focusing on drug abuse with no happy ending were completely out of the question.
So, instead of McCoy beaming down our bad guy is found out and manages to escape in much the same fashion as on the show. From here things feel fairly similar with the dialogue of the crew and guardians now being much deeper and fleshed out. Being as the IDW team worked closely with Ellison, this adaptation from his original script is beyond wonderful. Adapting any work is a herculean task when it comes to television of film properties, but IDW has gone to great lengths to make this work.
The art as well is outstanding with its use of colors giving an almost painting like feel. It does wonders to help the reader become engrossed in the world while breathing new life into characters and locations we are intimately familiar with. J.K. Woodward has knocked it out of the park and I am looking forward to seeing what else he can bring to future issues. Seriously, his work is gorgeous and everyone I’ve shown the book to has been blown away by it. Another thing to note is that the books cover is one of the stand out covers of the year so far and I would be happy to have a print of it hanging for display in my home.
The book alone could be daily recommended on the art alone, but with the addition of a strong script by one of the greats of our time, Star Trek: City on the Edge of Forever is hands down the best book of the year so far. It sets up what’s next in such a way that we can’t wait for next month. There is enough of a new take on this classic episode that it’s almost as if we are reading, and seeing, an all original tale.
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