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Star Trek: Infestation #1
Publisher: IDW
Writer(s): Scott Tipton & David Tipton
Artist(s): Casey Maloney & Gary Erskine
Cover: John K. Snyder III

With the effects of Infestation spreading out into the various IDW universes, this week gives us a look at how the Star Trek universe will fare against this galactic zombie menace. Everything seems pretty normal as Kirk, Spock, and Bones are on their way to an award ceremony for the good Doctor. They’re also accompanied by a three man security team when they land on the planet, and it’s evident from the beginning that something is definitely wrong here. Communications are silent and no one is there to welcome them when they land. After a quick search they come upon a body that appears to be dead, but it suddenly shows signs of life and injures one of the security detail in the process. What comes next is good ol’ fashioned zombie movie fun as hundreds of the now zombie settlers begin to make their presence known and see the landing party as a their next meal.

The Star Trek: Infestation book was the one I was least looking forward to, and as it turns out it’s the one I’ve enjoyed the most so far. Tipton and Tipton definitely nailed the feel of Star Trek, or at least the original series from what I read here, and gave the fans a good read that didn’t seem like the two genres were forced to work together. As weird as it sounds it just seemed natural to have Kirk, Bones, and Spock battle it out for survival against a settlement overrun with zombies. What’s also good is the internal struggle that Bones is having with killing the civilians after Kirk gives the order to set phasers to max power. After all, he’s a doctor and his entire life has been dedicated to saving lives, and now he’s being forced into doing something that goes against that. The only thing about his convictions in this story is that he’s seen bashing the hell out of a zombie’s skull while the trio (like you expected the security team to make it?) are trying to make their escape. Aside from that bit of inconsistency, Scott and David have started this chapter of Infestation off pretty well.

When it comes to the visuals, it seems at times that more emphasis was put on getting the likenesses right for the principal characters than anything else. Not to say that the book looked bad or anything, because I actually liked the work from Erskine and Maloney, but in some panels you could just tell where more effort was put in. There were times when I felt I was watching a lost episode from the old television series as they really kept that whole vibe going throughout the story. The backgrounds were a bit bland with the simple structures of the buildings, but I will say that once things pick up you hardly notice them. Now I did see that with the old school look of the characters that Kirk was being called “Admiral.”  I don’t pretend to know a lot about the Star Trek universe, but I just assumed the story was taking place at a time he was still a Captain. I also don’t follow the Star Trek series from IDW, so I don’t know at what time period their stories are taking place in.

So as a mild shock to me I actually liked this issue, and though it didn’t blow me away, there’s an entertaining traditional style zombie story here. Much better and focused than the previous one that I read concerning this event. Even the cliff hanger makes me want to come back to find out what’s going to happen. The Enterprise won’t be back to the planet for another five days, and that’s an eternity when you’re surrounded by zombies. Plus Kirk, Bones, and Spock have no idea what the hell is going on. So with that said, I’m going to cross my fingers and hope that the second issue is just as fun as this one!

Till next time!

Infinite Speech
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