Writers Going Boldly: David and Scott Tipton
Finishing and Inking Where No Man Has Gone Before: Gary Erskine
Seeking Out New Layouts: Casey Maloney
Coloring in a Red Shirt: Luis Antonio Delgado
I almost didn’t pick up Star Trek: Infestation. The first two parts of the Infestation Saga left me wanting. Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett usually are among the most reliable writers in the business. This series’ initial bookend and last week’s Transformers installment did not work for me. Zombie stories are a well traveled medium where most of today’s expected elements are “borrowed” from George A. Romero’s Living Dead series. Each of DnA’s pieces of the Infestation puzzle were set up as a Romero-esque zombie horror, but they fell flat because of less-than-stellar characterizations and poorly constructed horror elements.
All of the failures of the first two stories are corrected by David and Scott Tipton. First, and foremost, the pair understands the proper construction of a zombie story. The best zombie stories feature either chase or siege elements. Someday, someone will change the genre and craft an Emmy winning White House drama featuring a zombie chief of staff, but for now, if you’re going to use zombies the Tipton’s have a good idea of what works. Another reason for success is the terrific integration of horror elements. The zombies FINALLY are a frightening massive horde capable of killing characters we love.
Speaking of characters we love….this issue showcases only three main protagonists: Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. If you aren’t instantly aware of these characters, you should probably get cracking on film/tv viewing. Anyway, the Tipton’s don’t go in the expected direction of setting this series in the halcyon days of the ’60s television run. Instead this comes shortly after Star Trek: The Motion Picture during Kirk’s second “five-year mission” commanding the Enterprise. Don’t worry about continuity, though. Unlike last week’s Transfailure you don’t need to be versed in the continuity; just a passing knowledge of these characters will do.
The setup is perfection. The three icons are shuttling down to Calibus VII to investigate reports of a plague. Can you guess what form of terror grips the planet? All three leads are well written and spout the lines you’d expect to here. Very few chances are taken with the characters other than dropping them in the middle of a zombie nightmare. Seriously, what else could you ask than characters that hold true and a fast setup that develops into full-on frontal zombity? The story features token red shirts to fan the feasting zombie hordes and it’s a well told siege/chase. The connection to events in the bookend are almost non-existent. Everything the Tipton’s do is wholly enjoyable without any other Infestation reading. As long as that continues next issue this may be a near-perfect story.
The artwork is stunning from the cover on to the “to be concluded” message on the closing page. Let me quickly mention that the cover can be slightly misleading as it clearly shows Spock and a red shirt in their tv-show era outfits….but who cares. What an image! Even the trade dress is spectacular. John K. Snyder III produces one of the simplest yet striking comic covers since Trevor Hutchison’s brilliant work on Transformers: All Hail Megatron. This cover needs to be reproduced on a print or poster.
The interior work is no-less brilliant. Gary Erskine does the heavy lifting with the pencils and inks. I want to commend Casey Maloney for layouts that command your attention from panel-to-panel of each and every page. Sequential artwork is not just an art form but, in many ways, an exacting science. Maloney’s sequentials build dramatic tension and focus dynamic attention to the massing zombie hordes in a way that hasn’t occurred yet during Infestation. I don’t want to forget about Erskine since his art is fantastic. The likenesses of our heroes are excellent throughout and the zombies are frightening. The atmosphere of dread is accentuated by his firm inks and embellished by Luis Antonio Delgado’s moody colors. This is 22-pages of first class artistic expression.
I don’t know if Infestation will live up to the hype, but there’s no doubt the Star Trek portion will hold a memorable place in my collection if the conclusion in two weeks maintains this level of excellence. I can only hope the Ghostbusters and GI Joe stories approach the excellence exhibited here.
