A comic book about the Mirror Universe Next Generation Enterprise crew. Read it.
Who says reviews can’t be short? Okay, I give you some details. Star Trek: The Next Generation: Mirror Broken shows us what’s going on with Mirror Universe Captain Picard and the regular members of the Enterprise crew. Honestly, I never even considered something like this happening. Even after watching Deep Space Nine and the prequel Enterprise’s Mirror Universe episodes years ago. Forget a TNG episode, why wasn’t this idea a movie? Anyway, it’s a comic, so let focus on that.
Like I said, it’s a good story. Evil Captain Picard and most of the TNG regulars are working aboard the I.S.S. Stargazer, Picard’s old ship for those who may have forgotten. So, why aren’t they on the evil Enterprise? Well, The Terran Empire has seen better days. After the events of the original Star Trek Mirror Universe episode, Spock took over and tried making the Mirror Universe less evil (Yay!), but the Klingons and Cardassians teamed up and stomped the Terrans all the way back to Earth’s solar system (Whoops!). Meaning, the Terran Empire doesn’t have the resources to build galaxy class ships like the Enterprise. Or, do they?
It’s fun and, at the same time, scary seeing bad versions of the goodie goodie TNG crew (sans Worf, he’s not in the book) doing, well, bad things. It’s not that they’re total opposites. More like they’re twisted versions of the crew we know and love. Picard is still willing to work with people, just as long as he gets something out of it. Same goes for everyone. Their basic traits are there but in the end, it’s all about looking out for #1 (no, not Riker), even if they have to form alliances to do it. That creates more tension because you’re not sure if someone will betray someone else. Picard really has his work cut out for him making sure everyone is legitimately onboard with his big scheme to *spoilers*. It’s a tough balancing act, but if anyone can unite the Enterprise crew its Captain Picard, in any universe.
The art is great too. It keeps you engaged (heh) in the book, not wanting to put it down. I love spotting the visual differences between the Federation and Terran Empire characters. We even see a few other characters from TNG that may surprise you. This book is definitely for fans of the show without bogging you down with continuity. Everything you need to enjoy it will be spelled out for you so even a casual fan will have fun reading it.
If you like Star Trek: The Next Generation, read it. It’s a great concept, a great story, with great characters. Even if there’s no Worf.
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