This week, the last issue of the limited Star Trek comic series “Khan: Ruling in Hell” hit comic book stands. This series told the story of what happened to Khan and his people between the time that Kirk left them on Ceti Alpha V, and when they were discovered by Chekov and Terrell at the beginning of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”.
Quite frankly, while the first issue of this series had promise, it faltered. It was not bad writing, and in fact it was a solid story by writers Scott and David Tipton. However, to be telling what is actually such an important story in the Star Trek universe, it needed to be better than “solid” in my opinion.
If this had been a story about different characters, it would have been a good tale. Khan is one of the best characters in Star Trek, and while this story did not have him do or say things that would be against his character, I do not feel that we saw enough of his inner will and strength. We saw hints of those things, as well as his loyalty to his people, but it seemed as if the writers just barely scratched the surface of this complex man.
I was also hoping to see more of Joachim. We see the basics of the friendship that he and Khan formed, but I expected to see more. The nature of their relationship as seen in “The Wrath of Khan” is very strong, and I’m not seeing the as much of the backstory for that as I believe would exist. I also think that more details about Tamas and those who chose to follow him would have helped the story. We see the surface reason for their rebellion, but it feels as if we are missing important details.
Had this series been a bit longer, I think it would have perhaps been better. I am not sure that four issues is simply enough to tell the entire story of all those years. The writers could have expanded on the story more, and allow for more detailed examination of Khan, Joachim, Marla McGivers, and the others.
Fabio Mantovani’s art in this issue, as in the others, was a bit hit and miss. I was especially unhappy with the images of Khan himself. I realize that we are looking at a man much younger than in the movie, and some of the images are wonderful in that respect. However, I don’t think it was consistent. There are times when from issue to issue and even page to page, it simply does not look like the same character. Other characters were similarly inconsistent as well.
I had high hopes for this series when I first learned of it. In the end though, I simply do not feel that this series did justice to this very important chapter in the Star Trek universe. The series was average, and this story deserved better.
