As far back as I can remember Star Trek has been one of those franchises that always been part of the public imagination. Permeating throughout popular culture, leading to even George Lucas admitting the franchise’s influence on his Star Wars saga.  Even though I watched and enjoyed the original series, the movies including the original cast, and the cartoon series, it was definitely before my time. What really got me pulled into this universe was The Next Generation series.

I remembered the first episode where we met the crew, and of course, Data is who stood out. The other aspect of Star Trek, I have enjoyed are the ever-interesting Mirror Universe episodes, which every show that came after the original series got to has enjoyed, except for ST: TNG. As it would have been an interesting endeavor by the show, giving us a different view of our favorite characters. In David and Scott Tipton’s Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Mirror Universe Collection, we get some wish-fulfillment in a trio of comic stories which shows just how menacing our heroes are in the Mirror Universe.

In “Mirror Broken,”, we’re introduced to the crew of the ISS Stargazer and their insidious captain, Jean Luc Picard and belongs to the once-powerful Terran Empire, and where Vulcans are slaves to the powerful Klingon-Cardassian alliance, which gives Picard the perfect opportunity to assemble the crew we know, but more ominous, to take over the Enterprise and give the Empire an advantage over their enemies with a long-dormant weapon. In “Origin of Data”, we get an interesting side story of how Picard recruited Data to his ranks in this alternate dimension. In “Through the Mirror”, the ISS Enterprise crosses over to the Prime Star Trek universe where they meet the heroes we know and looks to conquer worlds in their dimension, while the mirror universe Picard hatches a plan to infiltrate the Enterprise which leads to a tense standoff between both crews. In “Ripe for Plunder”, Data goes on a solo mission to find Emperor Spock, who was thought to be long dead and reveals long-hidden keys to Picard’s plans. In the last story, “Terra Incognita”, one of the show’s long-endeared characters takes a baleful turn as his evil doppelganger infiltrates the Prime Universe Enterprise crew.

Overall, Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Mirror Universe Collection is an exciting set of stories that play with alternate universes and realities masterfully. The stories by the Tiptons are engrossing and exciting. The art by the creative teams is beautiful. Altogether, a collection that gives more than fan service, as it stretches the imagination and the possibilities, infinite.

Story: Scott Tipton and David Tipton
Art: J.K. Woodward, Charlie Kirchoff, Josh Hood, Marcus To, Chris Johnson, Carlos Nieto, Debora Carita, Tony Shasteen, Angel Hernandez
Color: Jason Lewis, Brittany Peer, Jason Lewis, David Garcia Cruz, Fran Gamboa, Jay Fotos, Jo Mettler, Mark Roberts
Letterer: Andworld Design, Neil Uyetake
Story: 9.8 Art: 9.6 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Amazon – Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW