Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

I received the book in the time I was told it would get to me and it was in very good condition

Great story, beautiful art and came in perfect condition. This is easily the best story to come out of the Kelvin timeline TOS-era Star Trek comics from IDW.

Kind of dumb. The art is not to my taste. Even as a mass consumer of all things Star Trek, I could have lived without buying this.

Originally posted on Lovey Dovey BooksThis latest portrayal of original Star Trek characters is marvelous. I absolutely loved every second of it. What Trekkie could pick up this fun comic book and not love it?The Starfleet Academy storyline is interesting as it flashes back and forth between the years 2258 and 2261. At the center, feisty Cadet Nyota Uhura is chasing down answers to the mysterious transmission she stumbles upon and a surviving member of the Vulcan race is wrestling the logical decision to leave Starfleet Academy, and make a life on New Vulcan, or continue her studies. I didn’t know what to expect when I chose this story to review, but I was hoping it would fall right in line with what I know of the Star Trek universe. I’m pleased to say that Mike Johnson did this story justice. Even the introduction of a new set of characters felt as natural as if they have always been apart of this world. The illustrations were also spot on in the depiction of the actors, though at certain angles they took a life of their own. It was like looking at the real Chris Pine or Zoe Saldana without all of their genuine facial expressions. So the characters looked familiar but also new.I’m actually quite surprised that Kirk didn’t play a larger role, but I did enjoy the two female leads. Uhura and T’Laan could not have been more different in terms of personality and physical characteristics, nonetheless they were both amazing characters. Both characters displayed qualities that any young female would look to emulate, making this a read for the younger crowd as well. I couldn’t say what the next installment will bring, but I’m hoping its just as full of mischief and mystery as Starfleet Academy. If you were ever curious about what the characters of the original Star Trek series were like during their academy years, then this is the story for you!*eGalley provided in exchange for honest review*

'Star Trek: Starfleet Academy' by Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott with art by Derek Charm tells a pretty good story of Starfleet cadets and has really cool art.There is a wrapping story that goes back to when Uhura was in the academy. She finds a strange distress call that may go all the way back to the reason the academy was founded. She tries to investigate, but finds that the information is classified. Spock won't help her, but perhaps rule-breaker Kirk will.The main story follows a group of cadets as they prepare for their final tests at the academy. One is a Vulcan woman named T"laan who doesn't want to finish school, but wants to head out to help re-establish New Vulcan. She is convinced to stay with her strange group of classmates. They all have their strengths and weakenesses. The tests that face them will lead them into unexpected danger and they will have to use all their strengths to survive.I really liked the story. There are a few familiar characters, but the new ones that are introduced are very much of a Star Trek universe. I love the art style. It's very clean and well done. I can definitely see the reboot Uhura, Spock and even Admiral Marcus in the art but it does it with a more minimalist style. I like a good Star Trek story and this definitely hit all the right notes for me.I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, IDW Publishing, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

This review originally published in [...]. Rated 3.5 of 5I don't think I was expecting too much with this graphic novel. It appears to be targeted to a younger reading audience - those who still watch the Cartoon Network as well as the <em>Star Trek</em> movies and I thought the story might be so simple as to be almost laughable. But publisher IDW and author/artist team Mike Johnson, Ryan Parrott, and Derek Charm have done a really nice job of putting together a story that just might draw younger readers to the comic book/graphic novel market.The story picks up on the re-boot team of Kirk, Spock, Uhura, etc during their academy days. Uhura detects a transmission of distress and attempts to track it.But this is about Starfleet Academy, not just the <em>Enterprise</em> crew in their younger days. There is another story, with another group of group of characters who bond as they go through the rigors of the academy. There is T'Laan of Vulcan, Shev - an Andorian, humans Lucia Gonzales and Grace Chen, and a new race (to me, anyway) - "Monchezkin" - and student Vel K'Bentayr. Anyone sense the diversity here?There's a good balance between the new characters and the traditional Kirk/Spock/McCoy/etc crew, but the story for the traditional crew members feels like a lot of re-telling. We get more of Kirk's being a womanizing. We get more of Spock and Uhura's relationship. We get a glimpse of Chekov's mad skills. We even get a little bit of Carol Marcus (so we older Trekkies can say, "Ah, ha!"The cross-over between the traditional and the new crews feels natural and I think the book succeeds with what I presume is one of the primary goals - to generate interest in the new characters.The art is a bit 'flat' but in the style of television cartoon animation. It is bold and colorful and very eye-catching. The characters are drawn consistently and there is plenty of action.Looking for a good book? <em>Star Trek: Starfleet Academy</em> is a really good graphic novel to appeal to younger fans of the re-booted <em>Star Trek</em> series but should also be enjoyed by the older <em>Star Trek</em> fans as well.I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

In 2258, Cadet Nyota Uhura finds herself facing expulsion from Starfleet Academy when she comes across a distress signal from the U.S.S. 'Slayton'. The destruction of the 'Slayton' led directly to the foundation of the Academy and Admiral Marcus wants some events to remain secret.Three years later, Vulcan cadet T'Laan participates in the Academy's Centennial Games as her last duty before resigning her commission to join her people on the New Vulcan colony. When her team accidentally enters a forbidden sector, T'Laan finds the fabled ship and turns her life upside down.The story is excellent and there is a nice mixture of A and B plots to bring everything to a conclusion. On the down side, the artwork is indistinct and Spock especially suffers from bland likenesses which fail to capture him in any meaningful way.