Star Trek: Who Killed Captain Kirk?
{4.5/5} “Obviously technology that is beyond our current parameters is involved. Otherwise how would one explain the demise of the Fury? Certainly no ship of respectable Klingons could fall prey so easily to a single starship. So either the Fury was manned by incompetents, or the captain’s claims have merit. Those are the logical alternatives.” — Spock, to a Klingon captain
Star Trek: Who Killed Captain Kirk? by Peter David, published in 1993 (originally published in 8 issues from Mar. 1988 to Oct. 1988)
Captain James T. Kirk and the Enterprise are heading to Miraud, a planet where the Klingons there were apparently attacked by a Starfleet ship. He wants to get there before the Klingons do, to find out what really happened. When he beams down he’s startled to find actual Starfleet officers who have killed the Klingons. Then a ship with a cloaking device comes out of nowhere and beams them up. It’s the Renegade, and its captain beams Kirk and his team onto the outside of the saucer in environmental suits.
M’Ress and Arex from TAS join the regulars.
I liked how Kirk decided to kick Bearclaw, a terrible crew member, off the ship — but he later changed his mind.
There’s some silliness but also some very nice scenes, like a flashback to when Kirk convinces Uhura to stay on the ship.
It’s funny from time to time but the humour isn’t as brilliant as in David’s later work. But in his first outing in Star Trek comics he still manages to be better than most of what came before.
The cover by Jason Palmer is very nice. The artwork by Tom Sutton and Ricardo Villagran includes more interesting things in the background, like a Horta on the Enterprise.
This is the 2nd time I’ve read it.
I’ve read 28 novels, 3 graphic novels, and a bunch of comic books by David. I previously reviewed his comic book Supergirl: The Flying Game.
The previous set of comics in this series I reviewed is Star Trek: The Mirror Universe Saga.