“If you need a replacement for Amber Heard, I’m available.”
Star Trek: The Next Generation #23
DC Comics (September, 1991)
“The Barrier”
WRITER: Michael Jan Friedman
PENCILER: Peter Krause
INKER: Pablo Marcos
COLORIST: Julianna Ferriter
LETTERER: Bob Pinaha
EDITOR: Robert Greenberger
I’ve already reviewed the conclusion to this arc but I thought this issue would answer some questions I had from that issue. It only answers one of the stories. I still don’t know how Riker was injured or how he, Worf, Wesley, and apparently Wesley’s love interest got into their situation, but this is how they tried to get the ship they were going home in during the next issue. This is the problem with reviewing a story arc backwards and apparently I still need to go back another issue or two to get caught up. Meanwhile, Troi comes across the Skriti, locked away so they wouldn’t be found in order to assure the Enterprise would rescue the Lanatosians’ cultural artifacts. They capture her when she finds the intelligent sea creatures but Troi manages to get a distress signal of sorts out to Data, who rescues them and Picard is not happy with the Lanatosian governor. He does indeed decide to forget the monuments in favor of saving the Skriti, leading to the situation in the next issue.
What they got right: Again, I’m judging backwards and I still don’t have the complete arc, but it’s still a decent issue. I wish we had gotten this Wesley in the show. Troi uses her brain to get an SOS to Data. The story itself is quite good.
What they got wrong: For some reason the colorist keeps giving Data a Caucasian skin color instead of pure white, making what little white there is looking like light on his face despite being in water and wearing a diving helmet.
What I think overall: Now I just need to find the other issues in this arc and look this over again for a proper perspective. It does seem like a good chapter to the story though.
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