IDW; $3.99

In Star Trek Beyond the crew of the Enterprise meet a few new beings – both good and bad. After being attacked and separated once the ship was crashing, Scotty met Jaylah, another person who was trapped on the unknown planet. Thankfully, Jaylah turned out to be a decent, noble character who helped the crew of the Enterprise.

Star Trek Boldly Go #5 is all about Jaylah. At the beginning we see her lonely and frustrated trying to get the Franklin back in working order so she can leave. The issue then travels backward showing her resistance to Krall, relationship with her sister, and even farther back in her history.

Written by Mike Johnson, this issue was interesting, though a bit confusing. It’s the first in the new series to follow only one character, and not one of the title’s flagships. The reverse linear order of events was also a bit jarring in the first few pages trying to determine which “Before” was before and which was after. But, once into the groove of the storytelling it was rather poetic and a very nice introduction to the character for comic readers.

The art by Tony Shasteen and colors by J.D. Mettler are fantastic. They captured Jaylah’s look very well and built great backgrounds filled with detail. The color scheme was a bit more basic than they usually are, but it was perfect for this story of both loneness and defiance.

-Amanda Sheriff