Following the King: Star Trek / Legion of Super-Heroes

Crossovers rarely work as anyone who has ever seen one of the forgettable attempts to have the Flinstones meet the Jetsons can attest. We don’t need to see Harry Potter enter Narnia or have Darth Vader leading Sauron’s armies.

Earlier this year, a comic mini-series featured the Legion of Super-Heroes, DC Comics’ premier team of the future, meet up with Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and the crew of the Enterprise from the original Star Trek series.

I’m a huge fan of both the Legion of Super-Heroes and of Star Trek which makes me the ideal audience for Chris Roberson's attempt to bring them together. But, despite some solid art from Jeffrey Moy, I was less than impressed with the series which is now available as a book and on Kindle.

There are some similarities between the Legion and Star Trek. Both are products of a more optimistic age when creators and writers could envision a future presided over by an intergalactic body much like the United Nations. The United Planets from the Legion and the Federation from Star Trek peacefully oversee scores of worlds with different races. Having Cpt. Kirk join forces with Cosmic Boy and the Legion should have been a natural fit.

But there are problems with Roberson's attempt to bring the Legion and Star Trek together. The plot is, at best, mediocre with an anti-climatic ending that wraps things up a bit too easily. While Roberson has our heroes tackle time travel and other dimensions, the plot makes little sense and does little to hold the reader's attention.

Where Roberson helps salvage the book, though certainly he does not totally redeem it, is with characterization. It's fun to see Mr. Spock and his fellow intellectual giant Brainiac 5 interact. Roberson is also excellent with Cpt. Kirk, with his attraction to female aliens, flirt with Shadow Lass from the Legion.  Some of the dialogue is very memorable. Perhaps the character who stands out the most is Dr. McCoy as Roberson is excellent on pulling the strings on the good doctor.

Despite these fine examples of characterization, this story is not memorable in the least--even to a fan of both Star Trek and the Legion. While not a bad book, the Star Trek/Legion crossover is disappointing despite some fine moments from Roberson and a solid job by Moy.

Ink & Fairydust: Blog Edition: The Most Important Issue

I wrote this article for Ink and  Fairydust, a Christian e-magazine I assist with, on an issue that I feel is vital to tomorow's election

Ink & Fairydust: Blog Edition: The Most Important Issue: The Most Important Issue by Rose Dominick Election day is here again; the time to decide if we keep the president we have or elect in som...

Following the King: Graphic Novel of Book of Revelation

With the books growing increasingly popular, classic literature and religious works are now being adopted into graphic novels. This can lead to some unorthodox takes--look at the legendary Crumb's take on the Book of Genesis for example--but also some graphic novels that are more traditional in their viewpoints. The Book of Revelation adapted by Matt Dorf from a translation from Orthodox priests Father Mark Arey and Father Philemon Sevastiades is one such graphic novel.

With solid and often memorable art from Chris Koelle, Dorf tries to tell the story of Revelation, easily one of the most enigmatic books of the Bible, from the vantage point of St. John. This works surprisingly well. Granted Revelation has many memorable images which is one of the reasons why artists have turned to it repeatedly throughout the centuries. Koelle`s art, while often dark, presents a compelling take on St. John's visions. The use of color, while rare in this book, is dramatic and even inspiring.

The book includes all of the biblical text though some readers may not enjoy the graphic novel. This is not a book for children. While it ranks as one of the more engaging and fascinating books in the Bible, there are some nightmarish images and visions in Revelation--and the graphic novel does not skirt around that basic fact. I honestly can't recommend this book to younger readers or those who are upset by disturbing images. Still, many readers--including this one who has a harder time with Revelation than most of the other books in the Bible--will find the graphic novel will help them better understand this enigmatic text. Highly recommended.

The Most Important Issue

The Most Important Issue
by Rose Dominick

Election day is here again; the time to decide if we keep the president we have or elect in someone new. If you are a good citizen, you head to the nearest polling place to cast in your vote, and then wait for the polls to close and the votes to be counted.

You've probably given some thought as to who it is you will be voting for and chances are your decision was made based on a list of issues that you consider important to yourself and to the well being of the country. Economics, national security, debt reduction, health care, religious freedom, the protection and care of the environment. They have all crossed your mind. You have categorized the issues in order of importance. You pay close attention to see which of the candidates for president match up the closest to your list of important issues. Based on who holds the majority of the same ideas as you do, you make your choice and cast your vote.

This process of selecting a candidate is a perfectly valid method and one that certainly helps if there is not a candidate who you know immediately you will vote for. When making your choice in a candidate, however, do not forgot the most important issue – the issue of life.

Respect for life, in all its stages, is the single most important issue to consider in an election. It outranks every other issue that will arise in the election year. It is the issue that must be considered the most seriously. In fact, I will go so far as to say that the issue of life is the only issue to be considered in an election.

You may ask yourself why this is. Of course respect for life is important, but what about our failing economy? What about the freedom to worship and profess our religion? What about providing good health care? Those are all important too, and necessary for the health of society.

Yes, those issues are important. I do not disagree with that. But respect for life must always come first for one simple reason: without life there are no other issues. Without life, there is nothing. A nation that does not respect the sanctity of the life of every single one of its citizens, born and unborn, is a nation doomed for destruction.

Take a look at the current state of American society. Physician assisted suicide is legal in many states. Couples expecting children with disabilities are encouraged to abort them. A ban on sex-selective abortions was defeated by our congress. Euthanasia is acceptable and all too frequently the elderly, the 'brain-dead' and others whom society deems have no quality of life are killed. The parameters of those our society has decided do not deserve life are growing increasingly broader. Who will we decide it is okay to kill next?

Without a right to life, there are no rights to anything else. Respect for life must be the foremost issue in every voter’s mind, and must be the deciding factor in choosing a candidate to vote for. This country desperately needs a president who cares for his citizens, all of his citizens, no matter what their state and 'quality' of life is. Once life in all its stages is respected and its sanctity and dignity upheld, once it is guaranteed that all Americans will be granted the “right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” then the other issues may be considered. Life is God's most precious gift to us, and it is our duty to protect it.

This November, vote for life.