Sirk TV Comic Review: IDW Small/Limited Issues #2 [IDW]
Re-imagining or filling in the blanks of canon is always a tricky element but creativity takes a stride within certain aspects. The issues reviewed below takes this into account with both old and new IP though the take of New Visions places the visual one perception farther and, in doing so, becomes the most daring.
Ghostbusters 35th Anniversary Prime The original 4 plus Janine take on another interesting ghost but this one plays a little more linear. Ray is led to an artifact that has a very high PKE reading. When water is dropped on it, it takes control of Egon. The reveal connects it to Atlantic. After saving Egon, the showdown happens in Battery Park and the eventual reveal which involves a nice visual and verbal quip with Ray speaks to the exact right tone that Ghostbusters needs that hasn't been really captured on screen since the 1st one. 
Star Trek: New Visions #18 Optimizing stills from a series to create new stories has just become more possible with Photoshop and other programs so pieces like this are possible and make them more genuine at times and keyed into stories than some of the crossover attempts. The main story here: "What Pain It Is To Drown" keys into a civilization that precipitates on water pushing large bubbles into space and leading the Enterprise to a planet that eventually tries to pull the ship and one of its shuttles into the vortex. Spock and McCoy confront the being controlling it who simply wants to die and make a spectacle doing it. A mind meld ensues but almost causes trauma to Spock according to Bones. The story line is effective and to the point. The beginning of the next take "The Hunger" seems to be a little more basic but at least Chekov has moved up in rank.
The Q Conflict #2 This continuation of an almost all-star games where Q and his fellow omniscients like Tremaine and some others from the TOS use the captains and ships from the 4 series (except Enterprise and Discovery) in a series of tests seems uneven. While interesting, many of the personalities sometimes don't work and the art is slightly off. This adventure involves finding portal gateways like those provided by the Traveler but from a long dead race called the Iconians. While most of it is by the book, the aspect of Riker using command codes to outmaneuver Picard shows a dexterity of will and competition
Captain Saru Set between the 1st and 2nd seasons of "Discovery" when the ship is in space dock for repairs (not unlike the beginning of "Wrath Of Khan"), the Discovery is called out to deal with a starship that has gone missing in a nebula where many of the navigation systems don't work (again like "Khan"). As there is no set Captain, Saru is given a task to go figure out what is wrong. He takes a skeleton crew only to be ambushed by Orions (in what would have been a good regular episode but alas wouldn't fit in the timeline of the 2nd season mythology). While Tilly and Michael play into the story, this is more completely about the strategy of Saru and actually plays more in tune with his transformation later in Season 2. Nonetheless, it is a good representation of a character building tale for a character with an undeniable journey set in the best Star Trek traditions.
By Tim Wassberg