$9.95 from DC Comics
Credits:
Written by J. Michael
Straczynski, Mark Moretti, Tim DeHaas
Pencilled by Mike
Netzer, Carlos Garzon, John Ridgway
Inked by Rob Leigh,
Carlos Garzon, John Ridgway
Colored by Robbie
Busch
Here’s a situation
that’s familiar to any SF fan: you’ve missed the first season of a show or the
first novel of a book series, and now everyone’s telling you to watch it or
read it and somehow you just don’t. Feeling as though you’ll never catch up,
you let the franchise slide by while everyone raves.
BABYLON 5 was such a
case for me: I never got into the show, although from what I heard, I should
have. So here I am picking up a trade paperback called BABYLON 5: THE PRICE OF
PEACE, and I have to approach it as a complete stranger to J. Michael
Straczynski’s wide and deep world. (And I do mean deep: Straczynski’s world has
a history that stretches as far forward as it does back, with stories placed
decades before the beginning of the show, a finale placed decades after the
end, and a new series, CRUSADE, coming soon placed five years after the end.)
When you hear me refer to things that are new to me, but you’re an old fan,
just laugh and revel in your knowledge.
I read PRICE OF PEACE
as a rank SF fan, and it proved a rewarding experience as well as an
introduction to B5, because it functions as a pilot. The story takes place ten
years after the end of a great war between Earth and a race called the Minbari.
The Minbari, torn between religious and warrior factions, called off their war
against the Earth when the priests made a disturbing discovery: some of the
humans bear old, reincarnated Minbari souls. Since no Minbari may slay another,
continued aggression would violate strong taboos. The captured earthling who yielded
this discovery was none other than Babylon 5’s future leader, Commander
Sinclair. The experience of being probed in captivity was wiped from Sinclair’s
memory, and Sinclair never how it was that he single-handedly kept the Earth
from destruction.
Until now. It seems
that the Minbari are thinking of invading again, because the warrior class
never did believe this soul-reincarnation business, and Sinclair is called to
be the very first ambassador to the Minbari. After learning the truth about
himself, Sinclair is shipped off to Minbar, while a new CO takes over for him
back at Babylon 5. But no sooner does Sinclair arrive than he’s arrested for
conspiracy: it seems that someone’s hidden a rifle in his baggage, with
conspicuous plans for the assassination of Minbar’s new leader. Sent to bring
about lasting peace, Sinclair suddenly faces death, followed by hard war.
Any guesses whether
Sinclair is executed? You know he won’t be, but the way the story falls out is
masterfully done, as injured Security Chief Garibaldi sweeps Babylon 5 with the
help of a telepath for the man who set Sinclair up. Along the way we get a
small feel for the world: the Minbari, the mysterious telepaths of Psi Corps,
who seem to exist to keep the world honest, and the various races of B5 who all
wonder if Earth can be trusted. And the story shows just why Sinclair, who
begins as a battle-weary veteran, ends as a successful diplomat: the man is
clever, and it saves his skin.
But there’s a real
treat in the back of the Trade: a short piece called “Psi Corp and You,” which
is supposed to be an industrial video introducing young people to the glories
of telepaths. The piece is a marvelous satire of a million corporate and
military recruiter videos, with a perky telepath host who shows us how
telepaths can find liars in business deals and find descriptions of violent
suspects in the minds of unconscious victims. We even learn that some
telepaths, once properly registered, can opt for medical treatments that stunt
their telepathy. And to top it off, an absolutely hilarious quiz appears in the
back: “How to Find out if you are a Telepath.” The quiz reminds me of something
from the Church of Scientology. (“Do you finish other people’s sentences for
them? … If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, YOU COULD BE A
TELEPATH!”)
Brilliant. Maybe I
should have paid more attention to Babylon 5. Maybe I should start.