Villordsutch reviews Star Trek: Red Shirts #4…
Do you know when you’re reading something and suddenly think, “This would make an excellent movie!”? Your mind starts casting your favourite actors, lining them up on their marks, and then you bring in the ultimate director — someone who could adapt these words magnificently for the screen.
Well, I’m already there with Star Trek: Red Shirts as this IDW Publishing comic series has me desperate to see it adapted somewhere, somehow. However, there’s a sick little whisper in the back of my brain saying, “Someone will ruin it with whispering and hugs! And then they’ll cast Jack Black and Kevin Hart!” So perhaps I’m happier sticking with my comic books. I realise this may have already spoiled where this review is heading, so apologies for the movie musings upfront.
We left Star Trek: Red Shirts #3 with the surprise arrival of the Klingon Empire crashing into the already brutal conflict. The Klingons manage to beam up both Ensign Raad and Ensign Miller, with the hope of punishing them free of Starfleet’s ultimate plans. With the Romulans now firmly in control of the Starfleet data disc packed with technical secrets, it falls to the remaining members of the security team on Arkonia 89 to make one last valiant attempt to retrieve the stolen intel. But when two of the three opposing factions share a common enemy, things don’t look good for the surviving Red Shirts.
I don’t know how much louder I can bang this drum for Star Trek: Red Shirts. It’s not only one of the most surprising and unexpectedly enjoyable Star Trek series I’ve read in a very long time, but it also brings a level of sheer brutality, maturity, and desperate-to-the-end realism that’s smeared across both Starfleet and the Federation’s history — the kind that’s usually kept hidden, unless you’ve watched that thirty-year-old show called Deep Space Nine, then you’ll know Starfleet can sometimes get a little messy.
Christopher Cantwell is firing on all thrusters again this issue. We’re dealing with three factions: some crossing lines, all incredibly powerful, some brave, most violent, and one especially heartbreaking. What Cantwell has managed to pack into these pages is outstanding. And backing those words with the literal punch, whether visceral or emotional, is the phenomenal work of Megan Levens. Her “bloody as hell” standout moment this month is a truly gruesome death scene, elevated by Ensign Miller’s inspired improvisation. I silently mouthed, “Oh my god,” as a Klingon was honourably dispatched to Sto-vo-kor.
However, I’m starting to get a sinking feeling about where this story is heading. Without being too bleak, I don’t think this incredible battle — however successful — will be remembered by anyone in Starfleet.
I know I’ve said this multiple times, but if you assumed this series — as I did before reading — was going to be a string of Red Shirt pratfalls, you’re wrong. Very wrong. You need to be reading this. Star Trek: Red Shirts is the best Star Trek we’ve had in a very long time.
Rating: 10/10
@Villordsutch
