Villordsutch reviews Star Trek: Red Shirts #2…
“Red Shirts” within the world of Star Trek have become – how to put this kindly – a bit of a joke. The phaser-fodder of the known galaxy are now little more than memes to us nerds around the globe. Yet, these wearers of the actual red uniforms are the ones who stand in front of Kirk, Bones, and Spock. Without these fallen heroes -those turned into mineral cubes and whatnot – we’d have no whales in San Francisco harbour! So yes, they’re pretty important. Now Christopher Cantwell (Star Trek: Defiant) and Megan Levens (Starsigns) aim to prove this.
Following on from issue #1, the mystery deepens on Arkonia 89. Someone has been eavesdropping on a backwater Starfleet science base that’s been quietly monitoring stellar winds for nearly a year. When the Security Team from the USS Warren is dispatched, things quickly turn bad: two Red Shirts are lost in a stealthy skirmish during the team’s arrival. And as the net closes around the base to flush out the spies, it becomes clear that Arkonia 89 isn’t exactly the most hospitable planet.
Cards on the table: I wasn’t sure where I stood with Red Shirts. A five-issue mini-series could easily have slipped into slapstick farce, where Starfleet bumble about and nameless crew die without thought or relevance. This isn’t that. Nor is it a “safe” comic. Red Shirts pulls zero punches when it comes to pain, gore, and brutal character deaths. This is a story about a Starfleet Security Team doing an ugly, dangerous job—one only those in red could do.
I had one early complaint about the series, but it was a cruel, Starfleet twist of fate that soon fixed it. At the beginning of issue #1, we’re introduced to twelve faces and their personalities. My old man brain groaned, “I’m never going to remember all of these!” But by the start of issue #2, two portraits already had red crosses through them. I won’t spoil anything—but let’s just say the list of names is shrinking fast, and more red ink will be spilled in issue #3.
Red Shirts has turned out to be an unexpected hit for me. There’s mystery, bloody gore, and redemption for Starfleet’s much-maligned Security Officers. If Christopher Cantwell keeps the story going at this pace, it could easily be one of the standout Trek comics — and one I’d love to see return beyond this mini-series. It certainly helps that Megan Levens’ art is spot-on Trek. She seems to relish the messy side of Starfleet—whether it’s the unforgettable opener of Issue #1, where Ensign Chip Miller’s face meets a Mugato, or this issue’s nastier “disruptor rifle to the face” moment, straight out of an old Tales from the Crypt comic.
Red Shirts is brilliant: a fitting redemption for all those who’ve fallen in red. My only real gripe is the sheer number of characters on the page—but, as noted, that problem is rapidly resolving itself.
Rating: 8/10
@Villordsutch
