Star Trek: Lower Decks #18 is written by Tim Sheridan and published by IDW Publishing. Artwork is by Vernon Smith, colours by Charlie Kirchoff and letters by Clayton Cowles. Main cover art (left) is by also by Murphy.
Star Trek: Lower Decks #18 is available from today, in and print and on digital where all good comics books are sold. Grab your physical copy from Forbidden Planet or buy digitally from Amazon Comixology UK.
Synopsis
The thrilling conclusion to the mystery of the vanished Laapeerians! The Enterprise has joined the tumultuous space battle between Captain Freeman and her crew against their dangerous alien assailants. Starfleet might not know who these invaders are, but they’re certain they have something to do with the missing population of Laapeeria… It’s up to the Lower Deckers to not only defeat the superpowered ship but recover a whole planet’s worth of people and reunite with Boimler and his away crew while doing it. And then they’ll all hug and stuff, $&#@!*
Review
It’s the end of the road – for now – for Star Trek: Lower Decks as the Tim Sheridan-penned series brings its current arc (and current run) to a barnstorming conclusion today. “Finalis Sine Titulo” Part II culminates everything which has made this run of the series so captivating, circling back to previous characters and storylines to tie everything up in a hilarious, unpredictable bow.
When last we left our heroes they were locked in battle with the mysterious warship. The crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos was scattered across several vessels, splitting the plot into several threads, each contributing drama in readiness for this huge finale. Sheridan charmingly embraces the wider world of Star Trek canon, using it to elevate the lower deckers story into something suitably epic for a season finale.
I’ve talked in previous reviews for this series about how Sheridan has perfectly captured the cheekiness of Lower Decks. Now, even when the series is embracing huge scale stakes, that humour is still front and centre. The fact I referred to the potential villain reveal and Sheridan chose to tease me about it on social media had me itching to read this issue and the reveal did not disappoint. It plays fully into Lower Decks’ ability to place its tongue firmly in its cheek. The notion that ultimately the villain doesn’t necessarily matter when the journey is rewarding enough feels inherently Trek and this book pulls it off energetically.
There are arguably already enough characters coming into this issue that it could be a struggle to balance the issue out. Whilst Star Trek: Lower Decks was set up to focus on Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford, after five seasons fans have come to love Captain Freeman and the rest of the bridge crew just as much. With Worf having debuted in the final pages of last month’s issue and yet more cameos thrown in this month that ensemble cast has swelled even further. But Sheridan finds a way to make it work, everyone has their place in the story and the brisk pacing means that just about everyone has a moment to contribute to resolving the conflict.
What was clearly important in constructing this issue was to use characters like Worf and Pulaski, even ships like the U.S.S. Enterprise, only sparingly. They don’t overshadow the Lower Decks cast and that allows Freeman and her crew to be the ones to save the day, albeit aided by these legacy characters which help connect to the series to Star Trek canon. I commented last month on how the book picked up on a key joke from Star Trek: Picard and the fate of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E. Sheridan circles back to that moment brilliantly, alluding to a hilarious reason why the beloved E may be lost in space.
Vernon Smith and Charlie Kirchoff steer Star Trek: Lower Decks to a suitably epic conclusion. Sheridan’s script is deliciously well balanced between the space battle and ship-based scenes. Smith’s rendering of each of the vessels in the story is tantalising for a long-time Star Trek fan. It was fun seeing the U.S.S. Enterprise back in action, the 1701-E was always my favourite as a kid and it looks great in the Lower Decks style.
There’s also a lot of fun to be had in seeing the various different styles of uniform which appear in this issue. The mix of first season Star Trek: The Next Generation alongside the Lower Decks and war-era Deep Space Nine and TNG movie uniforms is just one more way the book perfectly encapsulates everything about this time period in Trek history. All of those variations play into Kirchoff’s wonderfully vibrant colours with a lot of different shades of command red vibrating off the page.
Verdict
Star Trek: Lower Decks #18 is a love letter to everything the franchise does best. It’s funny, epic, and completely unashamed of its own joy. If this is the end of the line, even for now, then Lower Decks leaves us at it’s innovative peak thanks to an incredible creative team that simply gets what the series is meant to be.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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