Star Trek: Lower Decks #1 is written by Ryan North and published by IDW Publishing. Artwork is by Derek Charm, and letters by Clayton Cowles.
Star Trek: Lower Decks #1 is available now, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
Hot off their Eisner nomination for Lower Decks tie-in Shaxs’ Best Day, stellar duo Ryan North and Derek Charm are kicking off a brand-new ongoing series that’s a big fun adventure on a big fun ship…wherein Dr. T’Ana saves the crew from a virulent, purple-boiled disease that is sure to— Wait, no, everyone’s cured pretty quickly, actually. Okay…wherein Deep Space 2’s distress call is mysteriously cut off and the crew has to— Wait, nope, they just needed some help resetting their comms systems. ALL RIGHT, WHEREIN Mariner gets so totally frustrated with the lack of thrills aboard the Cerritos that she drags her friends into a holodeck adventure that would definitely kill them in reality! Should totally provide them all with a sense of purpose and well-being, right? Right. Or at least it would have. If the U.S.S. Bonaventure hadn’t shown back up from the Delta Triangle to provide them with a real challenge. It’s time to explore a ghost ship, baby!
Review
Just as Star Trek: Lower Decks is coming to the end of its life on Paramount+ it’s also finding new life at IDW Publishing. This week Eisner nominated team of Ryan North and Derek Charm are beginning a new chapter which see’s Lower Decks finally having its first ongoing comic book series.
As the Eisner nomination proves, Charm has already found a way to tap in to the visual style of Lower Decks. It’s difficult recreating the visual design of an animated series whilst finding a way to a) make it your own and b) still have fun without alienating the audience. By default there’s much more focus being put on the character designs matching up to the show. A quirk which is really only relevant with an animated show. But perhaps the challenge of recreating that Lower Decks spark is the reason why the equally Eisner nominated North finds new ways to challenge his creative partner.
There’s a reason IDW keeps returning to this creative team. Their ability to recreate Mike McMahan’s incredible Lower Decks tone without simply emulating it is impeccable. This issue moves at warp speed, zipping through several different adventures in a matter of panels. The insight in North’s footnotes adds a wonderful meta quality which itself is baked in to the DNA of Lower Decks with its reverence for Trek history. It sets up a number of different plot quirks which come in to play later. It also ties together the continuity of this new series with previous Lower Decks outings. Holodeck Dracula anyone?
North uses the rapid-fire, easy adventures of those first pages to setup Beckett Mariner’s need for an adventure. Something which is quickly answered when the U.S.S. Cerritos stumbles across the Bonaventure, aka NCC-1028, adrift in space. The ship offers Charm the chance to have fun with some classic Trek design language. Whilst the story gives us a chance to visit a new location and pay homage to the original Star Trek’s animated spin-off. The dialogue as character watch back one of the animated Kirk’s logs is enough to warrant the price of entry alone.
It all leads to an adventure which is definitely worthy of the longer, comic book style of storytelling. Mishaps on the Bonadventure bring Star Trek: Lower Decks #1 to a solid cliffhanger that is more than enough to bring me back for issue #2 next month. After several shorter forays in to comic books it’s great to see Lower Decks even attempting, never mind also succeeding, at longer-form storytelling.
Verdict
Star Trek: Lower Decks begins its maiden, ongoing, voyage with a fun issue constructed to ease the reader in to the transition from screen to page. Ryan North crafts a fun book which stretches the Lower Decks formula for episodic storytelling. Whilst Derek Charm’s ability to tap in to the visuals of the series makes this a must-read for Lower Deckers across the galaxy.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
