Star Trek #30 is written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing. Artwork is by Travis Mercer, colours by Lee Loughridge and letters by Clayton Cowles. Main cover art (left) is by Ramon Ronasas. The book is published by IDW Publishing.
Star Trek #30 is available from today, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
After the Day of Blood, Kahless II is a defeated, broken man who has but one path left: face himself. Thrown backward in time by the Time Crystals of Boreth, Kahless witnesses his own cruelty, hubris, and thirst for messianic power. When he comes face-to-face with himself as a young boy holding his father’s blade for the first time, Kahless must decide what a Klingon’s honor truly means.
Review
This is fellow Starfleet Cadets. The final issue of Star Trek before the huge Lore War event kicks off in earnest. After two months tracking Benjamin Sisko across the history of Bajor we’re shifting focus this month. It’s now Kahless who surprisingly takes the spotlight setting up a confrontation which may just save the entire universe from certain doom.
Admittedly I purposely hadn’t looked ahead to the synopsis for this week’s Star Trek #30. I wanted to be surprised by where Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing would go before Lore War #1. I had not anticipated we would pick back up with Kahless Clone. Not did I predict just how important he would be to the story. Talk about full circle moments as the story continues to build on the fallout from the Day of Blood event and the most recent arc of the Star Trek: Defiant series.
The beauty of Kelly and Lanzing’s storytelling is that it can begin leading down one path before pivoting to something completely different. There are really two stories in play across this issue. The first magnificently wraps up Kahless’ original storyline all the way back to The Next Generation season 6 episode “Rightful Heir”. The second thrusts us back in to the world of the Lore War in time to lineup with the events of next month’s kick-off issue. One door closes and another opens as they say.
The story of the Kahless Clone, particularly in the comics, has seen him rise to become a cult leader. Only to fall back down again as Sisko and the Federation put a stop to his calamitous plans. His recent appearance in Defiant injected a little humility back in to the character with Christopher Cantwell handing the character back to Kelly and Lanzing just in time to tie up the story. It’s exemplary of the kind of integrated storytelling which has made the Star Trek comic book universe a rewarding read.
The story works on two levels, paralleling the journey Sisko has been on over the past couple of months. Setting these two up for a potentially interesting team up moving forwards. One the fallen god and the other a recently risen one. They’re polar opposites in direction of travel. But this is what classic Star Trek does incredibly well. It causes these opposing forces to clash head on. Forcing them to find a way to work together to solve a dire problem and that certainly seems to be where this story is headed.
But it also can’t be ignored that circling Kahless back to the history of his originator, challenging that legend, makes for a gripping read. It’s risky on the part of Kelly and Lanzing. It challenges the perception of Kahless as a historical figure and the foundation of the Klingon civilisation. That means it also challenges classic Trek which is always a bold move. I also suspect it’s an arc we won’t see the full picture of until the Lore War is over…
Travis Mercer is on artistic duties this month. Bringing Star Trek back in line with its classic look. After two months of Tess Fowler’s more heavily stylised work we’re back in more familiar territory. Mercer has the unenviable job of trying to represent the two clones on the page, often at the same time. As the two are locked in a fight to the death it could have become difficult to follow. But thankfully Mercer is an artist on top of their game and there is more than enough fine detail to tell these two apart.
Verdict
Star Trek #30 is an unexpected final chapter before the Lore War event set out to save the known universe. But it’s also exemplary of the series’ ability to tell dynamic and exciting single-character stories in isolation.
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