Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation #1 is written by Robbie Thompson and published by IDW Publishing. Artwork is by Travis Mercer, colours by J.P. Jordan and letters by Jodie Troutman. Main cover art (left) is by Mercer.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation #1 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 plodding through uneventful mission after uneventful mission, Christine Chapel is itching for a real adventure. So, when an opportunity to reunite with her old scientist friend Jinare for research on the planet Poilant crops up, Chapel is excited to finally do what Starfleet does best: explore strange new worlds. However, when the Enterprise arrives in Poilant’s space, the crew cannot get into contact with Jinare or any of her researchers. Chapel, Una, Spock, La’An, and Scotty beam down, and they are greeted by…nothing…no one…and no signs of what caused their disappearance, only a robot named D6 who urges them to descend into the planet’s depths in search of his friends. But there’s more than scientists lurking in the watery abyss. Ancient life-forms and behemoths await—and they might mean more adventure than even Chapel can handle.
Review
The beauty of bringing Star Trek to comic books is that the opportunities are endless. Cross over with Doctor Who, doable. Integrating characters from series past and present. Done. But there’s also the opportunity to take a story which has no room in live-action and allowing it to span the pages of an elegantly written and charmingly rendered book. Today IDW Publishing begins a voyage which does just that with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation.
Even more clever than simply distill the best of Trek in to a book is taking a writer from the show itself and allowing them to mastermind a new story. Robbie Thompson is known for work on Supernatural and joins the writing staff on Strange New Worlds for its upcoming fourth season. If this first issue is anything to go by then Thompson certainly knows how to get in to the minds of these characters and tell an authentic story for this world.
As the synopsis teases, The Seeds of Salvation finds the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise craving a little action. After a series of run-of-the-mill missions they’re all feeling the repeat rhythm a little dull. Thompson brings us in to the book through one of Nurse Chapel’s logs which acts as the perfect narrative introduction. Transitioning to traditional dialogue, Thompson widens the net by showing how other members of the Enterprise senior staff are dealing with the minutiae. In doing this there’s ample opportunity to confidently define each character’s voice, reinforcing the message that Thompson understands the assignment.
When Chapel gets even the faintest whiff of a more exciting mission The Seeds of Salvation kicks in to a higher warp. Quickly the crew is faced with what might be a rescue mission. Leading to a story which genuinely feels like it could (or should) be an episode of the series. Perhaps a little grandiose in scale for a streaming TV budget. But that’s the beauty of comics. Thompson’s story affords artist Travis Mercer the chance for a little fun. The location and its inhabitants fell inherently Trek and so the book always feels like its treading the right path.
I really appreciate how Thompson works to give the ensemble cast of the show their own moments to shine within the story. Whilst Chapel is the driving force, no member of the crew is forgotten or conspicuously absent. With season 3 of the show over half-way through, audiences are more than familiar than ever with these characters. Interpersonal relationships are now well established. That puts a little pressure on Thompson for the book to mirror the success of the show. Trek’s discerning audience would be quick to pick up on details which are out of place. Luckily there aren’t any meaning there’s plenty of room to simply kick back and enjoy the ride.
Mercer is of course no stranger to Star Trek. I’ve been a fan of his work at IDW and DC for a while now. It’s great to see him getting to task with this ensemble cast though. If you’ve read my Trek comic book reviews before you’ll no doubt be able to predict what’s coming next. I appreciate an artist who finds the heart of the character rather than slavishly recreating the face of the actor. That’s something which Mercer does effortlessly throughout The Seeds of Salvation. Each and every one of the U.S.S. Enterprise crew is recognisable through finer details like hair and uniform. So there’s absolutely no time wasted in bringing the story to life.
The same can be said of bringing the U.S.S. Enterprise itself to the page. The backgrounds are rich and equally as immersive as the sets themselves. But never prove to be a distraction. Whilst the space station which eats up much of the second half is where Mercer gets to play with design. It feels like a cavernous set that would be recreated using the series famed A.R. wall technology. It brings a scale and scope to the book which feels deserving of a big screen Trek outing. All-in-all we’re being setup for a wild ride over the next few months.
Verdict
IDW is spoiling us as a new era of Star Trek comics kicks in to high warp this summer. This opening chapter of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation proves itself more than worthy of the franchise canon. Writer Robbie Thompson shows exactly what he’s joining the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise for season 4 of the show whilst Travis Mercer and J.P. Jordan prove that even the most seemingly run-of-the-mill away mission can appear dynamic on the page.
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