Star Trek: Lower Decks #11 is written by Tim Sheridan and published by IDW Publishing. Artwork is by Philip Murphy, colours by Charlie Kirchoff and letters by Clayton Cowles. Main cover art (left) is by also by Murphy.
Star Trek: Lower Decks #11 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
Sqeak, squaw, sssskkkaaa, eh, eee.
[Translation: Cetacean Ops here! Matt and I have brought the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritosback to the year 1987 for a top-secret mission of great import.]
HHHkkkeeeeee, ska, ska, EeeEEAaa. Squaw, squaw. *Click, cliiiiick*
[Translation: That’s right, Kimolu. We need their help to fix what that blowhole Kirk messed up by bringing the whales George, Gracie, and Ronald to Earth without a way for them to repopulate its oceans. What was Ronald supposed to do, have babies with his mother?]
Skkkesaw. Eehhh, ee, ee, AaaaaAa. AH, AH, EeeEE! Sqqqqaw.
[Translation: But the remaining humpbacks have all heard freaky conspiracy theories about what happened to the last pod who went to Earth. To save the species, the Lower Deckers will have to dissuade them of the rumors and convince them Earth is worth inhabiting. Ah-yikes.]
Review
It’s new arc time in Star Trek: Lower Decks this week and writer Tim Sheridan is taking inspiration from a 1986 classic. The penultimate arc of the season is doing what Lower Decks does best. Honouring the legacy of Trek whilst mercilessly finding humour in it. Get your Starfleet issue swimsuit ready. We’re headed to Cetacean Ops!
No Star Trek live-action series have braved taking us to see the onboard cetaceans. But Lower Decks has always been the show to boldly go where no Trek series has gone before. If you’ve watch the show you’ll no doubt be familiar with Lieutenants Matt and Kimolu. They have played a pivotal role in a number of episodes. But now they’re taking centre stage in a comic book storyline which has cetacean-inspiration right from the outset.
After recovering from the previous arc the U.S.S. Cerritos is back on mission. Sheridan structures the intro of issue #11 like a traditional episode of Trek. A good old captain’s log lets us know the ship is headed to a second contact mission with the Laapeerians. Whilst the crew is excited to return to a species with whom they made first contact, it seems the ship has other ideas. Quickly we learn the ship has .0012 phase variance. It might not sound like much but a warp core expert knows this is a disaster. After a little investigation it turns out the ship has been commandeered by the cetacean officers for a top secret mission.
As soon as the immortal line “how much do you know about James T. Kirk and his humpbacks?” is uttered then you know we’re in for something special. Sheridan finds an entirely plausible way of needing to return to the story of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. It also feels completely Lower Decks to puncture a hole in the story of an absolute classic of sci-fi cinema. For those not in the know there’s a little recap of events which gives Philip Murphy the chance to bring Kirk and Spock to life.
It’s a brave choice to do a time travel story. Particularly as Lower Decks very recently undertook some time travel shenanigans which saw them wind up aboard the R.M.S. Titanic. But the proof of the pudding is in the writing and Sheridan is accomplished enough to make “Again With the Whales” feel sufficiently different to what has come before.
Star Trek: Lower Decks #11 finds the fun in thrusting the ship back in time. Sheridan uses the act of throwing itself around a red giant as the action set piece of the month. Lower Decks it gives the issue a little nuance, governing the pacing and breaking up what is a dialogue-heavy issue. It leaves us on the perfect cliffhanger as the away team, suitably dressed for 1985, arrives on Earth in typically Lower Decks style. Just how they’ll get out of this one I do not know!
What can I saw about Philip Murphy’s artwork other than perfection? I come to a Lower Decks book wanting to see the show I low. Murphy delivers on every single page. Sheridan tees up a bunch of fun moments like recapping the events of Voyage Home. Whilst also taking us to a number of different locations on the ship. Much like the story the visuals are rich and rewarding even when we’re deepest in to the exposition around the ship’s mission.
Verdict
Star Trek: Lower Decks #11 takes aim at one of the franchise’s most beloved movies as Tim Sheridan finds the fun in The Voyage Home. It’s a dialogue heavy chapter to open this latest arc. But in classic Lower Decks fashion there’s plenty of fun to be had.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
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