Star Trek: Lower Decks is, by all accounts, one of the greatest Star Trek series ever made. It has everything you’d want: zany sci-fi stories, action, references to past adventures, and comedy. We’re in for a rollicking good, deep-cut Star Trek series with writer Ryan North and artist Derek Charm behind the wheel.
Picking up where the last issue left off, a portion of the crew is on an unknown foreign planet. They’ve somehow been zipped off a starship and need to get their bearings. That means logging records audibly, sometimes with the help of crewmembers nearby. The notion of logging out loud continues, and it’s funny.
As it turns out, this issue has a “Skin of Evil” vibe from TNG. An alien of incredible power has brought them there, and they want to learn more about mentorship. This leads to classic Star Trek characters like Picard, Janeway, and Scottie popping up as ideal mentors for the Lower Decks characters. In one fell swoop, North captures the appeal of various Star Trek series characters while commenting on the personality of the Lower Decks cast.
Things go from weird to dangerous, however, when the mentorship trial requires a fight to the death! Per usual, North’s footnotes add hilarity and context as needed. The general setup also feels like a nice homage to classic Star Trek episodes, which will please longtime fans. And honestly, you can’t go wrong with Janeway gnawing at someone’s leg.
This dude looks like a high-maintenance alien.
Credit: IDW
The art gets to breathe a bit more of this issue with wide-open spaces in an alien world. Charm captures the essence of the animated style of the show while delivering a strange alien who has all kinds of attitude. That’s tough given it has no eyes and is made of rock (or is it mud?). A big win visually is a double-page layout featuring the classic Star Trek characters all conniving to do their worst.
While characterizations are on point, this issue does feel like it lacks the science problem. The alien has teleportation powers that conveniently start the conflict and whisk it away. There’s some wrapping up to do with Bonaventure’s ship and crew, but it gets into the weeds of explaining rather than showing. Still, the adventure is wrapped up in this two-parter that will please longtime fans of the series.
Ryan North and Derek Charm’s Star Trek: Lower Decks series is a love letter to Star Trek fans, balancing laugh-out-loud humor with heartfelt character moments and nostalgic references. While it may lean a little too much on convenience over depth in its sci-fi mechanics, the comic still delivers a highly entertaining adventure that both longtime fans and newcomers will enjoy.
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