Prepare for a heartrending Star Trek comic that is unlike anything you’ve seen before. Starfleet’s fearless and doomed crew members finally get their own story as main characters… and no one is safe. Featuring an all-new cast of characters, what is the true purpose of their deadly mission and who will survive? Star Trek: Red Shirts #1 is a fantastic start taking the classic punchline of “Red Shirts” and turning them into an expendable Dirty Dozen.
If there’s some things you can count on when it comes to science fiction, it’s that Star Wars’ Stormtroopers can’t hit anything and their armor is worthless while Star Trek’s Red Shirts die by the dozen. Writer Christopher Cantwell puts the spotlight on a group of Red Shirts recruited for an undercover mission to root out a spy.
Like classic films and shows that bring together a rag-tag bunch of screw-ups, Star Trek: Red Shirts #1 introduces us to each one by one highlighting their personalities and making sure we understand what sort of conflict they’re bringing to the mission that’s sure to go off the rails. But, Cantwell does more than that and delivers winks and nods and the inside joke of how expendable Red Shirts are and how unlikely you’ll meet one over the age of 30. The comic deftly uses the joke and turns it into a badge of honor making out its band of misfits to be more badasses than the color of their shirt denotes.
The art by Megan Levens is good with each character being unique and standing out. With color by Charlie Kirchoff and lettering by Jodie Troutman and the art feels like it’s a good match for the concept that’s both serious and not. The delivery method of how the crack unit gets to the surface is packed with humor but also a hell of a lot of action that you can imagine on the big screen and delivers a smile on one’s face. Like the overall concept of the comic, the art takes itself seriously and not at the same time.
Star Trek: Red Shirts #1 feels like it’s in on the joke. It has moments that feel like it’s played totally straight and serious and others where it haves fun with its expendable concept. The combination creates some great entertainment where you’re not sure if you want the mission to get all cool, stealth, and full of action, or go completely FUBAR and watch the Red Shirts die in creative and hilarious ways. But, the first issue shows, you can actually have both.
Star Trek: Red Shirts #1 is out in comic shops on July 17.
Story: Christopher Cantwell Art: Megan Levens
Color: Charlie Kirchoff Letterer: Jodie Troutman
Story: 8.5 Art: 7.6 Overall: 8.4 Recommendation: Buy
IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
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