BOOK REVIEW | STAR TREK REDSHIRTS | CHRIS CANTWELL (writer), MEGAN LEVENS (artist)

 

BOOK REVIEW | STAR TREK REDSHIRTS | CHRIS CANTWELL (writer), MEGAN LEVENS (artist)

Star Trek comics have a long history with their original publication coming out in 1967, just as the original series was wrapping up its first season. Being totally removed from the original series, this iteration published by Gold Key had some odd representation of the characters that people were used to, for instance, Spock has oversized ears and Uhuru is a different race completely, appearing Asian rather than the icon that is Michelle Williams. Eventually, Swamp Thing co – creator Len Wein came on board and gave some consistency to the art (www.comicsalliance.com, 2016)

The franchise then moved to Marvel in 1979 as Paramount hoped to cash in on the popularity of the movie. Written by legends of the industry, such as Marv Wolfman,Mike W. Barr and Denny o’Neil to name a few,  Marvel’s run on the series is described by www.denofgeek as a halcyon of strangeness, primarily due to the fact that Marvel could only work within the confines of the Motion Picture and couldn’t touch TOS.

After being cancelled from Marvel’s rosta in 1982 due to poor sales, the comics found their next home at the other ‘Big House’, DC, in 1984 and ran for twelve years until 1996. This according to www.comicsalliance.com was one of the most successful in the comics history, with notable storylines such as The Trial of James T. Kirk and Who Killed Captain Kirk.

The comic then had a bit of turbulent time as it flew between Marvel (again) and small print Wildstorm, created by Jim Lee (invariably going back to DC again as it took over the imprint)

In 2007, the comic found its most stable home at IDW (Idea & Design Works), where it has been ever since. Throughout the time at IDW, there have been diverse and a myriad stories set in the Star Trek Universe. In addition to this, they have done crossovers with other IP’s such as Dr Who, Transformers, G.I. Joe and even entered into the Ghostbusters universe. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

The doomed Starfleet crew members, the red shirts, must track down spies on an isolated planet in this graphic novel.

Stranded on the snow-ridden planet Arkonia 89, the crew of the U.S.S. Warren has a small window in which to pin down spies seeking to steal classified secrets and keep Starfleet data out of their nefarious hands.

They face threats not only from their faceless enemies but from the brutalizing elements and wildlife of a planet far from home. In this complicated story of betrayal, loss, and redemption, the red shirts’ lives and Starfleet’s sanctity are on the line…and no one is safe.  

This heartrending story by writer Christopher Cantwell (Star Trek: Defiant) and artist Megan Levens (Star Trek) marks a new beginning for the Star Trek universe, featuring Starfleet’s most intrepid and doomed crew members: red shirts. Now, finally, they get their own story.

Collects the complete miniseries Star Trek: Red Shirts #1–5.

REVIEW

Set in The Original Series Universe, Star Trek: Redshirts tells the story of those members of the Star Trek crew who regularly find themselves dead to drive the plot along. 

After being rescued from a mission that went horribly wrong, Ensign Chip Miller joins a covert mission to root out spies on the planet Arkonia 89. One by one the members of the mission meet a grisly end and the fate of Starfleet is in the hands of the survivors. 

In the introduction to this book, Author Chris Cantwell tells the reader that this has been a project that editor Heather Antos wanted to take on since she took over IDW’s line in 2021, so when Chris Cantwell wanted to do something around the doomed redshirts, the company jumped on the chance. 

The comic is a fun ride with surprising twists and turns that will literally shock the reader. As each member of the team is killed off in typical slasher fashion, you never know how this comic will turn out. 

Megan Levens does a fantastic job of bringing the story to life with her art. The panels are gritty and do not shy away from the gore that Cantwell describes on the page. 

At times this can be a bleak representation of Star Fleet and paints a different picture to what you usually see on screen, depicting the organisation as far from a benevolent galactic club that helps each other and describes it as an uncaring and unorganised group of bureaucrats that have no feeling for the men and women that is sends to their deaths.

Don’t expect great character development as the story unfolds because this is not the point. The point of the book is to kill off the members of the crew in some weird and wonderful way that at times looks like Damian Leone got his hands on the script. 

Star Trek: Redshirts is a dark, violent twist, and surprisingly entertaining twist on a familiar sci fi concept.