SNAPSHOT
“Death casts its shadow as Constable Odo searches for truth amid a web of treachery and lies. Everyone on the Promanade has a motive for this murder, be it vengeance, justice… or old-fashioned greed.” (synopsis courtesy TrekMovie.com)
If you ask most Star Trek fans which series they love above all others, they will likely answer with The Original Series or The Next Generation.
While both are very fine examples of the franchise’s spirit-enhancing utopian storytelling, my favourite is, and will likely always be, Deep Space Nine, which ran for seven seasons from 1993 to 1999 and took us to a deeper and darker place than had traditionally been the case with Star Trek which preferred to see the galaxy as a place of ever-continuing betterment and progression.
While that remains true in Deep Space Nine, as far as the Federation goes (for the most part anyway), the truth is that while humanity and its allied species are kicking things up a developmental notch, the rest of the galaxy isn’t as interested in dispensing with militaristic ambition and nakedly-expressed avarice and greed.
This willingness to admit to the fact that the lesser angels of the sentient world’s nature are still sitting at a table increasingly occupied by the better angels Star Trek usually prefers, was reflected not just in the grand season-long arcs of the show but in the small, more intimate stories, many of which took place on the station itself and centred on the integrity and love for justice and order of Chief of Security Odo (played by René Auberjonois) who was, alongside First Officer Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) and Commanding Officer Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks), was one of the beating moral hearts of the long-running storyline.
While we can watch the 176 episodes of the show any time we want, and they are as good as ever, it is wonderful to have the opportunity to dive into a fresh story, especially a mystery that centres on all of our favourite characters, doing so in a way that, Bleeding Cool notes, gives something real and meaningful back to fans.
“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #1, subtitled ‘Too Long A Sacrifice’, offers exactly what fans of the TV series are looking for, which is rarely provided in licensed comics these days: a comic that feels, from top to bottom, exactly like an episode of the series … the best part is watching the crew attempt to solve it. Outside of the story being well-executed, it’s rewarding to see Sisko, Odo, Worf, Jadzia Dax, Milles, Quark, Bashir, and Garak looking, behaving, and speaking like themselves.”
Much of that authenticity of experience is due to Scott Tipton and David Tipton who are veterans of writing for a number of Star Trek’s most loved series and characters and bring a great deal of the show’s look and feel to the four-part comics series, says Bleeding Cool.
“… under the capable pens of Scott Tipton and David Tipton, feels like a lost episode of the best Star Trek spinoff. The art team of Greg Scott, Felipe Sobreiro, and Neil Uyetake create a moody feel that also captures the show’s style. The likeness is stellar without feeling like stills redrawn, and the essence of the characters is captured with grace.”
It’s all very promising and augurs well for a return to the world of Deep Space Nine which was and remains the most grounded and vitally gritty of the franchise, and thanks to efforts like this, may well remain so for years to come.
Trek Movie provides a five-page preview of issue 1 which is out now.
