So that’s it? I’m kind of mad! Lower Decks is nothing short of a miracle; having Ryan North as the author of its comics series must be some kind of demonic deal, it’s too perfect. But the “Squirrel Girl” and “Adventure Time” scribe is already done in three issues. What did he accomplish? Did he fulfill his potential? And how about that Chris Fenoglio, huh? We are going to talk about all of that and more, but first I need to just express my regret that this is a final issue.
With “Don’t Miss This,” we try to spotlight series we think need to be on your pull list. This week we are considering the brief but beautiful “Star Trek: Lower Decks” series!
Who’s this by?
Maybe you’re a much bigger fan of Star Trek Discovery than I am, but for my money the premiere episode of Lower Decks was the first good Star Trek in something like twenty years. It elevated its “What if Trek, but funny?” premise to the highest possible level and now after a few seasons, I can safely place Boimler and Mariner up there with Kirk and Spock. I love these crazy kids. I love comics. I love Ryan North. Is this comic the result of some kind of stellar monkey’s paw wish scenario? Alas, but we find ourselves in some sort of Kobayashi Maru. There’s no escaping this ending.
You probably know Ryan North from his now-legendary run on “Squirrel Girl.” He’s the guy that has tiny captions running at the bottom of his pages that act like the narrator in Arrested Development, deflating whatever drama happened in the page above. Under a worse writer, that would be annoying as hell. But North is one of the most genuinely funny people in comics. I dare you to read some of his excellent work, like last year’s “Power Pack,” and not laugh out loud. Hell, it’d make the grumpiest of us smile in the very least!
This is where I need to bring up the impeccable art skills of Chris Fenoglio. I didn’t recognize his name right away, but Fenoglio has been contributing to comics for some time. They’re just not comics that are usually at the top of my pull list. Fenoglio has been doing kids comics for some time, mostly publishing with Scholastic. Diamond doesn’t report on Scholastic comic sale, but they are believed to dwarf the rest of the entire comics industry combined. Fenoglio’s work has been widely seen. The guy says he’s a big Trekkie right on his personal website, and you can see it. He matches the animation style of the show so well, it’s kind of eerie.
What’s it all about?
After three issues, North proves why we love what he does. His tone of earnest irreverence is of course a perfect match for Lower Decks, and he has the character voices down perfectly. In this miniseries, of pals in Beta Shift go through a classic Trek conflict when they accidentally create a sentient public domain character on the holodeck who rebels. We’ve seen it with Professor Moriarty. We’ve seen it with the Emergency Medical Hologram and Frank Sinatra. This time we get a very silly Dracula.
Like a good episode of the show, the Dracula shenanigans get to be the A-plot, while the actual mission of the ship’s bridge crew exists as the B-plot. Again, North and Fenoglio capture the show beyond what you would have thought possible. Colorfull characters like Shaxs and Dr. T’ana are written as we know them, and you’d swear these were frames pulled from the cartoon. When I saw Lt. Kayshon at his console, I cheered out loud. All anyone wants is more time with the crew of the Cerritos, and this book scratches that itch.
So why should I read this?
Because you love the best little ship in Starfleet of course! A big part of me wishes there were more issues in this series. The three that we get are a perfect mid-season episode of the show, maybe suffering a bit from decompression. But then you get greedy. That’s it? A cool hang with Dracula, a fascinating exploration of Federation post-scarcity economics, a second contact gone awry, roll credits?
Continued belowAnd then you’ll start thinking really crazy. Was this truly the best use of these creators massive talent? Wouldn’t it be better if it went farther, deeper into the lore? A comic with a creative team this good should at least be allowed to fill in some of the secret backstory of Rutherford, or give the spotlight to a beloved background character. This charming and funny adventure is all I get!?
Once you calm down though, you’ll feel blessed. Edible holographic blood may be inexhaustible, but good stories are like wine or Cajun soul food. They can’t be replicated; they need to be prepared with love. So when I am not being a brat, I am thankful to have this bonus story with my favorite guys. As a presumed fan of the Cerritos, you cannot miss out.
How can I read this?
“Lower Decks” is all wrapped up. You can rush to your local comic store and buy the three issues I’d bet. And if not, the trade isn’t a long way off. Go support a store by purchasing or hey, even pre-ordering it. Or you can go patronize your local library. They may even give you access to Hoopla digital. We may not live in a socialist utopia, but we still have a lot of places you can go to read!
