A new generation of Starfleet Academy cadets make their presence known in “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy”. Read on for our review of this miniseries but be warned, there are some spoilers within.
Written by Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott
Illustrated Artist by Derek CharmA bold new chapter for STAR TREK begins here, in an all-new series that shows you what life is like for cadets at the galaxy’s greatest school! Witness the student days of the iconic cast before they joined the Enterprise! Plus, meet an all-new group of students as they embark on bold new adventures of their own! The first new characters in the Star Trek movie universe make their mark here.
Over San Diego Comic Con weekend, CBS revealed a first look at Star Trek: Discovery and it got me thinking about the franchise and it’s lasting power. So because of this I’ve started rewatching a lot of Star Trek. I haven’t seen the new movie yet but I’ve been spending a lot of time with the original series and The Next Generation so my interest in IDW’s has strengthened. Previously, I’d only read one issue from their library and it left me a bit cold. This week was the perfect opportunity to jump into their catalog as “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” has been collected and the trade paperback is now in stores. Taking place in the new movie universe, “Starfleet Academy” is a really fun, youthful tale with very charming art.
“Starfleet Academy” focuses on two converging storylines. In the recent past, Uhura is investigating a strange distress signal involving the U.S.S. Slayton, a ship that existed 100 years ago and was the catalyst for the creation of the academy. In the present, the story shifts to T’laan, a young Vulcan woman living at the academy in the wake of the destruction of her planet (seen in the first new era film). She’s planning on leaving the academy when she’s approached by Professor Trumble. He makes her a simple offer: if she takes part in the Inter-academy Exploratory Competition, he will let her go to New Vulcan, no questions asked. When she agrees, she meets her team. Lucia Gonzalez and Grace Chen are both humans from Colombia and Taiwan respectively, Shev is an Andorian and Vel K’Bentayr is a Monchezkin. Each one represents different parts of what a good starship crew needs. T’laan is an engineering genius, Shev is a security officer in training, Vel is a doctor in training, Lucia’s strength is in diplomacy and Grace is a pilot and inventor. Together the have to try and be the best but they learn that being the best might be all that matters.
Right off the bat the thing that stands out about “Starfleet Academy” are it’s younger characters. Johnson and Parrott give their protagonists interesting personalities that vaguely mirror the legends before them. T’laan is maybe the only one who comes close to being too close to an established character (Spock), but they do a fine job giving her a very specific journey that he can’t have. The journey this group takes together is one that we’ve seen before but in the realm of Star Trek, it takes on new dimensions. The annoying super intelligent kid trope doesn’t really exist because education is such an important aspect of this utopian universe. They’re different from someone like Wesley Crusher because Johnson and Parrott give them space to be their own kids with plenty of understandable clashes.
The diverging storylines is one of the stranger aspects of the plot because it doesn’t really have payoff until the later part of the story. It feels like the story was written for the trade because had I picked this up in single issues, I would have grown really impatient. The tie is there and it does come together very nicely but it takes a while to get there. What is fun about the converging plots is that it lets us get some time with Uhura, who should always be given more spotlight as one of the most important women in science fiction.
Derek Charm’s art is not what I immediately think of when I think of Star Trek but it really does tie with the utopian themes at play with the franchise. It’s not that his art is out of place but it’s an almost cartoonish look that really brings something new to the table for this franchise. He’s able to bring this more lighthearted style without losing the things that make Star Trek what it is. The uniforms are bold in both design and color as they’re functional, original but still in line with what the movies demand. The thing about this universe is that everyone looks different and Charm’s alien designs are excellent and don’t feel out of place here.
Continued belowThere’s a beautiful extra stern look to T’laan compared to her Vulcan counterpart, Spock and there’s a subtle glamour about Uhura’s styling. I was really taken with how emotive each character was, even those in the background. Charm makes this whole thing feel so much more welcoming and warm through his colors and it’s something I don’t think even the television shows have nailed. It’s still very much Star Trek but it feels like an animated series that wouldn’t be such a bad idea right now given how the property is having a moment again.
“Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” is a ton of fun and a really great short story set in the Star Trek universe. Anyone enjoying the current movie series will find a lot to enjoy here since it only relies on that information and not any of the television series.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – A super enjoyable Star Trek story with bubbly art.
