Tales from The Trade! - Star Trek: Godshock

During a trip to Nashville back in 2023, I decided to stop by my old comic stomping grounds, The Great Escape, off of Charlette Ave. Even though my comic buying has gone down in the last couple years, I still try to make time for the hobby. Making time to read said comics is another thing altogether. Anyway, I was perusing some of the new stuff, and a recent Star Trek trade popped out to me. The hardcover had a few Trek characters, most notably, Captain Benjamin LaFayette Sisko. You know I had to get this, man!!!

At the end of 2022, IDW started to release a new Star Trek comic that featured a lot of notable characters from the franchise with Captain Sisko being the lead. It even has a sister series called Star Trek: Defiant which features a few other popular characters. Since Trek continuity is pretty busy these days, they had it take place a couple of years after the end of DS9 and before Star Trek: Nemesis. “Godshock” contains the first 6 issues of the series. It’s being written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing who I don’t know too much about. The artwork is being done by a few like Ramon Rosanas, Oleg Chudakov, Joe Eisma, and Erik Tamayo. So, what happens when someone is killing “gods?”

 

Star Trek: Godshock

Writers: Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing

Artists: Ramon Rosanas, Oleg Chudakov, Joe Eisma, and Erik Tamayo

Colors: Lee Loughridge

Letters: Clayton Cowles

 

SYNOPSIS

Something or someone is killing the most powerful beings in the Alpha Quadrant. Because of this, the Prophets, aka “Them Wormhole Aliens,” decide to send Captain Sisko home to Deep Space Nine. He returns with a mission to find out who’s taking out these beings and stop them before more damage is done. His journey takes him back to Starfleet where he’s given a “new” ship called the Theseus. His main crew is full of old and new faces like Commander Data, Tom Paris, Beverly Crusher, and Montgomery Scott. They spend the rest of the first arc chasing after a few clues which take them to some familiar sites in Trek. They discover that this new threat, the Red Path, is much more serious than they can imagine.

OPINION

So, for my first foray back into talking about comics, this was a good one to talk about. If you were wanting Avery Brooks to return and get a Picard-like show, this is probably as close as you’re gonna get. It’s cool that it takes place in a time where you could get quite a good combination of characters together. It’s even done in a way where it doesn’t really mess up anything that went on in the shows or movies at this point. While we have different characters from the shows around, this is Sisko’s time to shine. It does its best to show how this Emissary job has affected him, his family, and his friends. We even see him come into conflict with another DS9 member. The stories has a bit of a cinematic feel to it, but it still feels like regular Trek. 

Of course, he’s not the only one who gets to shine. Most of the familiars like Data, Beverly, and Scotty get some good moments here. We also get two new members: a Vulcan called T’Lir, and an Andorian named Sato. They add a little something new and interesting to the mix especially T’Lir. There’s something off about that Vulcan. The villain group, the Red Path, is an interesting group. I won’t spoil it, but it’s led by someone you’ll definitely recognize from the franchise. I’ll give one hint: they appeared on TNG and are connected to a certain Security officer.

The artwork is pretty solid overall. Since it’s Trek, you know the writers are just gonna look at some screenshots and try to replicate everyone’s likeness. It’s not like that the whole way through though. It’s also not too detailed, but you know who everyone is. There are a couple of shifts in artwork (we got a few artists on the book), but’s it’s not something that hurts the experience. The action flows pretty well, and the smaller, poignant moments also hit pretty well. 

I don’t have too many issue with this trade itself. While I liked the stories , a couple of issues didn’t hit the mark for me. Strangely enough, one of them was a “Q” story. Things can also get a little too sped up. It’s like watching the first season of Discovery where you want these writers to slow the hell down. I also though the conflict between Sisko and Worf (yeah, I’m spoiling a little bit) was a bit forced. Still, that probably ties into his book, Defiant, and a crossover book (Day of Blood) that I haven’t read yet. As for the art, I wasn’t the biggest fan of one artist for the third issue. Their artwork just seemed a little too unfinished. You also get a couple of inconsistencies here and there, but other than that, it’s good.

…………………………………….

In the end, “Godshock” is definitely a story for anyone missing “This Sisko”. I actually went ahead and got the first trade to Star Trek: Defiant which is kind of in the same wheelhouse as this book. I’ll probably be sticking with this series whether it’s physical or digital. Well, that’s all I have for now. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there. Don’t join any weird cults!