Written by Colin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing

Art by Rachael Scott

Colours by Charlie Kirchoff

Letters by Clayton Cowles

Design & Production by Neil Uyetake

Edited by Heather Antos (Senior editor) and Vanessa Real (Editorial Assistant)

IDW, out now

En route to a serious problem (one due to be resolved in the series’ first crossover), the crew of the USS Theseus have nothing to do but pass the time. For Sisko, Shaxs, Crusher and Data that involves a quick tabletop RPG session. For Scotty, it’s some quiet time, until a message comes in. From Jim Kirk.

For those who haven’t caught up with the ongoing IDW Star Trek series, it follows Captain Sisko, returned from the prophets to hunt a serial killer of gods. Captaining the USS Theseus, a Starfleet testbed vessel whose crew includes Montgomery Scott, Tom Paris, Data, Doctor Beverly Crusher and several new faces, Sisko works to adjust to his new life and the new game he finds himself caught up in. It’s a fantastic series, eight issues in and all well worth tracking down. This is the first annual, a one-shot special story.

You know that fizzing, joyous sensation you get when a story is very, very good? You’ll get it here and a lot of it will come from discovery rather than me telling you what’s going on. Trust me, it really is worth it.

So what I can tell you is that Kelly and Lanzing understand, viscerally, that Star Trek in general and Starfleet in particular is fundamentally kind. The arc here is Scotty’s first, as he finds himself face to face with two old friends and the thing he loves most in the world; an engineering challenge. You can hear Doohan’s warm, compassionate burr on every page here and the repartee he has with Kirk is truly lovely. Scotty figures out, quickly, this isn’t quite his old friend but even as he adjusts to that, the book pulls another surprise. Pay close attention to the book end conversations they have and you’ll see that Kelly and Lanzing understand these characters better than very nearly everyone and love them at least as much as you do.

Stott is one of my favourite artists and her work balances the kinetic joy of hurtling through space in an FTL skyscraper with the quiet character moments the franchise is built on. There’s a scene here between Lilly, one of the characters introduced in the series and a distant relative that’s playful and sweet and all the more moving for it. The entire book is a puzzle, and one where both sides are conspiring to help each other and the joy of discovery you feel is written over every characters’ face. Especially Lilly’s. Likewise Kirchoff’s colours give you a sense of the various ships we visit without the aesthetic feeling jagged. This is Starfleet. All of it. They’re GOOD at this and this story is about reminding several characters of that. It reminded me of ‘In the Cards’, one of the sweetest, oddest episodes of Deep Space Nine. Both have a heart a mile wide and both are about people meeting in the middle and making something better. Both made me tear up too.

Cowles’ lettering, Uyetake’s design and Antos and Real’s editorial skill bring everything together to create a story that’s tightly built, massive in scope and generous in spirit to both its characters and readers. It’s an extraordinary achievement in a series that’s been built on them to date and when the script lays the final three cards down it took my breath away. This isn’t the story you think it is. It’s even better. The only thing I loved more than the penultimate scene is the final one. Starfleet to its core; weird, funny, nerdy and unfashionably kind and decent.

Verdict: Just phenomenal work and one you’ll return to and find something every time you do. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart