Save The Romulans With Star Trek: Picard Countdown #1
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
Admiral Jean-Luc Picard is currently captaining the USS Verity into Romulan Space. The star in the Romulan system will soon go supernova, though the Federation doesn’t know when exactly that will happen. Regardless, Admiral Picard is leading the rescue effort to evacuate all planets within the expected blast zone. The Romulans are largely accepting the Federation’s help, but the Romulans are still wary of them. Admiral Picard, his first officer Lieutenant Commander Raffi Musiker, and the Verity are ordered to go to a planet on the edge of the blast zone, Yuyat Beta. Upon arriving, Picard and Musiker find a far more open and accepting Romulan society, but they will soon discover a very dark side to the Yuyat Beta colony.
Star Trek: Picard Countdown #1 begins the three-part prologue to the upcoming Picard television series. It finds Picard dealing with his old foes, the Romulans. However, the Federation is trying to save them this time.
Jean-Luc Picard is as engaging a protagonist as ever in this comic. His thoughtful narration (or, rather writers Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson’s thoughtful narration) makes the exposition intriguing.
There is a weird spite that Picard feels towards the Romulans that feels unresolved. He’s eager to save everyone he can, but the constant discussion of the Romulans’ secretive and scheming nature gets a little distracting, borderline uncomfortable, at times.
That said, the comic is still largely engaging, and there are still two installments wherein Picard may resolve his personal issues with the Romulans.
Artist Angel Hernandez does a good job on the visuals of this comic. Jean-Luc looks very much like Patrick Stewart, and the overall facial detail of characters is very impressive. The redesigned Starfleet uniforms look great here, and Joana Lafuente’s color work ensures that the pages pop.
Star Trek: Picard Countdown #1 kicks off a solid prologue for the new TV series. Society as they know it is collapsing for the Romulans, and Picard, who’s come into conflict with the Romulans on numerous occasions, is in charge of saving as many as possible. It’s a damn good premise, and I look forward to seeing how it plays out. This one gets a recommendation. Feel free to check it out.
Star Trek: Picard Countdown #1 comes to us from writers Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson, artist Angel Hernandez, color artist Joana Lafuente, letterer Neil Uyetake, cover artist Michael Pangrazio, and variant cover artist Sara Pitre-Durocher.
Final Score: 8/10
