The Jury Says Guilty On All Counts: Reviewing ‘Star Trek’ #10

Benjamin Sisko’s trial is over. The Cardassians have reached a ruling and justice will be dispensed. What does justice mean? For the people of Cardassia and the rest of the quadrant, it could mean more war, or it could mean a new beginning.

One of the things that has benefited this series since it began is the willingness to explore. There were a great number of plotlines or major elements left unexplored after Deep Space Nine went off the air. Mostly because Star Trek: Voyager was in another quadrant, Star Trek: Enterprise was in the past, and then we didn’t have TV shows for over a decade. Because of that the aftermath of the Dominion War, especially the future of the Cardassians, was left ambiguous.

Not anymore.

I really like the fact that Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly took the established Cardassian ‘justice’ system and turned it on its head. Sisko’s trial being a show to bring out the old elements of Cardassia that needed purging was a slick move. While Damar’s execution might raise questions, the overall reason for the move is much needed. Through DS9 the Cardassians never really ‘answered’ for what they had done to the Bajorans or others.

The only way that a new Cardassia can rise is for the people to purge the past and own up to what they have done. It was their own actions, choices, and marriage to what they believed it meant to be Cardassian that led to their downfall. We also get a great moment that shows how Sisko showed many the way, while losing it for himself. Best displayed by the Vorta and Jem’Hadar that rise against the beings that were their so-called Gods. This of course is another exploration of Godhood and what comes of blind devotion or hatred of those Gods.

Spiritually this book is a sequel to all the Trek of the 90s and so far, it’s doing a great job of picking up many dangling threads. It’s not just finishing them though. They have given great character development and emotional attachment reasons along the way.

We can feel that emotional depth thanks to the work that Mike Feehan and Manuel Bracchi deliver once again. There is just as much weight and detail in each panel, whether it’s two characters talking or a splash of characters fighting the Red Path. Emotions and body language are on point giving it all just a perfectly tangible effect. Especially since many of the paneling choices put us the viewer right in the middle of every moment.

Since we’re right there with them the spaces they inhabit must feel true, real, and unique. Which they most definitely do in this case. The Cardassian station and the Cardassian chamber feel similar but completely different, as they should. While Theseus has its own personality and appeal that feels like home, even this early into a new series.

Much of that comes down to coloring choices. Through these issues so far Lee Loughridge has done a fantastic job at giving everything its own unique color palate. Not only that, but the various levels of lighting on display change depending on the setting or the cause of said lighting. Choices in how to approach the light not only bring realism to a space but realness to the tone. A darker space can be foreboding while one that is brighter can have some hope or positivity to it.

A chief example is the chamber of the trial. Everything about the Cardassian chambers was very cold and drab in the previous issues. It made one feel uneasy and fearful for Sisko’s future. While things don’t get decidedly warmer or brighter, there is enough of a shift in the light in this issue (along with Damar’s words) that brings a bit more hope. I still love that various areas, especially the different spots on the Theseus, have their own uniquely colored atmosphere. It’s fun but also makes sense that not every space, especially on a ship, would always look exactly the same.

Damar and others’ words hit the way that they do not only because of what was written for the story, but how Clayton Cowles displays them. Little changes to the font make words sound more powerful, louder/softer, sad, happy, etc. depending on what the character needs to feel. We can read things and see the body language/facial expression and know how they are feeling. What Cowles does though is make it so that we can also hear it so that we get the complete package.

Finding a way to make a ton of dialogue fit and not overwhelm a reader is a tough undertaking I imagine. Cowles makes it seem simple by how effectively he pulls it off every time. We see the words flow around the page making sure we get the most impact from the rest of the artwork, while never losing their own impact.

An overdue shoutout needs to go to Neil Uyetake who helps design the various data pages in the series. While data pages are inherently to inform, a way to share a ton of information without doing a dialogue dump, they need to do more. A blank page of text isn’t going to catch the eye the same way that a comic page inherently does. These data pages are so engaging because they are designed to mimic the various types of screens from the TV shows.

They are fun with the content that is within them (I mean we got a Data log to Spot a few issues ago) and fun to look upon. We got quite a few this time and they were all just so darn good and helped move a lot of stuff around that happened off-panel.

Star Trek #10 is now available from IDW Publishing.