A Past With No Honor — Reviewing ‘Star Trek’ #30

Time is a really funny thing. Myths and legends are born of it, their veracity hard to determine. Especially those that become the foundation for an entire culture.

With the universe coming to a swift Lore-induced ending, the man who began the downfall of this universe must come to grips with his past as well as his present.

Star Trek #30 sends Kahless II on a revelatory journey through time, thanks to Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Travis Mercer, Lee Loughridge, and Clayton Cowles. A journey that asks just what you would do if you met a disappointing vision of your past?

If you’re a Klingon, well you fight that past.

What the Hivemind (Kelly and Lanzing) have done with this series is amazing. Its ending, though, (along with sibling series Star Trek: Defiant), is on the horizon as a final Omega issue (following the Lore War event) has recently been announced. In the meantime, we still have this book and other issues to enjoy.

Essentially, this story is the Celestial Temple-bound Sisko taking Kahless on a journey to prove a point. This centers on how the past should not define Kahless, as the figure is turned into an Emissary of sorts for Sisko. The God killer who began this whole affair is now one who stands as a final hope to end what he begat.

It’s an inspired use of a character who was a mostly one-off story lost among the weeds of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Even the years of Klingon/Federation relations amongst war didn’t see Kahless’ influence at any point. Picking around the margins to find some potential gold is one thing this duo does very well.

Even for a one-off chapter of a concluding story-line, this holds great importance. Tapping Mercer for the art brings a very specific feeling to the issue. His artwork feels light, smooth, slick, and rife with emotional energy. There is plenty of depth and detail present in each frame, helping give weight to all that we see before us. A hint of exaggeration is peppered throughout to keep the fantastical other-worldly edge.

This is an emotional story, as Kahless confronts the lie about the past he was given as truth. Each version of Kahless shows it on their face and their movements.

As usual, Loughridge is here to give everything such a colorful rightful existence, finding all the right vibrant tones to bring life to different moments. This keeps them somewhat toned-down, so that the heaviness is not lost as we move through the story. I love the grand uses of blues, reds, and purples to really set the tone here.

We also see that pop up in the captions and narrations, as Cowles drops in similar colors to the boxes so that we keep track of the various voices. Naturally, the colors chosen really match with the active participants or spaces. Red for Kahless, the anger so prevalent within. Blue for Sisko and the celestial temple influence. Lastly, the purple works against both as the wormhole coloring stands apart from the now celestial powered being within.

Star Trek #30 is now available from IDW Publishing.