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Star Trek: Red Shirts #1-5
Star Trek: Red Shirts
The doomed Starfleet crew members, the red shirts, must track down spies on an isolated planet in this graphic novel.
Stranded on the snow-ridden planet Arkonia 89, the crew of the U.S.S. Warren has a small window in which to pin down spies seeking to steal classified secrets and keep Starfleet data out of their nefarious hands.
They face threats not only from their faceless enemies but from the brutalizing elements and wildlife of a planet far from home. In this complicated story of betrayal, loss, and redemption, the red shirts’ lives and Starfleet’s sanctity are on the line…and no one is safe.
This heartrending story by writer Christopher Cantwell (Star Trek: Defiant) and artist Megan Levens (Star Trek) marks a new beginning for the Star Trek universe, featuring Starfleet’s most intrepid and doomed crew members: red shirts. Now, finally, they get their own story.
Collects the complete miniseries Star Trek: Red Shirts #1–5.
Stranded on the snow-ridden planet Arkonia 89, the crew of the U.S.S. Warren has a small window in which to pin down spies seeking to steal classified secrets and keep Starfleet data out of their nefarious hands.
They face threats not only from their faceless enemies but from the brutalizing elements and wildlife of a planet far from home. In this complicated story of betrayal, loss, and redemption, the red shirts’ lives and Starfleet’s sanctity are on the line…and no one is safe.
This heartrending story by writer Christopher Cantwell (Star Trek: Defiant) and artist Megan Levens (Star Trek) marks a new beginning for the Star Trek universe, featuring Starfleet’s most intrepid and doomed crew members: red shirts. Now, finally, they get their own story.
Collects the complete miniseries Star Trek: Red Shirts #1–5.
128 pages, Paperback
First published May 12, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
May 16, 2026
Star Trek: Red Shirts
A secret base on Arkonia 89 has been compromised and a tactical team from the 'U.S.S. Warren's Security Division is sent to ensure that compromised data is retrieved as quickly as possible.
A very non 'Trek', 'Star Trek' story, with true heroism and the embodiment of Starfleet ideals. The artwork is good and serves the plot well. If there are to be further 'Red Shirts' adventures, sign me up.
A secret base on Arkonia 89 has been compromised and a tactical team from the 'U.S.S. Warren's Security Division is sent to ensure that compromised data is retrieved as quickly as possible.
A very non 'Trek', 'Star Trek' story, with true heroism and the embodiment of Starfleet ideals. The artwork is good and serves the plot well. If there are to be further 'Red Shirts' adventures, sign me up.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Paperwork of Sacrifice
How Christopher Cantwell’s “Star Trek: Red Shirts” turns expendable bodies into official memory, public myth, and one more reason to enlist
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | April 1st, 2026
The red shirt has always been a labor-saving device. Somebody else takes the blast, and the bridge keeps its halo. “Star Trek: Red Shirts” knows the joke, but it knows the paperwork underneath it better. Expendability is not a punchline here. It is a standing order.
That old franchise shorthand about nameless security officers dying before the opening credits have cooled has always concealed a cold seam beneath the laugh: someone has to stand in the wrong corridor, in the wrong color, taking the hit so the bridge crew can remain mythic. Christopher Cantwell’s comic takes that setup seriously, but not sentimentally. It does not merely restore weight to the red shirt and call the job finished. It asks the nastier question: once an institution has decided certain people are tactical surplus, what happens not only to their bodies, but to the sanctioned account that survives them?
That is the job the comic assigns itself. As plot, it moves like a snare tightening. A team of Starfleet security officers from the U.S.S. Warren is sent to Arkonia 89 to bait and catch spies trying to steal fleet schematics from a breached antenna array.
Everyone arrives in the color of both warning and recruitment.
Failure has the room booked before the team does. They are shot planetward in torpedo casings – a briskly vicious image, as if the comic wants to settle the whole matter of instrumentalization before page ten. Then the casualty ledger starts ticking. Men die on impact, in transit, in the jaws of local wildlife, under sniper fire, while doing exactly what command sent them to do. The antenna turns out not to be what it seemed. The spies are not merely spies. The Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans are all working their own angles. By the time the survivors understand the mission, most of them are already dead.
That is the machine at work: loss already halfway to paperwork. “Star Trek: Red Shirts” gets smartest when it gets least sentimental. Cantwell and Megan Levens do not give us a simple mission-gone-bad thriller with extra attitude brushed over it. They build a processing line. First come the dossier pages, introducing each officer as a named and specific person – decorated, brittle, overqualified, wounded, ambitious, funny, fatalistic. Then the log pages, clipped updates that turn time itself into attrition and the living into a shrinking count. Then the narrative proper, which processes them. Then the coda, which files them. Then, finally, the propaganda posters, which hand the whole mess back to the public as aspiration.
Individuals become profiles, then bodies, then numbers, then official memory, then public image.
That is where the comic stops admiring its conceit and starts cutting into it. Private feeling matters here mainly as something the larger system can strip for parts. The lazier version of this book would have stopped at pathos and congratulated itself for discovering that cannon fodder also has mothers, appetites, grievances, and nicknames. “Star Trek: Red Shirts” is after a colder prize. Its sharper move is to show how an institution can know all that and spend people anyway, then package the result into something noble enough to keep recruitment tidy. The comic tracks a full cycle – classification, deployment, attrition, report, slogan. Once that structure clicks into place, the story stops being a correction to a franchise gag and becomes a study in narrative laundering.
Cantwell’s script all but forces that reading. He writes as though every line has already passed through a briefing room. The dialogue is clipped, tactical, and often funny in the hard way people get funny when they suspect command would prefer a neat explanation to a survivor. Orders collide with gallows humor. Mission language keeps swallowing panic. Miller’s internal narration supplies the acid weather: wounded pride, self-mythologizing resilience, then something darker once the final turn snaps into place. This script keeps the windows shut. It prefers orders to flourishes, triage to reverie. Feeling arrives rubber-stamped by procedure. A softer script would have let the pressure leak out.
Its weakness is not lack of thought but surplus paraphrase. Characters do not only inhabit expendability, they discuss it, flag it, restate it. The institutional rot does not merely emerge through the torpedo drop, the casualty logs, the withheld briefings, and the final debrief; it is sometimes underlined twice in dialogue. Because the page has already made the point, those extra markings can feel unnecessary. The prose is built for pressure, not beauty. It gets the job done, then occasionally explains the job.
Tone is one place the comic never slips on its own blood. It knows exactly how sour it wants the air to taste. Cromarty, the officer embedded on Arkonia for nine months, arrives with the right frayed mutinous current: funny, suspicious, half-rancid from isolation, yet impossible to ignore. Dematrio gives the book its steadier line of command, still moving as though competence might remain a form of shelter. Raad becomes the late book’s live wire because she knows how to turn honor, timing, and pain into leverage. Miller is the trickiest figure here. At first he reads as the scarred young survivor making identity out of injury. Then the trapdoor opens. Once the comic reveals that he has been recruited by the Tal Shiar and has been managing the mission from inside, his voice curdles retroactively. He is no longer merely a witness. He is the person who turns catastrophe into a fileable account.
The Miller reveal is the comic’s coldest bet. A more timid book would have made him a wronged innocent or a doomed believer. Cantwell picks the less flattering path. Miller survives because he has learned what kind of story power wants and how to tell it. The turn does not just rearrange allegiance. It changes the moral climate of the whole comic. By the time he is hauled aboard the “Enterprise” and lies to Captain Kirk about what happened on Arkonia, pinning blame elsewhere and preserving Starfleet’s approved version, the book has become something sharper than a survival yarn. It has become a story about who gets to turn catastrophe into a report.
That shift gives the comic a force that extends beyond franchise cleverness. It does not staple a civics lesson onto its firefights, and it never needs to wink toward the present day to make its case. Yet its concerns feel less timely than recurrent: surveillance conducted in the language of ideals, intelligence work built on compartmentalized knowledge, frontline risk borne by people far below the level at which strategy is decided, public versions polished clean after the damage is done. “Star Trek: Red Shirts” does not feel reactive to a single moment. It feels alert to a recurring logic of power. Institutions do not merely break people. They curate the public afterlife of the break.
Levens lets that critique hit before the dialogue catches up. She keeps the team from dissolving into a red slurry, which is already an achievement in a comic built around attrition. More importantly, the pages understand red as costume, target, blood echo, and recruitment pitch. Against Charlie Kirchoff’s cold greens, metallic grays, swamp blacks, and sudden bursts of violence, that color starts doing several jobs at once. It marks rank. It draws fire. It promises heroism. It sells the uniform even as the uniform gets its wearer killed.
The action is readable, but never clean.
Bodies are not abstracted into impact effects. Terrain matters. Machinery matters. When a tower looms or a creature lunges or open ground offers no cover, the page is doing more than diagramming motion. It is leaving bodies out in the open. The line work and color do something quietly smart with scale as well. The farther the book pulls back, the smaller the team looks against ice, swamp, tower, orbital fire. The red shirts do not merely seem vulnerable. They seem already entered into a calculation larger than themselves.
Its smartest move happens in the margins. The dossiers, the logs, the posters at the end – none of them are dessert. They are part of the autopsy. A comparison to the documentary side channels of “Watchmen” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons helps only up to a point, but it clarifies one useful thing: supplemental formats can change the meaning of the main action rather than merely accompany it. Here the margins are not garnish. They are where the argument sharpens. The dossiers individualize. The logs count. The coda sanitizes. The posters sell.
That is where the comic earns its seriousness. It does not merely center the expendable. It formalizes expendability. The red shirt becomes not just a role but a processing line: classified asset, deployed body, logged casualty, revised account, recruitment myth. In that sense, the comic ends up closer to the institutional bitterness of “The Forever War” by Joe Haldeman than to the winking metafiction of “Redshirts” by John Scalzi, though the latter remains the obvious conceptual cousin. Cantwell is not interested in cute self-awareness. He is interested in how quickly the machinery closes over the hole.
The bill for that clarity comes due. Once the argument about Starfleet’s compromises is fully in the open, the comic returns to that corrosion often and with only modest variation. It does not flatten into one note, but it narrows enough that you feel what is missing: wonder, warmth, contradiction, some pocket of uncorrupted belief that might make the surrounding damage hurt more. The characterization pays a similar cost. Several figures leave real impressions – Cromarty, Dematrio, Raad, Grash – but the ensemble is so tightly organized around attrition that some others remain quick sketches rather than fully expanding presences. The irony comes factory-fitted. In critiquing a system that converts people into functions, the comic occasionally uses some of its own people functionally.
Still, the last movement earns the right to go cold. Raad’s challenge, Miller’s final betrayal, Kirk’s briskly institutional debrief, the posters that follow – all of it turns the screw. The decisive act was never the firefight, or even the intelligence transfer. It was the successful replacement of truth with a version sturdy enough to survive contact with authority. Miller lives not because he is the bravest or best of the security team, but because he has learned where power actually resides: in the file-ready version, in the approved lie, in the report command can digest without changing its appetite.
My rating is 87/100, which translates to 4 stars on Goodreads: a clearly strong, formally intelligent comic with real sting, even if its rigor sometimes hardens into repetition. That feels like the right temperature. This is too tightly controlled, and occasionally too eager to restate itself, to be a perfect one. But it is after something sharper than a darker coat of franchise paint. It takes the franchise’s designated casualty and uses it to expose an appetite for deaths that arrive pre-labeled and easy to shelve.
The old joke always was that if you wanted to see the galaxy, you should not put on a red shirt unless you had made peace with your life expectancy. Cantwell’s revision is harsher. The truly dangerous thing about wearing red is not only that you may die in it. It is that, if the machinery is functioning properly from the institution’s point of view, you may die in it, vanish into the paperwork, and return one page later as a poster on the wall, smiling bravely beneath a recruitment slogan.
How Christopher Cantwell’s “Star Trek: Red Shirts” turns expendable bodies into official memory, public myth, and one more reason to enlist
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | April 1st, 2026
The red shirt has always been a labor-saving device. Somebody else takes the blast, and the bridge keeps its halo. “Star Trek: Red Shirts” knows the joke, but it knows the paperwork underneath it better. Expendability is not a punchline here. It is a standing order.
That old franchise shorthand about nameless security officers dying before the opening credits have cooled has always concealed a cold seam beneath the laugh: someone has to stand in the wrong corridor, in the wrong color, taking the hit so the bridge crew can remain mythic. Christopher Cantwell’s comic takes that setup seriously, but not sentimentally. It does not merely restore weight to the red shirt and call the job finished. It asks the nastier question: once an institution has decided certain people are tactical surplus, what happens not only to their bodies, but to the sanctioned account that survives them?
That is the job the comic assigns itself. As plot, it moves like a snare tightening. A team of Starfleet security officers from the U.S.S. Warren is sent to Arkonia 89 to bait and catch spies trying to steal fleet schematics from a breached antenna array.
Everyone arrives in the color of both warning and recruitment.
Failure has the room booked before the team does. They are shot planetward in torpedo casings – a briskly vicious image, as if the comic wants to settle the whole matter of instrumentalization before page ten. Then the casualty ledger starts ticking. Men die on impact, in transit, in the jaws of local wildlife, under sniper fire, while doing exactly what command sent them to do. The antenna turns out not to be what it seemed. The spies are not merely spies. The Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans are all working their own angles. By the time the survivors understand the mission, most of them are already dead.
That is the machine at work: loss already halfway to paperwork. “Star Trek: Red Shirts” gets smartest when it gets least sentimental. Cantwell and Megan Levens do not give us a simple mission-gone-bad thriller with extra attitude brushed over it. They build a processing line. First come the dossier pages, introducing each officer as a named and specific person – decorated, brittle, overqualified, wounded, ambitious, funny, fatalistic. Then the log pages, clipped updates that turn time itself into attrition and the living into a shrinking count. Then the narrative proper, which processes them. Then the coda, which files them. Then, finally, the propaganda posters, which hand the whole mess back to the public as aspiration.
Individuals become profiles, then bodies, then numbers, then official memory, then public image.
That is where the comic stops admiring its conceit and starts cutting into it. Private feeling matters here mainly as something the larger system can strip for parts. The lazier version of this book would have stopped at pathos and congratulated itself for discovering that cannon fodder also has mothers, appetites, grievances, and nicknames. “Star Trek: Red Shirts” is after a colder prize. Its sharper move is to show how an institution can know all that and spend people anyway, then package the result into something noble enough to keep recruitment tidy. The comic tracks a full cycle – classification, deployment, attrition, report, slogan. Once that structure clicks into place, the story stops being a correction to a franchise gag and becomes a study in narrative laundering.
Cantwell’s script all but forces that reading. He writes as though every line has already passed through a briefing room. The dialogue is clipped, tactical, and often funny in the hard way people get funny when they suspect command would prefer a neat explanation to a survivor. Orders collide with gallows humor. Mission language keeps swallowing panic. Miller’s internal narration supplies the acid weather: wounded pride, self-mythologizing resilience, then something darker once the final turn snaps into place. This script keeps the windows shut. It prefers orders to flourishes, triage to reverie. Feeling arrives rubber-stamped by procedure. A softer script would have let the pressure leak out.
Its weakness is not lack of thought but surplus paraphrase. Characters do not only inhabit expendability, they discuss it, flag it, restate it. The institutional rot does not merely emerge through the torpedo drop, the casualty logs, the withheld briefings, and the final debrief; it is sometimes underlined twice in dialogue. Because the page has already made the point, those extra markings can feel unnecessary. The prose is built for pressure, not beauty. It gets the job done, then occasionally explains the job.
Tone is one place the comic never slips on its own blood. It knows exactly how sour it wants the air to taste. Cromarty, the officer embedded on Arkonia for nine months, arrives with the right frayed mutinous current: funny, suspicious, half-rancid from isolation, yet impossible to ignore. Dematrio gives the book its steadier line of command, still moving as though competence might remain a form of shelter. Raad becomes the late book’s live wire because she knows how to turn honor, timing, and pain into leverage. Miller is the trickiest figure here. At first he reads as the scarred young survivor making identity out of injury. Then the trapdoor opens. Once the comic reveals that he has been recruited by the Tal Shiar and has been managing the mission from inside, his voice curdles retroactively. He is no longer merely a witness. He is the person who turns catastrophe into a fileable account.
The Miller reveal is the comic’s coldest bet. A more timid book would have made him a wronged innocent or a doomed believer. Cantwell picks the less flattering path. Miller survives because he has learned what kind of story power wants and how to tell it. The turn does not just rearrange allegiance. It changes the moral climate of the whole comic. By the time he is hauled aboard the “Enterprise” and lies to Captain Kirk about what happened on Arkonia, pinning blame elsewhere and preserving Starfleet’s approved version, the book has become something sharper than a survival yarn. It has become a story about who gets to turn catastrophe into a report.
That shift gives the comic a force that extends beyond franchise cleverness. It does not staple a civics lesson onto its firefights, and it never needs to wink toward the present day to make its case. Yet its concerns feel less timely than recurrent: surveillance conducted in the language of ideals, intelligence work built on compartmentalized knowledge, frontline risk borne by people far below the level at which strategy is decided, public versions polished clean after the damage is done. “Star Trek: Red Shirts” does not feel reactive to a single moment. It feels alert to a recurring logic of power. Institutions do not merely break people. They curate the public afterlife of the break.
Levens lets that critique hit before the dialogue catches up. She keeps the team from dissolving into a red slurry, which is already an achievement in a comic built around attrition. More importantly, the pages understand red as costume, target, blood echo, and recruitment pitch. Against Charlie Kirchoff’s cold greens, metallic grays, swamp blacks, and sudden bursts of violence, that color starts doing several jobs at once. It marks rank. It draws fire. It promises heroism. It sells the uniform even as the uniform gets its wearer killed.
The action is readable, but never clean.
Bodies are not abstracted into impact effects. Terrain matters. Machinery matters. When a tower looms or a creature lunges or open ground offers no cover, the page is doing more than diagramming motion. It is leaving bodies out in the open. The line work and color do something quietly smart with scale as well. The farther the book pulls back, the smaller the team looks against ice, swamp, tower, orbital fire. The red shirts do not merely seem vulnerable. They seem already entered into a calculation larger than themselves.
Its smartest move happens in the margins. The dossiers, the logs, the posters at the end – none of them are dessert. They are part of the autopsy. A comparison to the documentary side channels of “Watchmen” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons helps only up to a point, but it clarifies one useful thing: supplemental formats can change the meaning of the main action rather than merely accompany it. Here the margins are not garnish. They are where the argument sharpens. The dossiers individualize. The logs count. The coda sanitizes. The posters sell.
That is where the comic earns its seriousness. It does not merely center the expendable. It formalizes expendability. The red shirt becomes not just a role but a processing line: classified asset, deployed body, logged casualty, revised account, recruitment myth. In that sense, the comic ends up closer to the institutional bitterness of “The Forever War” by Joe Haldeman than to the winking metafiction of “Redshirts” by John Scalzi, though the latter remains the obvious conceptual cousin. Cantwell is not interested in cute self-awareness. He is interested in how quickly the machinery closes over the hole.
The bill for that clarity comes due. Once the argument about Starfleet’s compromises is fully in the open, the comic returns to that corrosion often and with only modest variation. It does not flatten into one note, but it narrows enough that you feel what is missing: wonder, warmth, contradiction, some pocket of uncorrupted belief that might make the surrounding damage hurt more. The characterization pays a similar cost. Several figures leave real impressions – Cromarty, Dematrio, Raad, Grash – but the ensemble is so tightly organized around attrition that some others remain quick sketches rather than fully expanding presences. The irony comes factory-fitted. In critiquing a system that converts people into functions, the comic occasionally uses some of its own people functionally.
Still, the last movement earns the right to go cold. Raad’s challenge, Miller’s final betrayal, Kirk’s briskly institutional debrief, the posters that follow – all of it turns the screw. The decisive act was never the firefight, or even the intelligence transfer. It was the successful replacement of truth with a version sturdy enough to survive contact with authority. Miller lives not because he is the bravest or best of the security team, but because he has learned where power actually resides: in the file-ready version, in the approved lie, in the report command can digest without changing its appetite.
My rating is 87/100, which translates to 4 stars on Goodreads: a clearly strong, formally intelligent comic with real sting, even if its rigor sometimes hardens into repetition. That feels like the right temperature. This is too tightly controlled, and occasionally too eager to restate itself, to be a perfect one. But it is after something sharper than a darker coat of franchise paint. It takes the franchise’s designated casualty and uses it to expose an appetite for deaths that arrive pre-labeled and easy to shelve.
The old joke always was that if you wanted to see the galaxy, you should not put on a red shirt unless you had made peace with your life expectancy. Cantwell’s revision is harsher. The truly dangerous thing about wearing red is not only that you may die in it. It is that, if the machinery is functioning properly from the institution’s point of view, you may die in it, vanish into the paperwork, and return one page later as a poster on the wall, smiling bravely beneath a recruitment slogan.
May 9, 2026
"Star Trek: Red Shirts" is an intense, suspenseful book that will keep the reader guessing until the very end. Focusing on the "Red Shirts" of the Starfleet Security Service, this book leans in heavily on one of the franchise's best known cliches. It pulls no punches as it portrays the dedicated officers who form the tip of the Starfleet spear and the thankless and often brutal work they are called to perform. Expect strongly defined characters, lots of action - often gory, unflinching adherence to duty, hidden agendas, a complex game of espionage and betrayal, threats in every shadow and a few sudden twists that even the most diehard fans may not see coming.
Note: I read this story arc in single issues, prior to receiving a DRC from NetGalley and IDW Publishing. The graphic novel, tells exactly the same story and is well worth reading. However, the individual issues included a small amount of additional material that significantly enhanced the story and helped to clarify the creators' vision.
Note: I read this story arc in single issues, prior to receiving a DRC from NetGalley and IDW Publishing. The graphic novel, tells exactly the same story and is well worth reading. However, the individual issues included a small amount of additional material that significantly enhanced the story and helped to clarify the creators' vision.
February 23, 2026
Writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Megan Levens take us boldly where few have gone before–into the lives of the expendable–in
Star Trek: Red Shirts
. Known for their unfortunate fates, the infamous redshirts are finally given depth and purpose.
The doomed Starfleet crew members, the red shirts, must track down spies on an isolated planet in this graphic novel.
Stranded on the snow-ridden planet Arkonia 89, the crew of the U.S.S. Warren has a small window in which to pin down spies seeking to steal classified secrets and keep Starfleet data out of their nefarious hands.
They face threats not only from their faceless enemies but from the brutalizing elements and wildlife of a planet far from home. In this complicated story of betrayal, loss, and redemption, the red shirts’ lives and Starfleet’s sanctity are on the line... and no one is safe.
For those who don't know...in the world of fiction, primarily science fiction, a red shirt often refers to a minor character or background character that is introduced only to die soon after appearing. This is often to demonstrate the danger of a situation or to raise the stakes for the main character. The term comes from the Star Trek: The Original Series in the 1960s, where red uniformed security officers were frequently killed, while main characters survived. Redshirts have since grown to be present in all sorts of stories often used humorously to refer to any expendable character.
While I may not be fully caught up on recent events in the Star Trek universe, I know the history surrounding the term red shirts. This made me want to dive into the new IDW Publishing series, Star Trek: Red Shirts. I couldn't resist seeing who Star Trek scribe Christopher Cantwell along with artist Megan Levens would approach spinning a story around what is usually forgettable characters.
Cantwell has done something special with Star Trek: Red Shirts . He has crafted a gripping and exciting story focused on the very characters often considered expendable, not saying they all survive this time around, but it's nice to see them given a chance. By leaning into the characters' awareness of their likely fate and building a tale around that tension, Cantwell creates a comic that is fresh and truly unexpected.
These are the kinds of Star Trek stories I truly enjoy. They step slightly outside the main storylines and don't ask the reader to have an extensive knowledge of the Star Trek universe. I mean, understanding the history behind the redshirts is key to full appreciating the story, a deep familiarity with the lore is really not fully necessary. Stories such as Star Trek: Red Shirts and Star Trek: Lower Decks allow me to enjoy the universe in a more relaxed and simplify entertaining way, enjoying the comic for what it is.
Capturing the essence of Star Trek while maintaining their own flair, Megan Levens illustrations in Red Shirts is wonderful. Add the darker tones from Charlie Kirchoff's colors and you get artwork that complements Cantwell's script in such a great way. The illustrations and colors add an edge to the story while preserving its darkly humorous undertones.
Star Trek: Red Shirts is a great addition to the Star Trek line of comics. Christopher Cantwell proves that even the non-essential characters can take the spotlight here and there with the reader caring about their stories. The artwork from Megan Levens and Charlie Kirchoff works well with the Star Trek universe and pulls you deeper into the story. Star Trek: Red Shirts is for those fans of Star Trek that want a bit more and for those who want to jump into the universe without much knowledge of the lore.
The collected edition of Star Trek: Red Shirts hits local comic shops and bookstores everywhere on May 12, 2026 from IDW Publishing.
The doomed Starfleet crew members, the red shirts, must track down spies on an isolated planet in this graphic novel.
Stranded on the snow-ridden planet Arkonia 89, the crew of the U.S.S. Warren has a small window in which to pin down spies seeking to steal classified secrets and keep Starfleet data out of their nefarious hands.
They face threats not only from their faceless enemies but from the brutalizing elements and wildlife of a planet far from home. In this complicated story of betrayal, loss, and redemption, the red shirts’ lives and Starfleet’s sanctity are on the line... and no one is safe.
For those who don't know...in the world of fiction, primarily science fiction, a red shirt often refers to a minor character or background character that is introduced only to die soon after appearing. This is often to demonstrate the danger of a situation or to raise the stakes for the main character. The term comes from the Star Trek: The Original Series in the 1960s, where red uniformed security officers were frequently killed, while main characters survived. Redshirts have since grown to be present in all sorts of stories often used humorously to refer to any expendable character.
While I may not be fully caught up on recent events in the Star Trek universe, I know the history surrounding the term red shirts. This made me want to dive into the new IDW Publishing series, Star Trek: Red Shirts. I couldn't resist seeing who Star Trek scribe Christopher Cantwell along with artist Megan Levens would approach spinning a story around what is usually forgettable characters.
Cantwell has done something special with Star Trek: Red Shirts . He has crafted a gripping and exciting story focused on the very characters often considered expendable, not saying they all survive this time around, but it's nice to see them given a chance. By leaning into the characters' awareness of their likely fate and building a tale around that tension, Cantwell creates a comic that is fresh and truly unexpected.
These are the kinds of Star Trek stories I truly enjoy. They step slightly outside the main storylines and don't ask the reader to have an extensive knowledge of the Star Trek universe. I mean, understanding the history behind the redshirts is key to full appreciating the story, a deep familiarity with the lore is really not fully necessary. Stories such as Star Trek: Red Shirts and Star Trek: Lower Decks allow me to enjoy the universe in a more relaxed and simplify entertaining way, enjoying the comic for what it is.
Capturing the essence of Star Trek while maintaining their own flair, Megan Levens illustrations in Red Shirts is wonderful. Add the darker tones from Charlie Kirchoff's colors and you get artwork that complements Cantwell's script in such a great way. The illustrations and colors add an edge to the story while preserving its darkly humorous undertones.
Star Trek: Red Shirts is a great addition to the Star Trek line of comics. Christopher Cantwell proves that even the non-essential characters can take the spotlight here and there with the reader caring about their stories. The artwork from Megan Levens and Charlie Kirchoff works well with the Star Trek universe and pulls you deeper into the story. Star Trek: Red Shirts is for those fans of Star Trek that want a bit more and for those who want to jump into the universe without much knowledge of the lore.
The collected edition of Star Trek: Red Shirts hits local comic shops and bookstores everywhere on May 12, 2026 from IDW Publishing.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
My thanks to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for an advance copy of this new graphic novel that looks at the loves and very short lives of those daring young men and women, alien and others who work in the Security branch of the Federation of Planets, the few the expendable, the Red Shirts.
I started watching Star Trek in repeats on Channel 11 New York while visiting my grandparents in the Bronx. I loved the show. I believe it was on at 5 pm, just before dinner, so my brother, Dad and I, would sit on the plastic covered couch and get lost in the adventures of the Enterprise while my grandfather would sip Schlitz beer and take naps. Win win all around. I must admit though it probably wasn't for a long time that I picked up on the fate of those who wore the red shirts in the Federation. The first to be disintegrated, to be turned into basic elements and crushed. The be blown up, eaten and all sorts of deaths. This has become a trope used by quite a few other authors John Scalzi being one. Mostly as a joke. Until now. Star Trek: Red Shirts is a graphic novel written by Christopher Cantwell and illustrated by Megan Levens about the security team of the Federation, the ones who usually die while seeking out new life and new civilizations, and boldly facing death while doing their duty.
The planet of Arkonia 89 has nothing but hostile life, and a observation post for the Federation. Something has hacked into this post, something that might be hostile. To investigate a group of red shirts, the Security branch of the Federation, the expendables as they think of themselves are gathered to find out what is going on. These men and women are young, as most in Security are, with a past surviving exploding ships, bad away missions, and other disasters. They land and find out that the job is much more difficult than expected. The planet is a trap to find out who is watching the Federation. The bait, plans for Constellation class starships. With a little extra red shirt cheese. There is no easy day being in security, and as the day gets longer, things only seem to be getting worse.
A book that is funny, surprising, heartfelt, bitter, and really well done. Cantwell has a really good grasp on what makes Star Trek work. Also Cantwell understands the history of Star Trek and adds quite a lot of lore to make the story really stand out. One can't describe the story's plot without being afraid of giving something away. I suggest not reading anything, just go in cold like I did, and just enjoy. Cantwell has written a story that is filled with Rube Goldberg traps, surprises, and little things that really make one go oh wow. How a man at 40 is considered one of the longest and most experienced security men. The creatures mentioned. The violence. There is so much that is so good. The art is excellent, good rendering of classic Star Trek weapons, equipment, the ships, and the aliens.
I really enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. It's nice that somebody gets Star Trek. I wish they would adapt some of these comic stories instead of making their own spin on things. I know there is a sequel planned for this, and I can't wait to read it. One of my favorite graphic novels, and one I can't stop thinking about.
I started watching Star Trek in repeats on Channel 11 New York while visiting my grandparents in the Bronx. I loved the show. I believe it was on at 5 pm, just before dinner, so my brother, Dad and I, would sit on the plastic covered couch and get lost in the adventures of the Enterprise while my grandfather would sip Schlitz beer and take naps. Win win all around. I must admit though it probably wasn't for a long time that I picked up on the fate of those who wore the red shirts in the Federation. The first to be disintegrated, to be turned into basic elements and crushed. The be blown up, eaten and all sorts of deaths. This has become a trope used by quite a few other authors John Scalzi being one. Mostly as a joke. Until now. Star Trek: Red Shirts is a graphic novel written by Christopher Cantwell and illustrated by Megan Levens about the security team of the Federation, the ones who usually die while seeking out new life and new civilizations, and boldly facing death while doing their duty.
The planet of Arkonia 89 has nothing but hostile life, and a observation post for the Federation. Something has hacked into this post, something that might be hostile. To investigate a group of red shirts, the Security branch of the Federation, the expendables as they think of themselves are gathered to find out what is going on. These men and women are young, as most in Security are, with a past surviving exploding ships, bad away missions, and other disasters. They land and find out that the job is much more difficult than expected. The planet is a trap to find out who is watching the Federation. The bait, plans for Constellation class starships. With a little extra red shirt cheese. There is no easy day being in security, and as the day gets longer, things only seem to be getting worse.
A book that is funny, surprising, heartfelt, bitter, and really well done. Cantwell has a really good grasp on what makes Star Trek work. Also Cantwell understands the history of Star Trek and adds quite a lot of lore to make the story really stand out. One can't describe the story's plot without being afraid of giving something away. I suggest not reading anything, just go in cold like I did, and just enjoy. Cantwell has written a story that is filled with Rube Goldberg traps, surprises, and little things that really make one go oh wow. How a man at 40 is considered one of the longest and most experienced security men. The creatures mentioned. The violence. There is so much that is so good. The art is excellent, good rendering of classic Star Trek weapons, equipment, the ships, and the aliens.
I really enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. It's nice that somebody gets Star Trek. I wish they would adapt some of these comic stories instead of making their own spin on things. I know there is a sequel planned for this, and I can't wait to read it. One of my favorite graphic novels, and one I can't stop thinking about.
May 14, 2026
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
Author Cantwell takes a very serious take on the redshirts meme, creating a very graphic and humorless tale of death and betrayal. The graphic novel format allows him to joylessly torture, mutilate, and otherwise do a "Final Destination" take on Star Trek security personnel. It can be mind numbing and honestly far too wordy. But the artwork is wonderfully 1960s spot on and a bright point of the book.Story: Young Ensign Miller joined the security force of the Federation (the 'red shirts') and tried to be idealistic: they protect the fleet and Federation. But it is hard to keep that idealism when your team is killed and your face is ripped off by a Mugato. Now, badly scarred and aboard the SS Warren, he is part of a mission to discover a potential spy threat at a remote monitoring base. When things start to get bad and a simple mission goes awry, he will once again have to watch his fellow red shirts die one-by-one in tragic and horrible ways.
So yes, this is deadly serious and dreary - two words you will never hear describing the Star Trek universe. We are given one narrator, Ensign Miller, who is resigned to fate but not in a remotely humorous or quirky way. Rather, Miller is deadly serious throughout even as his team is destroyed through the caprice and guile of an unknown enemy. It makes for an uncomfortable read and I can't say I really liked most of the characters. Plus, the Star Trek original series cliches are there: haughty Romulans, brutal Klingons, gung ho captains. They all came off as pretty stupid, to be honest.
The art, however, really caught the spirit of the show. 60s hairstyles and original uniforms/machinery. The read was almost worth it for me for that reason alone. The story was anachronistic and not very Star Trek (e.g., a female leader while another female red shirt was the best physical combatant - things that were never in the original 1960s Tv series due to the mores of the age). In this way, the art never really matched the storytelling with one being faithful to the series and the other completely ignoring it. Ironically, the female characters were the most interesting in the book and made the read interesting for me for the scenes they were in.
I would view this as Star Trek through a horror lens. It needed humor and pathos; and no, it would not have needed to be campy to work. The plot twist at the end comes out of left field in a bad way and not an organic one.
In all, I greatly enjoyed the visuals and all its nods to the original series. The illustration work was spot on. The story, however, felt neither Star Trek nor fun/interesting/engaging. It's not new to make a play at the red shirts meme and there is a somewhat original idea here; however, I would have seen this story set more in the DS9 or Voyager era to really work. Definitely not in the original series. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
April 28, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author and artist for this free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
For those people, like me, who saw the cover and thought this was a Star Trek horror story: it is not. (Not in the way you'd think, at least.) However, it is still incredibly good.
The pros: I really loved the cast of this story. We learn just enough about everyone before people start dying, and it's truly a toss-up who will live. We do have a main character, but I still spent most of the story unsure if they'd make it out of this alive or not (no spoilers whether or not they did, lol). Some of the deaths are gruesome as hell, it was awesome. The plot was also interesting - it's clear from early on that there is more to this mission than meets the eye, but even once the villains are revealed, we don't know everything. It definitely kept the suspense up very well throughout the whole story. Like I said up top, I did think this would be a more horror-aligned story given the cover and the ambiguity in the summary, but it's not. That said, there are still definitely horror elements that I enjoyed, and I think I could consider this a sort of "existential horror" when it comes to the concept of the red shirts always dying. I love how much thought and weight this is given when, in the original series, it's practically a running gag. I had a great time!!!
The cons: Really my only hang-up was with the ending twist. I can see some of the foreshadowing for it, but it mostly came out of nowhere, and when I thought on it more, I realized how little it makes sense with the events of the rest of the story. I can't give too many details as it's obviously a major spoiler, but I'm very torn on it, because on one hand I like it and I like how it goes with the commentary of the story as a whole, but on the other hand... It just makes a lot of things not make sense.
All said, I love this concept, I love Star Trek, and this was really fun!!
For those people, like me, who saw the cover and thought this was a Star Trek horror story: it is not. (Not in the way you'd think, at least.) However, it is still incredibly good.
The pros: I really loved the cast of this story. We learn just enough about everyone before people start dying, and it's truly a toss-up who will live. We do have a main character, but I still spent most of the story unsure if they'd make it out of this alive or not (no spoilers whether or not they did, lol). Some of the deaths are gruesome as hell, it was awesome. The plot was also interesting - it's clear from early on that there is more to this mission than meets the eye, but even once the villains are revealed, we don't know everything. It definitely kept the suspense up very well throughout the whole story. Like I said up top, I did think this would be a more horror-aligned story given the cover and the ambiguity in the summary, but it's not. That said, there are still definitely horror elements that I enjoyed, and I think I could consider this a sort of "existential horror" when it comes to the concept of the red shirts always dying. I love how much thought and weight this is given when, in the original series, it's practically a running gag. I had a great time!!!
The cons: Really my only hang-up was with the ending twist. I can see some of the foreshadowing for it, but it mostly came out of nowhere, and when I thought on it more, I realized how little it makes sense with the events of the rest of the story. I can't give too many details as it's obviously a major spoiler, but I'm very torn on it, because on one hand I like it and I like how it goes with the commentary of the story as a whole, but on the other hand... It just makes a lot of things not make sense.
All said, I love this concept, I love Star Trek, and this was really fun!!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Let it be forever recorded: I love Star Trek! I always say this whenever I can, even without knowing a single person who follows or likes the franchise. But I literally say with all my heart that Star Trek has shaped much of my personality, especially in terms of being positive about the future (and obviously my biggest dream is to travel on an Enterprise to learn about new alien cultures and live in a world without money, among other things). To boldly go where no one has gone before!
That said, "Red Shirts" takes precisely what is most characteristic of Star Trek and presents us with the opposite. Instead of the optimistic vision we always see, we have enormous pessimism accompanied by cynicism here. Taking advantage of the idea that in the original stories, the red shirts always ended up dying, the story voraciously addresses the reality of the security personnel. And although I don't appreciate Star Trek being tied to such a violent scenario as the one presented here, I certainly understand the purpose and appreciate the critique it creates.
Because, as we've seen in recent years with Section 31, for something as idealistic and beautiful as Starfleet to exist, someone needs to deal with the ugly things in the universe. Here, the Red Shirts also serve this purpose, simply revealing a reality that any Trekkie can understand between the lines just by watching our beautiful space journey. I was completely horrified by 90% of the scenes, and how graphic they were, especially in a Star Trek universe context, which only proves that the story managed to impact me enough.
Finally, I believe it's a comic exclusively for those who already understand the Star Trek universe, as is the case with 90% of Trekkie comics, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves the franchise as much as I do. Thank you so much NetGalley and IDW Publishing for the ARC, I'm very much looking forward to reading more Star Trek comics in the future!
That said, "Red Shirts" takes precisely what is most characteristic of Star Trek and presents us with the opposite. Instead of the optimistic vision we always see, we have enormous pessimism accompanied by cynicism here. Taking advantage of the idea that in the original stories, the red shirts always ended up dying, the story voraciously addresses the reality of the security personnel. And although I don't appreciate Star Trek being tied to such a violent scenario as the one presented here, I certainly understand the purpose and appreciate the critique it creates.
Because, as we've seen in recent years with Section 31, for something as idealistic and beautiful as Starfleet to exist, someone needs to deal with the ugly things in the universe. Here, the Red Shirts also serve this purpose, simply revealing a reality that any Trekkie can understand between the lines just by watching our beautiful space journey. I was completely horrified by 90% of the scenes, and how graphic they were, especially in a Star Trek universe context, which only proves that the story managed to impact me enough.
Finally, I believe it's a comic exclusively for those who already understand the Star Trek universe, as is the case with 90% of Trekkie comics, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves the franchise as much as I do. Thank you so much NetGalley and IDW Publishing for the ARC, I'm very much looking forward to reading more Star Trek comics in the future!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Star Trek: Red Shirts is… 💥 (Stepped on a landmine. oops.)
Anyway, Star Trek: Red Shirts is… 🔶 (Changed into a styrofoam polygon. Dangit.)
So, Star Trek: Red Shirts… 👴 (Ugh. Aged rapidly and died from old age. Drat.)
Ahhh! Anyway. Star Trek: Red Shirts is about the security division of Starfleet, the brave souls who charge headfirst into danger and usually die before the opening theme song rolls.
📖 “Star Trek: Red Shirts.”
📝 Writer: Christopher Cantwell
📔 Cover Artist: Chris Shehan
👨🏻🎨 Artist: Megan Levens
🖍️ Colorist: Charlie Kirchoff
🔡 Letterer: Jodie Troutman
🏢 Publisher: IDW
🗓️ Published: May 12, 2026
A group of 12 Starfleet security personnel are sent on a daring mission uncover an unknown antagonist spying on a distant starbase. Set the trap. Neutralize the enemy. Try not to die in the process. What could possibly go wrong?
I am a long-time Star Trek fan, so it was a delight to revisit the world of The Original Series. Page 1 opened with a cameo appearance from Commodore Decker. This comic is firmly grounded in the world of the television show. However, it resists the urge to pack its pages with callbacks and fan service.
Megan Levens' art is very strong. Retro-futuristic technology, strange new worlds, new life and new civilizations: this comic feels like Star Trek. It feels like stepping into an episode of The Original Series.
However, don’t let the art fool you - this story isn’t 60’s TV fare. In issue 1 alone, several redshirts die. This is a disaster-movie-style story of peril and survival with a touch of espionage thriller. Full credit to Cantwell and Levens, each of the comic’s deaths have impact. We like these characters. We want to see them to succeed. So, when they die, often gorily and sometimes at shocking and unexpected moments, we feel the loss.
In places, the tone initially felt more cynical than conventional Star Trek stories. However, the end of the comic uses this cynicism in a really interesting way and places this story firmly in Star Trek territory. I wish I could spoil the ending because, for me, it made this comic. You’ll just have to wait and read it for yourself.
Suffice it to say, I could not be more thrilled that this comic is getting a sequel this year. I cannot wait to read the next installment! I very rarely buy individual issues as they are coming out, but this comic might just change that…
Go read this comic!
4.5/5 Stars
Thank you IDW Publishing for providing a copy of this ebook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Anyway, Star Trek: Red Shirts is… 🔶 (Changed into a styrofoam polygon. Dangit.)
So, Star Trek: Red Shirts… 👴 (Ugh. Aged rapidly and died from old age. Drat.)
Ahhh! Anyway. Star Trek: Red Shirts is about the security division of Starfleet, the brave souls who charge headfirst into danger and usually die before the opening theme song rolls.
📖 “Star Trek: Red Shirts.”
📝 Writer: Christopher Cantwell
📔 Cover Artist: Chris Shehan
👨🏻🎨 Artist: Megan Levens
🖍️ Colorist: Charlie Kirchoff
🔡 Letterer: Jodie Troutman
🏢 Publisher: IDW
🗓️ Published: May 12, 2026
A group of 12 Starfleet security personnel are sent on a daring mission uncover an unknown antagonist spying on a distant starbase. Set the trap. Neutralize the enemy. Try not to die in the process. What could possibly go wrong?
I am a long-time Star Trek fan, so it was a delight to revisit the world of The Original Series. Page 1 opened with a cameo appearance from Commodore Decker. This comic is firmly grounded in the world of the television show. However, it resists the urge to pack its pages with callbacks and fan service.
Megan Levens' art is very strong. Retro-futuristic technology, strange new worlds, new life and new civilizations: this comic feels like Star Trek. It feels like stepping into an episode of The Original Series.
However, don’t let the art fool you - this story isn’t 60’s TV fare. In issue 1 alone, several redshirts die. This is a disaster-movie-style story of peril and survival with a touch of espionage thriller. Full credit to Cantwell and Levens, each of the comic’s deaths have impact. We like these characters. We want to see them to succeed. So, when they die, often gorily and sometimes at shocking and unexpected moments, we feel the loss.
In places, the tone initially felt more cynical than conventional Star Trek stories. However, the end of the comic uses this cynicism in a really interesting way and places this story firmly in Star Trek territory. I wish I could spoil the ending because, for me, it made this comic. You’ll just have to wait and read it for yourself.
Suffice it to say, I could not be more thrilled that this comic is getting a sequel this year. I cannot wait to read the next installment! I very rarely buy individual issues as they are coming out, but this comic might just change that…
Go read this comic!
4.5/5 Stars
Thank you IDW Publishing for providing a copy of this ebook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
March 19, 2026
I’m always a big fan of texts that are self-aware of their franchise, and I knew from the very moment I saw the title of this comic series with that AWESOME cover that this would be worth the read. How does that joke go? A stormtrooper misses every shot but the red shirt does anyway?
It’s nice to see the security officers of Star Trek get their time to shine in that self-aware comic following a group of 10 security officers sent on a secret mission, doomed to be disposable.
This comic is definitely Self-aware, keeping in with the Star Trek spirit. There was a nice mix of levity with the jokes, and the more dark and gruesome commentary. It had the feel of a Nostalgic read geared more towards pre-existing Star Trek fans than as an introduction to the space. That being said, it’s definitely enjoyable for even the most casual of fans.
For a short comic, there was some pretty through moments. The chilli recipe for one was a nice touch.
Art Style:
Gorgeous full colour art. The deaths were portrayed with as just graphic enough to be impactful, without being nauseatingly gorey.
The art posters at the end were fantastic. I particularly liked the spoof of recruitment-propaganda posters.
The ending:
The ending was GREAT! Fantastic little plot twist that fit in well with the sardonic tone of the comic in general. And of course the cameo was great.
Overall I really enjoyed this read!
Thank you to IDW Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
It’s nice to see the security officers of Star Trek get their time to shine in that self-aware comic following a group of 10 security officers sent on a secret mission, doomed to be disposable.
This comic is definitely Self-aware, keeping in with the Star Trek spirit. There was a nice mix of levity with the jokes, and the more dark and gruesome commentary. It had the feel of a Nostalgic read geared more towards pre-existing Star Trek fans than as an introduction to the space. That being said, it’s definitely enjoyable for even the most casual of fans.
For a short comic, there was some pretty through moments. The chilli recipe for one was a nice touch.
Art Style:
Gorgeous full colour art. The deaths were portrayed with as just graphic enough to be impactful, without being nauseatingly gorey.
The art posters at the end were fantastic. I particularly liked the spoof of recruitment-propaganda posters.
The ending:
The ending was GREAT! Fantastic little plot twist that fit in well with the sardonic tone of the comic in general. And of course the cameo was great.
Overall I really enjoyed this read!
Thank you to IDW Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Ah yes. The eponymous Red Shirt Syndrome. The idea that if you wear red, you have to believe you're expendable at any time.
I never read the comics by themselves and actually I'm often too impatient to read while they're being published one-by-one so I love collections like this one. I've read Cantwell's other Star Trek comics like Defiant so I knew generally what to expect.
But, if you haven't read any of the singular issues and you're used to the tame deaths of the Original Series (and generally the rest of the old school Trek), you will find yourself perhaps a little grossed out. No big spoilers but since we all know red shirts die we expect them to in this book. I just won't name names or situations/manner of death. I'll just say, be aware going in that depending on your constitution this might fall under "dead dove" for you.
The art was good as expected. The story was something that I feel needs a lot more exploration post-final issue. Perhaps we will get it. There is one character I really need to know more about and there's another that I wonder the wisdom in making them non-binary and how this was approached.
If you're into palace intrigue type things and enjoy when your Star Trek has an actual workable plot, you'll be into this. Just, again, be aware of the gore that happens when you're a Red Shirt.
(I'm a Red Shirt but under Engineering not Security. We're a little safer. ;) )
Thank you to NetGalley and IDW for the review copy.
I never read the comics by themselves and actually I'm often too impatient to read while they're being published one-by-one so I love collections like this one. I've read Cantwell's other Star Trek comics like Defiant so I knew generally what to expect.
But, if you haven't read any of the singular issues and you're used to the tame deaths of the Original Series (and generally the rest of the old school Trek), you will find yourself perhaps a little grossed out. No big spoilers but since we all know red shirts die we expect them to in this book. I just won't name names or situations/manner of death. I'll just say, be aware going in that depending on your constitution this might fall under "dead dove" for you.
The art was good as expected. The story was something that I feel needs a lot more exploration post-final issue. Perhaps we will get it. There is one character I really need to know more about and there's another that I wonder the wisdom in making them non-binary and how this was approached.
If you're into palace intrigue type things and enjoy when your Star Trek has an actual workable plot, you'll be into this. Just, again, be aware of the gore that happens when you're a Red Shirt.
(I'm a Red Shirt but under Engineering not Security. We're a little safer. ;) )
Thank you to NetGalley and IDW for the review copy.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
John Scalzi effectively satirized the tendency of security forces to frequently die on away missions on the original Star Trek television series in his novel Redshirts. Now Christopher Cantwell tries to take the title back in this grim, humorless, and bleak misfire.
More a meat grinder than a story, ensigns and lieutenants dressed in red are whittled down like teenagers in a slasher flick as they battle native hostile lifeforms on a remote planet and the enemy agents being lured into a trap there with the promise of nabbing some of Starfleet's military intelligence data. Most get only a cursory introduction before bowing out in some gruesome or gory manner.
It's set during the time of The Original Series, but this story is way too cynical and dark in tone -- especially thanks to the narrating character -- to really fit in with that show. But some familiar faces do make some cameos at least.
I only recommend this to people who like entertainment with a running bodycount tally, like maybe the Saw movies? Not my cuppa.
Disclosure: I received access to a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contains material originally published in single magazine form as Star Trek: Red Shirts #1-5.
More a meat grinder than a story, ensigns and lieutenants dressed in red are whittled down like teenagers in a slasher flick as they battle native hostile lifeforms on a remote planet and the enemy agents being lured into a trap there with the promise of nabbing some of Starfleet's military intelligence data. Most get only a cursory introduction before bowing out in some gruesome or gory manner.
It's set during the time of The Original Series, but this story is way too cynical and dark in tone -- especially thanks to the narrating character -- to really fit in with that show. But some familiar faces do make some cameos at least.
I only recommend this to people who like entertainment with a running bodycount tally, like maybe the Saw movies? Not my cuppa.
Disclosure: I received access to a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contains material originally published in single magazine form as Star Trek: Red Shirts #1-5.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and IDW for providing me with a copy of the comic Star Trek: Red Shirts for review.
I haven't read many Star Trek comics - mostly just the Lower Decks ones, and those have a very different tone - but it struck me almost immediately that this story took itself seriously. It wasn't trying it make a joke or in any way be diminished by its medium: it is a Star Trek story, and it is not a lighthearted one.
We follow a team of red shirts - security officers - as they try to weed out a leak in Starfleet communications that is providing enemy forces with classified intelligence. It is very, very easy to grow attached to each member of the cast. They all bring something unique to the table, and are all endearing in their own way. But I think it's important to understand that this story is ultimately a tragedy, and it does live up to the red shirt lore of the television series that have preceded it.
This story was well-paced, had fantastic and vibrant art, and contained a few unexpected twists and turns. The ending disappointed me a little not because I thought it was bad - it's not, it's incredible - but because I truly felt for how the lead character's story turned out. I wanted better for all the red shirts in this story, including the lead. Alas! Instead we get a delicious graphic novel to sink our teeth into. This one will really have me thinking about it for weeks.
I haven't read many Star Trek comics - mostly just the Lower Decks ones, and those have a very different tone - but it struck me almost immediately that this story took itself seriously. It wasn't trying it make a joke or in any way be diminished by its medium: it is a Star Trek story, and it is not a lighthearted one.
We follow a team of red shirts - security officers - as they try to weed out a leak in Starfleet communications that is providing enemy forces with classified intelligence. It is very, very easy to grow attached to each member of the cast. They all bring something unique to the table, and are all endearing in their own way. But I think it's important to understand that this story is ultimately a tragedy, and it does live up to the red shirt lore of the television series that have preceded it.
This story was well-paced, had fantastic and vibrant art, and contained a few unexpected twists and turns. The ending disappointed me a little not because I thought it was bad - it's not, it's incredible - but because I truly felt for how the lead character's story turned out. I wanted better for all the red shirts in this story, including the lead. Alas! Instead we get a delicious graphic novel to sink our teeth into. This one will really have me thinking about it for weeks.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Red Shirts is a dark, violent take on the Star Trek universe. In fact, it was much darker and more violent than I was expecting. Every issue is chock full of kills that feel straight out of Mortal Kombat. Seriously, this thing has gore that would make Robert Kirkman flinch. It also has a lot of "language," though most of it is comic=bookified %@!. The violence, language, and portrayal of Starfleet is very different from anything I've seen from the franchise, and it's pretty jarring at times.
However, all of that is a very intentional choice. There's a story being told here that is full of twists and turns, and while the reader is still left with a tale delivered in a way that, at times, doesn't feel very "Trek," I think it still works. It's helped by absolutely stellar art by Megan Levens that takes the distinctly TOS-era sets, costumes, and vibe and paints it with such a grounded brush that it feels much more real than it ever did on camera. I also think the choice to use the TOS look, rather than the more modern Discovery/SNW sensibility, draws a stronger contrast with the dark, gritty content. It's not just trying to be edgy, but it is trying to keep the reader on edge.
Overall, the story, characters, and art had me absolutely hooked, even if I still feel off-kilter from the level of violence and nihilism on display. Honestly? I think that's what the author intended.
Huge thanks to IDW and NetGalley for the review copy.
However, all of that is a very intentional choice. There's a story being told here that is full of twists and turns, and while the reader is still left with a tale delivered in a way that, at times, doesn't feel very "Trek," I think it still works. It's helped by absolutely stellar art by Megan Levens that takes the distinctly TOS-era sets, costumes, and vibe and paints it with such a grounded brush that it feels much more real than it ever did on camera. I also think the choice to use the TOS look, rather than the more modern Discovery/SNW sensibility, draws a stronger contrast with the dark, gritty content. It's not just trying to be edgy, but it is trying to keep the reader on edge.
Overall, the story, characters, and art had me absolutely hooked, even if I still feel off-kilter from the level of violence and nihilism on display. Honestly? I think that's what the author intended.
Huge thanks to IDW and NetGalley for the review copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I live in a very Star Trek forward household. My dad is obsessed, my husband has watched every series there is, and I have seen the Original Series more times than I can count. Growing up as a fan, my biggest question was always "WTF happens to the poor Red Shirts?" They are the ultimate expendables, and this graphic novel finally explores that life in a way that is funny, bitter, and surprisingly deep for how deadly it is. My thanks to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for the ARC!
There is a lot of death in this book, but it is handled with so much love for the lore that it works perfectly. The storytelling is top notch, especially the journal entries from Chip Miller. I loved following his perspective, only for the rug to be pulled out at the end It is such a clever way to show the consequences of being treated as disposable.
Visually, the book is stunning. The art is great, but the bumper images by Chris Shehan of the deceased Red Shirts were weirdly and amazingly well done. I also really appreciated the gallery of additional art by other artists at the end of the book because it was such a cool bonus. If you are a Trek fan who has ever felt bad for the guys who do not make it back to the ship, you need to pick this up. I am already looking forward to the sequel!
There is a lot of death in this book, but it is handled with so much love for the lore that it works perfectly. The storytelling is top notch, especially the journal entries from Chip Miller. I loved following his perspective, only for the rug to be pulled out at the end It is such a clever way to show the consequences of being treated as disposable.
Visually, the book is stunning. The art is great, but the bumper images by Chris Shehan of the deceased Red Shirts were weirdly and amazingly well done. I also really appreciated the gallery of additional art by other artists at the end of the book because it was such a cool bonus. If you are a Trek fan who has ever felt bad for the guys who do not make it back to the ship, you need to pick this up. I am already looking forward to the sequel!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I am not a Star Trek fan. I don't dislike the franchise; in fact, I seem to have enjoyed most everything I have watched from Star Trek. I just don't follow it, and it has been years since I've watched one of their movies or shows. I have never read any of the Star Trek comics and picked this up out of curiosity as the synopsis sounded good, and a desire to be more open to comics that are new to me.
That being said, I am glad I read this as the story was great, the art was fantastic, and overall, I enjoyed it very much. The story is a good team on a mission plot with elements of sci-fi (of course), espionage, and heaps of action. Once the action begins, the red shirts involved start dying in surprising ways at unexpected times, heightening the tension and leaving the reader guessing who will survive.
My favorite part of this collection was the writing. It was able to connect with me, even as a non-Star Trek fan, and I was able to enjoy it as an espionage-soaked, action-filled sci-fi adventure. The characters were clearly established, and the main characters were able to be fully developed in only a limited number of pages. I would even read this again, even after knowing the surprises and twists that it holds.
What Works: The writing is excellent, and the art does an outstanding job of supporting the story.
What Doesn’t:
Final Thoughts: The great story and art make this collection recommended for all comic fans!
Rating: 7 of 10 phasers
That being said, I am glad I read this as the story was great, the art was fantastic, and overall, I enjoyed it very much. The story is a good team on a mission plot with elements of sci-fi (of course), espionage, and heaps of action. Once the action begins, the red shirts involved start dying in surprising ways at unexpected times, heightening the tension and leaving the reader guessing who will survive.
My favorite part of this collection was the writing. It was able to connect with me, even as a non-Star Trek fan, and I was able to enjoy it as an espionage-soaked, action-filled sci-fi adventure. The characters were clearly established, and the main characters were able to be fully developed in only a limited number of pages. I would even read this again, even after knowing the surprises and twists that it holds.
What Works: The writing is excellent, and the art does an outstanding job of supporting the story.
What Doesn’t:
Final Thoughts: The great story and art make this collection recommended for all comic fans!
Rating: 7 of 10 phasers
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5 rounded down because I was bored. Red Shirts is meant for readers already familiar with the Star Trek universe. You might be familiar with Scalzis similarly titled book but where that satirizes the trope, this dives into it’s emotional landscape in an intense way.
Our MMC, Chip Miller, recently survived being abandoned after an attack on planet left him the sole survivor. Starfleet takes its sweet a$$ time circling back to see if anyone’s still alive. Chip survives by eating the sh*t of the Mugato that killed the rest of the team. By this point you know this is going to be much darker than your average Trek adventure.
Chip gets assigned to another security team on an away mission to lure in & catch an enemy spy. Immediately red shirts start dying, until we’re left with 11 who get picked off one by one trying to execute the mission. They discover they weren’t given correct intel by starfleet, the mission is far more dangerous than it needs to be & that they have zero back up. In contrast to the other red shirts, traumatized Chips goal is simply to survive, he doesn’t want to do anything heroic or seem to care about the mission.
There are many people who this storyline would appeal to it just wasn’t for me. By the final issue Chips complicated feelings towards starfleet felt repetitive rather than continuing to add new dimension to his story. There’s a bit of a twist at the end that it would have been interesting if we’d had more time to explore it.
Our MMC, Chip Miller, recently survived being abandoned after an attack on planet left him the sole survivor. Starfleet takes its sweet a$$ time circling back to see if anyone’s still alive. Chip survives by eating the sh*t of the Mugato that killed the rest of the team. By this point you know this is going to be much darker than your average Trek adventure.
Chip gets assigned to another security team on an away mission to lure in & catch an enemy spy. Immediately red shirts start dying, until we’re left with 11 who get picked off one by one trying to execute the mission. They discover they weren’t given correct intel by starfleet, the mission is far more dangerous than it needs to be & that they have zero back up. In contrast to the other red shirts, traumatized Chips goal is simply to survive, he doesn’t want to do anything heroic or seem to care about the mission.
There are many people who this storyline would appeal to it just wasn’t for me. By the final issue Chips complicated feelings towards starfleet felt repetitive rather than continuing to add new dimension to his story. There’s a bit of a twist at the end that it would have been interesting if we’d had more time to explore it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was able to read and review an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and IDW publishing. It collects the mini-series comic Red Shirts (issues 1-5) in one book.
As a lifelong Trek fan, I went into this expecting the usual "Red Shirt" gags, but what I found was a story with surprising depth and heart. This isn't just a collection of casual jokes for Trekkies; it's a thoughtful examination of the people behind the uniforms.
The Vibe: The art captures the TOS aesthetic perfectly—it felt like stepping back onto the 1960s set but with a modern, crisp energy. The nods to Commander Decker and the Mugato were the perfect "Easter eggs" for seasoned fans.
The Narrative: I loved the shift in perspective. Instead of being naive "expendables," these characters are depicted as professionals who understand exactly what they are getting into. It turns a decades-old meme into a badge of honor and really explored what it meant to be a Red Shirt.
The Execution: The pacing was fantastic, the character voices felt authentic to the era, and that twist—absolute chef’s kiss! It elevated the entire book from a fun tie-in to a must-read for anyone who loves the 23rd-century era and loves critically examining Starfleet and its ideals (I mean, don't we all?).
A brilliant quick read that leaves you looking at the gold, blue, and especially the red shirts in a whole new light.
As a lifelong Trek fan, I went into this expecting the usual "Red Shirt" gags, but what I found was a story with surprising depth and heart. This isn't just a collection of casual jokes for Trekkies; it's a thoughtful examination of the people behind the uniforms.
The Vibe: The art captures the TOS aesthetic perfectly—it felt like stepping back onto the 1960s set but with a modern, crisp energy. The nods to Commander Decker and the Mugato were the perfect "Easter eggs" for seasoned fans.
The Narrative: I loved the shift in perspective. Instead of being naive "expendables," these characters are depicted as professionals who understand exactly what they are getting into. It turns a decades-old meme into a badge of honor and really explored what it meant to be a Red Shirt.
The Execution: The pacing was fantastic, the character voices felt authentic to the era, and that twist—absolute chef’s kiss! It elevated the entire book from a fun tie-in to a must-read for anyone who loves the 23rd-century era and loves critically examining Starfleet and its ideals (I mean, don't we all?).
A brilliant quick read that leaves you looking at the gold, blue, and especially the red shirts in a whole new light.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Poor Redshirts. Used up, ignored, left behind; they’re the first to be beaten up and the last to ever get names. If they get them at all. It’s a running joke … but this comic takes the joke and decides to play it straight, lets you get to know a handful of redshirts on a mission — a mission they’re given only the sketchiest briefing about, only partial information and zero backup — and then kills them off, one by one. These poor hopeless fools think they’re doing something good, being a spark of light in the darkness … and for what? For who?
Despite how dark it is, and how gory, I enjoyed this comic. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, and I get that, but I think it’s an excellent character study and does some actual quality world building. The art is clean, the action is easy to read, and each death is memorable. I felt sorry for these characters, I wanted them to live, and the end? Ouch.
Very much worth the read! Thank you so very much to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Set in the "Star Trek: The Original Series" era, Redshirts follows, you guessed it, a large team of Redshirts assigned to a risky and clandestine security job on a distant planet. Spy games quickly ensue, and the story ultimately features not just one but two of the show's regular antagonists. In the midst of the action, Cantwell manages to sneak in a couple of alien creature feature interludes.
Redshirts tries to balance the tone of classic TOS fiction with a more tongue-in-cheek modern perspective. The character development in the book isn't exceptional, and, despite the ever-building body count, the plot feels like it is plodding along a necessary sequence of events. The end result is merely satisfactory. Fans of TOS and classic space opera will surely enjoy the story, but others may be left bored long before the final reveal.
While the featured cover art is clearly exceptional, I wasn't particularly taken by the art style in the book itself.
End verdict? If it sounds like your thing, you'll probably enjoy it, but it won't be bringing in many new Star Trek: TOS converts.
Redshirts tries to balance the tone of classic TOS fiction with a more tongue-in-cheek modern perspective. The character development in the book isn't exceptional, and, despite the ever-building body count, the plot feels like it is plodding along a necessary sequence of events. The end result is merely satisfactory. Fans of TOS and classic space opera will surely enjoy the story, but others may be left bored long before the final reveal.
While the featured cover art is clearly exceptional, I wasn't particularly taken by the art style in the book itself.
End verdict? If it sounds like your thing, you'll probably enjoy it, but it won't be bringing in many new Star Trek: TOS converts.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you Netgalley, IDW Publishing and Christopher Cantwell for the eARC of "Star Trek: Red Shirts" in exchange for an honest review.
I grew up with Star Trek and recently came back to it. However, I'd never read a Star Trek comic before. I did enjoy this comic and even as a casual fan, it was easy to follow along and understand. A few references I picked up, but I'm sure I would have picked up more if I was much heavier into the fandom than I am. I wasn't too fond of the ending, but I'm sure if you are more versed in the lore than I am then you will probably enjoy it a lot more than me. I enjoyed how the comic didn't hold back. It very much leaned into the peril and disaster that these missions take and the cynical tone was interesting for me. Don't get me wrong, I love my feel good, happy, and comedic dark moments, but there's something about seeing a cynical side to a something that doesn't always outright show it in such a dark way that really gets me invested. I hope there is more to come and if so, I can't wait to see where it goes.
I grew up with Star Trek and recently came back to it. However, I'd never read a Star Trek comic before. I did enjoy this comic and even as a casual fan, it was easy to follow along and understand. A few references I picked up, but I'm sure I would have picked up more if I was much heavier into the fandom than I am. I wasn't too fond of the ending, but I'm sure if you are more versed in the lore than I am then you will probably enjoy it a lot more than me. I enjoyed how the comic didn't hold back. It very much leaned into the peril and disaster that these missions take and the cynical tone was interesting for me. Don't get me wrong, I love my feel good, happy, and comedic dark moments, but there's something about seeing a cynical side to a something that doesn't always outright show it in such a dark way that really gets me invested. I hope there is more to come and if so, I can't wait to see where it goes.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
As someone who genuinely loves Star Trek, I had a great time with Star Trek: Red Shirts. The concept alone—finally giving the famously doomed red shirts their own story—felt like such a clever way to play with one of the franchise’s longest-running jokes. Instead of being the background characters who disappear halfway through the episode, they’re front and center, and it was fun seeing their perspective on a dangerous mission gone wrong.
The story is gritty, tense, and occasionally brutal, but it still carries that sense of camaraderie and exploration that makes me love the Star Trek universe in the first place. I also appreciated how it gave emotional weight to characters who are usually treated as expendable. Not every moment fully landed for me, but overall it was a really enjoyable read and a cool twist on a classic Star Trek trope.
Thank you to NetGalley, Christopher Cantwell, and IDW Publishing for sharing an ARC of this book.
The story is gritty, tense, and occasionally brutal, but it still carries that sense of camaraderie and exploration that makes me love the Star Trek universe in the first place. I also appreciated how it gave emotional weight to characters who are usually treated as expendable. Not every moment fully landed for me, but overall it was a really enjoyable read and a cool twist on a classic Star Trek trope.
Thank you to NetGalley, Christopher Cantwell, and IDW Publishing for sharing an ARC of this book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was fun! This is coming from someone who is not a Star Trek fan, so take that for what you will. Not that I dislike it, I just don't know if any sort of nostalgia will affect your enjoyment of the book because it's pretty different from what I've heard Star Trek tends to be. It's super mean spirited, which I liked, but from what I understand, is pretty different from the hopeful tone that the series generally has. Then again, I haven't watched enough of it to know hah. I do know the red shirts are supposed to be the one's who die all the time, and they for sure do that in this. So yeah, it was really fun. It's very darkly comedic because you don't really know for sure who's gonna die next, and it's usually pretty gruesome when they do. I had a good time reading it and I'm gonna lookout for more if this is an ongoing series. It ends at a point where it could go either way, so we'll see.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Star Trek: Red Shirts is an intense and Suspenseful read that will leave you guessing on the full story and events from the perspective of Security officer Chip Miller.
A group of Red shirt Federation officers are left on a planet to track down and identify spies while trying to survive a dangerous planet, Knowing full well the Federation has not given them all the information they need to all survive.
While red shirts are often the running inside joke in the star trek franchise for which characters always die first, This comic run by Christopher Cantwell leaves you with the perspective of the red shirt security officers knowing that inside joke and them all feeling like canon fodder to the larger Star fleet but having a real bond between each other to ensure each others survival .
This 5 issue comic has loads of suspenseful twists in the story that will continue leaving you guessing and a little in shock come the end!!
4 stars
A group of Red shirt Federation officers are left on a planet to track down and identify spies while trying to survive a dangerous planet, Knowing full well the Federation has not given them all the information they need to all survive.
While red shirts are often the running inside joke in the star trek franchise for which characters always die first, This comic run by Christopher Cantwell leaves you with the perspective of the red shirt security officers knowing that inside joke and them all feeling like canon fodder to the larger Star fleet but having a real bond between each other to ensure each others survival .
This 5 issue comic has loads of suspenseful twists in the story that will continue leaving you guessing and a little in shock come the end!!
4 stars
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
As expected, you see a lot of security officers dying in this collected volume of Star Trek: Red Shirts. You barely learn a characters name before: “Boom!”, “Splat!”, “POW!”, they’re guts and bone fragments.
The plot was actually pretty “meh” despite the intriguing premise. It felt pretty by the numbers (away team sets a trap, plans go awry, there’s a twist!) but the end was somewhat of a surprise (although predictable if you follow the clues). The narration was full of negativity towards Star Fleet and the captains, and how they treat their security teams.
I don’t think I’ll continue this series- I’m not too invested or interested at this time, but if you’re a die hard Trekkie, you’ll probably enjoy this collection.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, illustrator, and IDW Publishing.
The plot was actually pretty “meh” despite the intriguing premise. It felt pretty by the numbers (away team sets a trap, plans go awry, there’s a twist!) but the end was somewhat of a surprise (although predictable if you follow the clues). The narration was full of negativity towards Star Fleet and the captains, and how they treat their security teams.
I don’t think I’ll continue this series- I’m not too invested or interested at this time, but if you’re a die hard Trekkie, you’ll probably enjoy this collection.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, illustrator, and IDW Publishing.
Did Not Finish
April 23, 2026I got about 30% in and realized that this is not for me. It’s a series more aligned with all the new Star Trek series. If you like those series, you will like this graphic novel. But, there is literally less than 10% of Star Trek in this graphic novel that’s supposed to be about Starfleet Security officers.
I could rant about the language, the attitude about Starfleet and how Starfleet is portrayed, or even the dismissal of the Klingons, but I would be rambling forever. If you like Star Trek for the science-fiction aspect, then you probably will not like this graphic novel. It is 100% fiction with 0% science.
It would have been better to just make this some random outer space adventure because the only thing Trek about it is the uniforms.
Thank you to @idwpublishing for providing me with a copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review. Sorry it didn’t work out.
I could rant about the language, the attitude about Starfleet and how Starfleet is portrayed, or even the dismissal of the Klingons, but I would be rambling forever. If you like Star Trek for the science-fiction aspect, then you probably will not like this graphic novel. It is 100% fiction with 0% science.
It would have been better to just make this some random outer space adventure because the only thing Trek about it is the uniforms.
Thank you to @idwpublishing for providing me with a copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review. Sorry it didn’t work out.
Read
December 20, 2025Redshirts is darkly comedic. But it is also pretty dark.
(In the TOS era) : Ten Redshirts sent to a planet to investigate some spy equipment that has been hacked.
The premise feels akin to that funny D&D campaign idea where you fill entire party is full of Paladins. Mixed in is a "Final Destination" twist with the creative and unique deaths our party is about to encounter.
One nice little touch is that each chapter begins with a Dramatis Personae of all of the redshirt involved, with each subsequent chapter X-ing or greying out the characters as they get killed off.
Once again: if it were not for the tongue-in-cheek trope, this book would come off as extremely dark and cynical, feeling very Un-"Star Treky".
(In the TOS era) : Ten Redshirts sent to a planet to investigate some spy equipment that has been hacked.
The premise feels akin to that funny D&D campaign idea where you fill entire party is full of Paladins. Mixed in is a "Final Destination" twist with the creative and unique deaths our party is about to encounter.
One nice little touch is that each chapter begins with a Dramatis Personae of all of the redshirt involved, with each subsequent chapter X-ing or greying out the characters as they get killed off.
Once again: if it were not for the tongue-in-cheek trope, this book would come off as extremely dark and cynical, feeling very Un-"Star Treky".
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Finally, the plight of the redshirt is told! Of course, you know what fate has in store for them, but there were some creative twists in the story tellings and generous nods to classic Star Trek lore (well, not Lore, but lore). The artwork was detailed and imaginative, worthy of framing a page or two. My only wish is that there had been more "sci" in the "fi" if you know what I mean; that is always my favorite part of Star Trek. However, point taken that redshirts mostly live on the action side of the franchise. This book lives firmly at the genre crossroads of Trekkie, Horror, and Graphic Novels, and I think longtime Trekkies will love it.
Thank you to NetGalley, Christopher Cantwell, and IDW Publishing for sharing an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley, Christopher Cantwell, and IDW Publishing for sharing an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this for an honest review.
Star Trek Red Shirts was what I thought it would be - a bunch of characters you know nothing about and won't because they'll be dead within the next ten or so pages.
I did enjoy reading this for what it was. No one ever names the Red Shirts, and them having names made them slightly more real. I didn't bother remembering any as they all ended up dead anyway. The twist with the Romulans and was interesting but I felt it was lacking. The asset was something I was expected and gave more depth to the story.
Overall this was a decent read, and was enjoyable.
Star Trek Red Shirts was what I thought it would be - a bunch of characters you know nothing about and won't because they'll be dead within the next ten or so pages.
I did enjoy reading this for what it was. No one ever names the Red Shirts, and them having names made them slightly more real. I didn't bother remembering any as they all ended up dead anyway. The twist with the Romulans and was interesting but I felt it was lacking. The asset was something I was expected and gave more depth to the story.
Overall this was a decent read, and was enjoyable.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
As an avid fan of Star Trek (The Next Generation only), I was looking forward to Red Shirts (vol 1-5). It was packed with action, but also a lot of heart and introspective thinking about security personnel’s place in the Federation. I never thought of that before as I have seen so many of them being ordered on missions and never returning. Graphics in book were easy to understand and done well. Story well done with an interesting twist at the end that I did not see coming. I’d definitely read more. Thanks #netgalley for the ARC.
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