Star Trek Voyager: Seven's Reckoning #1

Star Trek Voyager: Seven’s Reckoning #1

IDW Publishing 2020

Written by Dave Baker

Illustrated by Angel Hernandez

Coloured by Ronda Pattison

Lettered by Neil Uyetake

After Voyager encounters a damaged alien ship deep in the Delta quadrant, what at first seems to be a simple repair mission becomes much more complicated for Seven of Nine as she becomes involved in an ancient conflict that will put her newfound humanity to the test.

I have been so utterly impressed with the line of Star Trek books that IDW has been putting out and this is no exception. Now if we can get a Star Trek Enterprise next I will be a much happier camper and we’ll have gotten interesting stories from each show. Also that Seven appears in Picard means this is the next logical story to be told. I think that by choosing the timeframe of when this takes place is an interesting one. She hasn’t left the Borg all that long ago and still considers herself Borg so it is really is a time for character development and growth in many ways. I have even more excitement for where this is going than I had before reading it and that’s saying something.

I thoroughly enjoying the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented extremely well. The opening here is dynamic and interesting and it highly resembles a splash page and it does a sensational job in piquing the interest, setting the time frame and getting us underway. The character development that we see here is extremely interesting and quite intriguing. I say this because while it may be a tad too easy to slip into the role we see them in but there is a new race to encounter who are blank slates. Well not entirely but you get what I mean hopefully. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way as it starts us on this journey.

The way we see this being structured and how the layering within the story is starting to take shape you are pulled right into the midst of Voyager and her crew. Seeing how everything works together to creates the story’s ebb & flow is so beautifully done.

The interiors here are really quite sensational to see. I love how we see the linework and it’s varying weights being utilised there even seems to be varying techniques in use as well and all of this creates some dynamic attention to detail. From a non-functioning warp core to the frescoes on the walls to the creativity and imagination in how we see the alien races is stunning work. This is the epitome of modern science fiction and it encapsulates every possible genre imaginable and to see it brought to life like we do shows such stupendous talent. The way we see backgrounds being so integral to the story brings me joy and how they showcase depth perception, a sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is magnificently done. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work we see is phenomenal. I like how we see the hues and tones within the colours are being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work. I like the different techniques we see in how the colour is laid down as well.

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The Star Trek world is huge and encompasses so many different era’s and sections of the known universe and beyond so to play in this particular playground has to be such a good time. The fun, passion and enjoyment of the creators is certainly on display here and it is rather infectious.