REVIEW: Star Trek: Prelude to Day of Blood & Lower Decks #1 Free Comic Book Day 2023

3.25/5.0 Stars
Rating if the Book Were a Movie: PG-13

Creative Team 

Writer: Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Christopher Cantwell, & Ryan North
Artist: Mike Feehan, Chris Fenoglio
Colors: Lee Loughridge, Chris Fenoglio
Letters: Clayton Cowles, Johanna Nattalie
Cover: Malachi Ward
Editor: Heather Antos
Publisher: IDW Publishing

Ratings 

Story: 3.3
Interior Artwork: 3.4
Cover Artwork: 3.3
Dialogue: 3.3
Mechanics: 3.2
Editing: 3.0

About the Book:

This book is two stories in one that came out as part of Free Comic Book Day 2023. Both set in the Star Trek universe. The first book is an original story and the second is set in the Lower Decks TV show

When the USS Santa Cruz arrives at the Klingon colony planet. The Captain takes a Klingon warrior down to the planet via shuttle craft during a Klingon ceremony that suddenly erupts into a revolution.

The second story follows the USS Cerritos as they travel through space, but centers on the lower deck series main characters as they enjoy some rest and relaxation on the holodeck.

Reviewer’s Notes:

If you look up Galaxy Quest, you will get where I got the name of the section I post these reviews in, which is a spoof of Star Trek itself.  Star Trek inspires many adventures in the form of games, books, and cosplay.  But can also be the end of various jokes and criticism’s that pick it apart.

Star Trek can also inspire people to be better than they are, and to always reach for the stars.  For me it also brings back childhood memories, and to see more stories come out almost always piques my interest.

The first book is a Prelude to the upcoming series Day of Blood, and deals with a klingon cult who attack a federation ship. With none other than Alexander son of Worf, as one of the core people in the story.

The second book deals with the Lower Deck characters as they enjoy some time on the holodeck, and explore the setting of the famed Dixon Hill.  As well as a few settings from the various Enterprise bridges. Both stories are unique and intriguing at the same time, as well as completely enjoyable.

Both stories are good as I think that the light heartedness of the Lower Decks, offsets the seriousness of the Prelude to Blood and it blends very well.  All the while holding the attention of the reader in the process

The cover art centers on the first story Day of Blood showing a very prominent federation combadge set during the time of the next generation movies and series that were set during those timelines.  It gets your attention showing blood on the combadge, as well as the prelude title, but is graphic enough to make fans of Star Trek wonder what might be going on.

The interior art in this book is two completely different styles.  Both are very well done as the first story is unique and tries to follow how things might look if the story was an actual TV show.  The second style is modeled entirely after the series Lower Decks, and blends very well with the appearance of the cartoon.

As your curator of the Historical Documents of the Imagination I hope you enjoyed your visit! If you enjoyed my review of this story please support the creators of this story!

May the historical documents of the imagination always inspire! Thanks for reading!