Review - Star Trek: Red Shirts #4
From IDW Publishing
Whittling down the numbers in Star Trek: Red Shirts #4 - but we begin getting some answers from IDW Publishing this week.
Ensigns Raad and Miller find themselves on a dark ship and face to face with... Klingons. The two red shirts are accused of being spies, and their captors brutalize and torture them for any information they can get on how the Romulans were able to access a Starfleet subspace antenna feed. Meanwhile, DeMatrio, Amiga, and Lanier engage in a tense starship battle with a Romulan Bird-of-Prey.
If all six remaining red shirts are going to make it off Arkonia 89 alive, someone is going to have to make a sacrifice — but for what? How many red shirts have died to ferret out the Romulans? There must be more to the story than Starfleet is letting on...
by Christopher Cantwell (Author), Megan Levens (Artist)
One of the standout aspects of Star Trek: Red Shirts as a series is the clever “roll call” of the characters — specifically the Red Shirts themselves — where each issue reminds us who’s still among the living and who’s met their unfortunate (and often inventive) end. It’s a darkly humorous but effective way to highlight how dangerous life can be on the outer edges of Starfleet duty. In this issue, that tradition continues with a slightly gruesome recap of recent fatalities and the sometimes shocking ways these unlucky officers were struck off the roster.
That grim tally leaves us with just six remaining. Two of them are now captives of the Klingons — and while they technically still draw breath, the Klingons are doing their best to make them wish otherwise. Their suffering is hard to watch, but a spark of resilience there gives both them and the reader a flicker of hope that they might make it through.
Meanwhile, the rest of the surviving team are aboard a ramshackle ship that can barely stand upright, let alone fly, fight, or survive the vacuum of space. This issue cleverly addresses all those doubts in one way or another, delivering satisfying moments of tension and relief as the crew pushes the limits of their luck and machinery.
Threaded through all of this is some surprisingly intricate political maneuvering. Starfleet appears to have its own secretive agenda, the Klingons are balancing a shaky peace, and the Romulans are clearly playing their own long game from the shadows. It sounds like a lot, but by the end of the issue, everything clicks together neatly enough to make sense of the chaos.
What really grounds the story, though, are the character moments. Between the explosions, betrayals, and blaster fire, we get quiet beats that make these Red Shirts feel like real people rather than cannon fodder. Their personalities, fears, and flashes of bravery make it impossible not to root for them, even knowing how precarious their fates are.
Artistically, Red Shirts #4 delivers on all fronts. The cover alone is haunting, setting the tone for the issue before you even open it. Inside, the art seamlessly captures the grit and energy of each setting — from the claustrophobic corridors of Klingon ships to the chaotic scrambles on battered vessels and the high-stakes clashes in space. It’s cinematic, brutal, and beautiful all at once.
Overall, Star Trek: Red Shirts continues to surprise and impress. Even as someone whose knowledge of Star Trek is a little spotty, I’ve found this series consistently entertaining and easy to follow. It strikes an outstanding balance between action, humour, and genuine emotional weight.
If you haven’t jumped on board yet, now’s the time — this series is worth checking out, whether you’re a lifelong Trek fan or just looking for a smart, well-drawn sci-fi adventure with heart.
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