My dad was a kid of the 1960s – a product of Gene Roddenberry, the Space Race, and James T. Kirk. As a result, I grew up watching Star Trek’s Original Series. I can talk OG Star Trek with the best of them. If you want to talk Khan and tribbles and “The City on the Edge of Forever,” then I’m your girl. But my Star Trek history is remarkably remiss of every other classic Star Trek show. I missed out on Next Generation, Enterprise, Voyager, and, unfortunately, Deep Space Nine. Regardless, when I see a book with Star Trek and a corgi and Mike Chen, I’m going to pick up the book. I’m SO glad I did. Not only has this comic become my all-time favorite mini-series, but it made me start watching Deep Space Nine. Which is the biggest win in my book.
Title: Star Trek: Deep Space
Nine – The Dog of War
Publisher: IDW
Author: Mike Chen
Illustrator: Ángel Hernández
Genre: Sci-Fi Graphic Novel
Release Date: Feb. 13, 2024
Page Count: 136 pages
Synopsis:
Don’t miss out on this exclusive “lost episode” celebrating the 30th anniversary of the fan-favorite show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine!
An extremely rare purebred corgi from Earth makes its way aboard Deep Space 9 when Quark cuts a deal to procure it for a high buyer. After all, a Ferengi without profit is no Ferengi at all! But Latinum the corgi comes with unexpected cargo that shakes Captain Benjamin Sisko to the core: a Borg component discovered by a crew sent to uncover Cardassian technology after the station’s reoccupation.
Brought to you by acclaimed author Mike Chen (Star Wars: Brotherhood, Here and Now and Then) and Star Trek comics artist extraordinaire Angel Hernandez (Star Trek: Picard—Stargazer, Star Trek: Discovery—Adventures in the 32nd Century)! Collects the entire mini-series.
Review:
You don’t need to know Deep Space Nine to read this graphic novel. You only really need to know what Starfleet is and what it does. That’s really it. Everything else that you need to know is explained to you. For me to go into this story with no prior knowledge of Deep Space Nine, I now have so much love and appreciation for these characters and this story.
Mike Chen wrote such an excellent story. Latty/Latinum is the cutest and sassiest pup ever, and Deep Space K9 is my dream park. This story has action, too – plenty of it. I liked learning about Borg technology and the underground black market economy. This was great all around, and I’ll read everything Mike Chen puts out in the future.
Art:
Ángel Hernández illustrates this series in a way that is undeniably Trekian. His art makes the reading experience feel like you’re watching the show, which is incredible. Hernández has previously illustrated comics for Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Picard, the Star Trek/Green Lantern Crossover, and others. He knows Star Trek. Latty is adorably drawn and immaculately depicts dog expressions. On top of that, this graphic novel contains full-page spreads of the comic book covers and variant covers. These covers are incredible and include some beautifully wacky illustrations.
Final Thoughts: I loved the heck out of this story. This mini-series is my new obsession, and this collected volume is a real gem. I am not over-exaggerating when I say this is one of the best fandom books I’ve ever read. Do yourself a favor and buy this volume in February. It’s brilliant.
Rating: 5+/5 Stars. Infinity Stars. The FIRST graphic novel to make it to my Goodreads Infinity Stars shelf.
Thanks to IDW for an advanced copy of this graphic novel for review! All the above thoughts are my own.
Leave a Reply