Looking Back: Part 2 - Captain Saru (One Shot Annual)

Why I'm Doing This Series

If I have found one thing to be true when it comes to modern Star Trek it's that reading the comics is just as vital as watching the series on TV if you want all the story. The was particularly important when it came to the Kelvin Timeline films - There was a whole other movie's worth of story left out of the 2009 Star Trek film that makes it SO MUCH better. and it is proving to be the case with the new shows on CBS All Access as well. The comics tie things together and fill in the blanks which, in turn, sets up the world we see in shows like DISCO, Short Treks, Lower Decks and Picard. For that reason I am looking back on the books that I missed in the last year so I can get the whole story and hopefully you'll like taking the trip with me in this series, Looking Back. Be warned, if you have not read this book there are major spoilers ahead!

Looking Back: Part 2 - Captain Saru (One Shot Annual)

Publisher: IDW

Writers: Kirsten Beyer & Mike Johnson

Cover Artist: Paul Shipper

Artist: Angel Hernandez

Colorists: JL Rio & Valentina Pinto

Letterer: Christa Meisner

Reviewer: Michael Nunneley

This issue ties directly into Star Trek Discovery season 1. This book opens up with Saru having a rather strange dream - that the spore drive actually runs on an interstellar network of apparently very delicious blueberries instead of being a mycelial network. At this moment in Saru's dream he is eating said interstellar blueberries and telling Tilly that they make him ravenous. Right about then Lt Stamets comes in angry as all hell at Saru because he has apparently had to ask him on multiple occasions to stop eating the fuel they will need for their jumps. 

Later, Saru meets with Burnham and Saru confides that he is thoroughly relieved that the war is over and the Federation is still intact. As they walk they come upon a statue, The Winged Victory of Samothrace. Michael says the headless, winged, angel-like being reminds her of Discovery - its powerful, ready to face whatever is ahead and after Lorca's betrayal, Discovery is also headless like the statue. She hopes that it will be Saru that is chosen to replace Lorca as captain of the Discovery.

Most of the crew is on shore leave and the Discovery has but a skeleton crew aboard. Sylvia Tilly is visiting her father on the science vessel he serves on, the USS Dorothy Garrod and Paul Stamets is visiting Hugh Culber's family. Saru however oversees the repairs to the Discovery and has got most systems back on operational status ahead of schedule. But in the midst of repairs Saru finds out that that Starfleet has lost contact with Dorothy Garrod - the ship Sylvia Tilly is currently visiting - and he's been tasked to find her by Admiral Cornwall - who tells Saru that Starfleet has its eye on him and this mission is a chance for him to prove he's ready to be Captain. 

They find the Garrod disabled within a nebula and Tilly warns of them of an ambush before communications are cut off. Saru orders Michael and a security team to go aboard and they arrive to find evidence of a fire fight and the ship stripped for parts. Just then Burnham and her security team are captured by Orion pirates led by an Orion female named Virra, who then beam them aboard a cloaked ship. With them captured Virra contacts Saru and says she'll trade the crew members for the Discovery. Saru initially refuses but later relents. As the Discovery and Garrod crews unite aboard the Orion's ship, the pirates board Discovery. However, the Orions fall victim to the traps Saru laid using his intimate knowledge of the ship, and he locks Discovery's weapons on the Orion vessel. The pirate captain is forced to surrender and both starships return home. Despite Saru's success in his mission and Admiral Cornwell's promise, when Saru and the Discovery return, Starfleet appoints a more experienced officer over Saru to captain Discovery.

The team up of Angel Hernandez, JL Rio & Valentina Pinto is amazing. Hernandez attention to detail and Rio's and Pinto's brilliant, mood-setting, layered colors really make this book a spectacle. Their styles were simply made for each other. Hernandez does a great job on this one - nice and sharp. He also continues to show his expertise in panel layout and use of space. He also does a spectacular job of leaving room for the letterer in the panels. And, Christa Meisner does a good job using that space in the lettering - easy to read and a good flow. If art is your thing this is a good purchase just for that. Just look at the pages above and below this paragraph and tell me they're not amazeballs. 

As usual the team up of Mike Johnson & Kirsten Beyer proves to be awesome. They really are my favorite Star Trek writers. They seem to be masters of planting seeds throughout the stories they tell that add an often philosophical depth to their stories and this one was no different. It's little things like Saru's dream about the interstellar blueberry network and eating the berries was a metaphor for Saru feeling relief over this getting at least somewhat back to normal. And how Saru and Michael talked about the metaphor of The Winged Victory of Samothrace statue and how it symbolized the Discovery and her crew. That stuff is beautiful to me. It was also pretty awesome seeing Saru sneak around like Batman taking out the Orions 2 at a time until he took back control of the ship. I say it now, Saru is a badass. I liked that Johnson & Beyer referenced 2 Discovery novels (Fear Itself & A Way To the Stars) and even had a character from one of them in the comic - Captain Holden of the Dorothy Garrod. I appreciate that because most Star Trek comics and novels aren't traditionally considered canon (which is a crime IMO). But the powers that be at CBS, Pocket Books & IDW are making a concerted effort to keep Discovery tie-ins consistent across the board, regardless of the medium. This has been going on since 2017 and it is worth noting that for the first time in Star Trek history this is happening. It's a good time to be a Trekkie.

If this book is not already in your collection I definitely recommend picking it up. If you're a TPB person like me, then you can get it at the back of the Star Trek Discovery: Aftermath trade. Otherwise this can be found in the 2019 Annual. Don't forget to pick up Star Trek Discovery: Fear Itself & Star Trek Discovery: A Way To the Stars to get the whole story.

Score: 5/5