STAR TREK: DAY OF BLOOD - graphic novel

Kahless II is the emperor of the Klingon empire and the power has completely corrupted him. He has raided ancient tombs, stolen the Bajoran Orb of Destruction, and taken the power of gods unto himself. He's begun a genocide campaign across the galaxies but other races aren't just lying around waiting to be slaughtered. Some of the Federation's elite come together to challenge Kahless. But Kahless has his own strong army (willing or not) including Alexander, Worf's son. 

There are many different 'fronts' to the war with Kahless and the elite Federation forces need careful coordination, and each squad must achieve their individual goal if there's any possible chance of success.

For the most part, I really liked this graphic novel.

First, it's an all-star cast of characters. Spock and Scotty, Data and Lore, Sela and Ro, Worf and Sisko, B'Elanaa and Tom, and more. The story cuts back and forth between the different groups (they've teamed up to do specific jobs) and I don't always get the feeling that their characters are consistent with what we've seen of them on television, but given the heightened threat for the story arc, it's hard to say for sure. My least favorites here were B'Elanna and Tom and my favorites were Scotty and Spock, but that might be more an indicator of my viewing preferences.

The Alexander/Sisko/Kahless/Worf arc is a little over the top, but it's the part that's supposed to resonate because of the family dilemma.

The art is fairly standard - it's okay. There are panels where people are not particularly recognizable, but we know who they are because because of the story and previous panels where they looked more familiar.

I really liked the inclusion of Lower Decks' Shax. His personality is perfect for the story and writers Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Christopher Cantwell do a really nice job with him.

 The graphic novel collects a number of specific comic issues which include a crossover of different titles - including a special free comic that was issued for Free Comic Day. This last one focuses on Shax and is drawn in the style of Star Trek: Lower Decks animation. This is clever and a bit fun, but it really isn't needed for the story.

I'm a Star Trek fan but I'm not likely to buy a bunch of different comic runs, so I appreciate the collecting of stories into the graphic novel.

Looking for a good book? Star Trek: Day of Blood is a graphic novel  of epic scope feature characters from all across the Trek universes, well-written and full of action.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

* * * * * *

Star Trek: Day of Blood

authors: Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Christopher Cantwell

artists: Mike Feehan, Lee Loughridge, Ramon Rosanas, Angel Unzueta, Marissa Loise, Ryan North, Derek Charm

publisher: IDW Publishing

ISBN: 9798887240732

hardcover, 200 pages

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