I honestly think the person I am today was shaped by growing up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. My parents started showing it to me when I was so young that I don’t remember a time when Star Trek wasn’t something familiar to me. Picard was my first captain, and he will always be my favorite. His stoicism and logic with a dash of compassion is why, as an adult in certain situations, I will think, “What Would Picard Do?” (which, by the way, let’s get some W.W.P.D bracelets made). So, I will say I was excited and nervous when they announced the new Picard TV show which I did love – great new faces and old.  I also get extremely picky with Star Trek comics. I’d say I stopped reading about 75% of them after issue 1, because I didn’t feel like the author knew the voices of these characters like I did. The opposite happened to me today. Kudos to Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson, because I could not stop reading Star Trek: Picard – Countdown.

If you have watched the Picard series or even if you are just planning on it, pick this up. If you have already watched the first season, this is a prequel that enhances the backstory of what you’ve seen. If you haven’t, this will make you want to watch.

This mini-series takes place a year before Picard starts. If you have seen Picard, you will meet some of the show’s characters for the first time in comic book form. (My personal favorite Raffi is a main character.)  Picard is Admiral and commander of the U.S.S. Verity and is currently dealing with the logistics of helping to evacuate the Romulan people from multiple planets, something we learned little about on the show. Raffi (a new character introduced on Picard) is his first officer and JL’s right hand. JL is also Raffi’s nickname for Jean-Luc which I find hilarious. Now, I never want to give away too much in my reviews, but much of this story is how Picard meets Laris and Zhaban, the two Romulans we meet on Picard that tend his vineyard and aid Jean-Luc with his day-to-day retirement. Romulans and humans historically do not have a good relationship. Here, you see the awesome backstory as to why they are so loyal to a human.

This book is a jaunty Raffi and JL adventure with high stakes and Picard at his finest. We see original TNG characters, as well as ones from Picard, and brand new ones all together. (All drawn very clean and lean by artist Angel Hernandez.) This is one of the best Star Trek comics I’ve read and a great addition to the Picard cannon. And this is coming from someone who still has their TNG action figures, but you don’t have to take my word for it…  Pick it up at your local comic book store!

Creative Team: Kirsten Beyer (Author), Mike Johnson (Author), Angel Hernandez (Artist), Jim Salvati (Cover Artist)
Publisher:  IDW Publishing
Click here to purchase.