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Star Trek: Picard: Stargazer #1
- Writer:
- Kirsten Beyer, Mike Johnson
- Artist:
- Angel Hernandez
- Letterer:
- Neil Uyetake
- Cover Artist:
- Angel Hernandez
- Publisher:
- IDW Publishing
- Price:
- $4.99
- Release Date:
- 2022-08-31
- Colorist:
- J.D. Mettler
As Star Trek: Picard's third and final season prepares to launch on Paramount+, the early days of Jean-Luc Picard's adventures in Starfleet are explored in the new comic book miniseries Star Trek: Picard - Stargazer. Written by Picard series co-creator Kirsten Beyer and Star Trek: Discovery screenwriter Mike Johnson and drawn by Angel Hernandez, the IDW Publishing three-issue miniseries links Picard Seasons 2 and 3 while providing a character study of a younger Picard. While any additional time with Picard and the fan-favorite characters around him is always a joy, Stargazer feels like a relatively inconsequential, lightweight adventure.
Sometime after the reality-shaking events of Picard Season 2 and the crew's encounter with the Q Continuum, Picard continues his advisory role at Starfleet Academy before deciding to retire back to his family vineyard in France. This respite only proves to be temporary, however, when Picard agrees to venture to the site of an old mission during his time in his first command captaining the U.S.S. Stargazer. Back on this strange planet, past and present collide as Picard learns that the loose ends from his past assignment have a bearing on his life and career decades later.
Beyer and Johnson demonstrate a keen understanding of Picard's personality, both in the twilight stages of his second lease on life and during his first command. The writing on Picard is as effective as ever. The reader can practically hear Patrick Stewart reciting the lines as Picard finds himself drawn back into another Starfleet assignment on the fringes of Federation space. The most engaging scenes in this opening issue revolve around Picard bantering with several familiar faces, providing his usual sagely wisdom with his wry sense of humor.
Working with colorist J.D. Mettler, Hernandez excels in the more cosmically oriented sequences, from sweeping otherworldly landscapes, brightly lit chambers, and gorgeously designed extraterrestrials. Picard and returning characters like Seven of Nine are immediately recognizable. The artwork instills a genuine sense of wonder, particularly in the flashback sequences as Picard leads the Stargazer to covertly explore an uncharted planet, still appreciating the joys of commanding his starship into the unknown.
Where Star Trek: Picard - Stargazer falters is in its sense of stakes, perhaps most notably in its action set pieces towards the end of the issue. While competently delivered, the action sequences don't have quite the level of engagement and emotional investment that keeps the readers' attention. They feel more narratively perfunctory than thrilling. In regard to the artwork, the facial work lands more effectively when the characters are seen from a distance, with staging and expression better reflected off the page, whereas closer images can come off as a bit more stilted.
Star Trek: Picard - Stargazer is a fun diversion to help audiences manage the wait before the television series' return for its final season, but it isn't exactly required reading. The creative team works well together, firing on all cylinders when they take the time to explore the early challenges of command facing Picard, offering further background and insight into his character. A breezy tale from Picard's past that touches on his future, Stargazer functions better in its quieter moments when it puts its characters and their foibles front and center.