Review: Quark Is The Prime Suspect In Gritty ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Too Long A Sacrifice’ #1

‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Too Long a Sacrifice’ #1
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Written by: Scott Tipton & David Tipton
Art by: Greg Scott
Color by: Felipe Sobreiro

A Cover by Ricardo Drumond

Initially scheduled for release in April, IDW has finally released the first issue from the highly-anticipated Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 4-issue miniseries, “Too Long a Sacrifice.” The COVD-19 pandemic pushed back comic releases across the board, but after a 3-months, I’m pleased to tell you, it was well worth the wait.

While there have been some one-off stories, Too Long a Sacrifice is the first DS9-dedicated series from IDW in a decade. The last full series was 2010’s Fool’s Gold, also written by David Tipton and Scott Tipton. This new four-parter is a procedural murder-mystery with some great character moments, intense action, and killer (pun intended) art.

Set sometime during DS9’s sixth season during the Dominion War, Too Long a Sacrifice begins with Dr. Bashir and Garak having lunch at Lavin’s Eatery when an explosion rocks the Promenade. When the dust settles, eight casualties and over a dozen more were injured. All hands are on deck with Odo leading the investigation. After questioning a few witnesses, including some Nausicaans and Lavin herself, all eyes point to Quark as the prime suspect.

Drawn by Gotham Central vet Greg Scott, Too Long a Sacrifice is a much-welcomed addition to noir comics – it’s dark, gritty, violent, and packs an emotional punch. For the most part, Scott’s likenesses are spot-on. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a more accurate Worf – especially one so angry. The explosion is so detailed that it, for a split second, made me forget I was reading a comic.

The Tiptons have been pushing out high-quality Trek comics for a while now, and they are really good at it. Much like their previous work, I could absolutely see this on-screen – it just feels like an actual episode of DS9. They were able to capture the essence of the characters – including accurately depicting how they would typically interact with each other. It’s also incredible to see a beautiful tribute to the late, great René Auberjonois with Odo front and center, leading the way.

Even if the rest of 2020 has been awful, at least IDW has been releasing some pretty stellar Trek comics to pass the time during the quarantine. Along with the fantastic Star Trek: Year Five, it’s a great time to be a fan. If you love DS9, I can’t recommend this issue enough. Knowing the Tiptons, I can’t wait to see what they have up their sleeves for the rest of this series.

5-page preview

 

Available Now

The 32-page comic Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Too Long a Sacrifice #1 was released on Wednesday, July 15. You can pick it up at TFAW for $3.19. You can also get the digital version at Amazon for $3.24.

The trade paperback collection of the four-issue series was originally scheduled for December, although that may be delayed as the comics were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. That collection can be pre-ordered at Amazon for $15.99.


Keep up with all the latest inked Star Trek in TrekMovie’s Comics Category.

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What is Loki doing in this?

So in their last DS9 series, the Tiptons had a story in which O’Brien was the prime suspect in a crime. Now it’s Quark. Come on, guys–be original. Stories about characters being crime suspects are rarely all that interesting, even on TV, because you KNOW they’re going to be exonerated in the end. There’s no dramatic tension whatsoever, so it’s cheap storytelling.

It’s one issue in. You don’t even know how the story plays out yet.

And besides that, if you’ve watched DS9, you know that Odo always jumps to the conclusion that Quark is guilty. All the time.