Writer: Mike Johnson
Artist: Tony Shasteen
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Release Date: 9 September 2015

---

Much of what I think about Star Trek #49 remains true from what I felt about issue #48, so I’ll keep this review short, and focused on the two unique strengths of this issue.

Mike Johnson delivers a satisfying conclusion to this story, weaving a thread about Sulu’s first command mission with an amazing story about The Prime Directive. It is great to see Sulu come into his own, but the real meat here is how the alien race masquerading as a “Diety” treats the pre-warp civilization they demand tribute from (otherwise the planet will face their wrath).

Comparing these bullies who keep themselves hidden to exploit a helpless people to a Starfleet that will sometimes ignore the Prime Directive in order to do the right thing and help people is a genius move, and it makes for one of the best Prime Directive stories I’ve ever seen.

Tony Shasteen continues to impress in this issue as well, especially in the beautiful vistas of a sunken city and in the imposing spectacle of a starship the size of a planet.

Star Trek #49 is one of the best in the run, and I eagerly await the landmark 50th issue in order to find out more about how this series has been made.

Rating: 5/5.

---

The Writer of this piece was: Andrew Stevens
You can follow Andrew on Twitter

---