REVIEW: ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Dog Of War,’ Issue #1

Nowadays, it is no secret that Star Trek fans have a plethora of content to enjoy. Between Picard, Discovery, and Strange New Worlds in live-action and shows like Lower Decks and Prodigy in animation, we have seen a resurgence of new and old characters embarking on exciting adventures. But how many of these new stories have man’s best friend at the side of our heroes? Not enough if you ask writer Mike Chen. Following up his critically acclaimed installment in the Star Wars universe, Brotherhood,  New York Times best-selling author Mike Chen joins that other space opera in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Dog Of War #1, published by IDW Publishing.

Artist Angel Hernandez joins Chen, Nick Filardi provides colors, and Neil Uyetake rounds out the team as the letterer. They make for a team of Star Trek comic heavy hitters as Hernandez and Uyetake both work on the current run of Star Trek: Picard – Stargazer. The five-issue miniseries is a lost episode set during the original timeline for Deep Space Nine.

Suppose you haven’t watched Deep Space Nine and are worried about being unable to follow the characters; there is no need to worry. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Dog Of War #1 opens sometime after the Federation could retake Deep Space Nine from Dominion control. Seemingly deep into the timeline of the series, the station’s crew is firmly in a period where their missions together have bonded as one of the best misfit crews in the galaxy. Writer Chen does an excellent job of giving you everything you need to know throughout the first issue. Additionally, Chen also provided a great thread on Twitter that gives you all the episodes you should watch to get the most out of this miniseries.

The exposition lays out Star Trek: Deep Space Nine- The Dog Of War’s conflict through Captain Sisko’s captain’s log, crew dialogue, and some expertly drawn panels to emphasize past events. The Federation continues its delicate alliance with the Romulans against the Cardassians and looking for salvage on Deep Space Nine following the retaking of the station. The Federation is looking for anything that will give them the edge to turn the tide of the war. In their search, the crew finds Borg technology with none other than the dubious Quark. It is a tense situation whenever the Borg is involved with the Federation, especially when it comes to Captain Sisko, who lost his wife to the Borg when Captain Picard was assimilated.

In addition to the unidentified Borg tech, Quark’s associate left a purebred corgi as collateral. While the crew scrambles to understand if the device left with Quark is dangerous, there is a lot of puppy love to go around. It had never occurred to me that the holo suites could be used for a dog park, and now I know how I would spend all my downtime as a member of Starfleet. As Latinum, the name given to the corgi by Quark, of course, makes his around the station, the fluffy boy melts even the hardest members of the Deep Space Nine. While the focus is primarily on the Borg device, some hints are dropped that there might be more to this little dog than meets the eye.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Dog Of War #1 will undoubtedly bring readers in for the promise of seeing the crew interact with an adorable pup. However, the Borg device plot has my internet piqued for the remainder of the series. In Chen’s other work, particularly in Star Wars, there is a clear intention of having his characters reflect on their past and how that informs their decision-making in his stories. What better way to have that on display is having Captain Benjamin Sisko, the man who knows firsthand the threat the Borg presents, be the one who has to solve this new puzzle with the Borg device. Can he put his past aside to serve in the best interest of the Federation? What lengths will you go to secure the galaxy’s safety? Hernandez’s art is a beautifully painful backdrop for many of these reflections as Sisko relives painful moments amid conversations throughout the issue. It is clear from the onset that Sisko will have to go to some dark places to get the job done. If there is anyone who can do it, it is him.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Dog Of War #1 understands what makes Deep Space Nine as a series so great. At its heart, Deep Space Nine works so well as a series because of its ability to lean into the weirdness of having so many different personalities on the station where anything can happen. While the threat of a Borg device is very real for the Federation, it doesn’t mean that panels and panels of Quark and the rest of the crew getting the rare chance to interact with a corgi isn’t the beginning of a story worth telling. Even more so when it appears that Latinum might be the real thing that Deep Space Nine needs to be worried about. As with any episode of Deep Space Nine, I have no idea how this will end, but I look forward to seeing where Chen and company take this story, especially when you have creators who are so clearly fans of the franchise.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Dog Of War #1 is available now wherever comics are sold.