“The simultaneous love letter to and roasting of the Star Trek universe that fans have showed up for from episode one”
by Kevin Gaussoin, Editor-in-Chief
If you picked up Star Trek: Lower Decks vol 1 – Second Contact and wondered whether the series could keep the momentum going with a new creative team at the helm, Mixed Signals is your answer. And the answer is yes. Emphatically, warp nine yes.
As we noted when issue #7 dropped: “Tim Sheridan and Robby Cook take over Star Trek: Lower Decks as of issue #7 and we can all breathe easy because once again IDW has put together the perfect team to keep our beloved USS Cerritos crew in our lives each month.” Six issues later, that verdict holds. Star Trek: Lower Decks vol 2 – Mixed Signals collects issues #7–12 and delivers three two-part arcs that each feel like the best episode of a season you didn’t know you needed.
Star Trek: Lower Decks vol 2 – Mixed Signals opens with the Freeman/Mariner mother-daughter flashback that kicked off the Sheridan era. It somehow makes TNG Season 2’s Doctor Pulaski not just tolerable but genuinely delightful, which should be scientifically impossible. From there, Sheridan pivots to a Tendi-centered arc involving Ferengi debt collectors, gormangander excrement, and a resolution so clever it could only work in Lower Decks. Then, in a move only this series would dare, the final arc of this TPB drags the crew back to 1985 San Francisco to clean up a mess that Kirk left behind when he and his crew swiped two humpback whales and apparently forgot to check the math on the whale population he was leaving behind. Cetacean Ops gets the spotlight. It’s exactly as wonderful as that sounds.
Robby Cook’s art in Star Trek: Lower Decks vol 2 – Mixed Signals carries the visual tone of the TV show with confidence. It’s on point, goofy AF, and perfectly calibrated for the characters of Lower Decks. When the art baton passes to Vernon Smith and Philip Murphy for the later issues, the volume stays on course. Star Trek group editor Heather Antos has done it again, assembling the right people for every chapter.
What makes Star Trek: Lower Decks vol 2 – Mixed Signals work as a trade is how each arc is self-contained enough for new readers while rewarding longtime fans with deep cut references, all wrapped in the simultaneous love letter to and roasting of the Star Trek universe that fans have showed up for from episode one. As always, Lower Decks is comfort food and a surprise party at the same time.
Rating: 
ComicsOnline gives Star Trek: Lower Decks vol 2 – Mixed Signals – 5 out of 5 mixed signals from the USS Cerritos.
Set phasers to “buy the trade” and keep cruising with ComicsOnline.com for more comics, more reviews, and everything geek pop culture!
ComicsOnline is celebrating our 25th anniversary this year, and we would greatly appreciate a LIKE and SUBSCRIBE on our various social media channels.
INSTAGRAM – COMICSONLINE
THREADS – COMICSONLINE
BLUESKY – COMICSONLINE
YOUTUBE – COMICSONLINE
FACEBOOK – COMICSONLINE
Thank you for your ongoing support of our independent media outlet, and we hope you will explore our other exclusive interviews and coverage of everything geek pop culture!
