I, Enterprise

I picked up Part 2 of IDW's Star Trek "I, Enterprise" two-parter comic (Issues #31-32), about Science Officer 0718, on Thursday. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The character was seen on the bridge of the Enterprise in JJ Abrams' "Star Trek Into Darkness" movie, and he was a mysterious, cool-looking, android/cyborg background character about whom we knew very little.

Fans have certainly seen this kind of story before in Star Trek: the Ilia Probe in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"; the Enterprise-D's computer achieving sentience in "Emergence" (TNG); the Borg Drone they called One, who came from the EMH's mobile emitter, Seven's nanoprobes and Mulcahey's DNA (VOY's "Drone"); Morgan Primus's most recent guise in the "New Frontier" novels and comics; and the holographic avatar of a ship's computer in the novel "Titan: Synthesis", fashioned after Minuet (originally from episodes of TNG).

But this story works well. I'm thrilled we got to know more about 0718. I hadn't really expected a backstory to unfold already, and thought Bad Robot may have done a little more with him in the next movie first. He's featured on the alternate photo cover of Part 1 (actor Joseph Gatt, pictured above) and drawn on the regular cover of Part 2.

We want you at Starfleet Academy!

Corroney cover: IDW Star Trek (ongoing) #2 - alternate cover.

Very cool Starfleet "recruitment poster" cover by Joe Corroney! News at Trekmovie.com

Comparing IDW and WP "Star Trek" comics!

A few months ago, it was announced that an Australian publisher, Wilkinson Publishing, had won a bid for the reprint and distribution rights to the current IDW "Star Trek" comics and trade paperbacks - and yesterday I actually spotted a batch: issue #2 of the US TOS mini-series, "Burden of Knowledge", in a local Sydney newsagent.

I guess the deal commenced with issue #1 last month. There were eight copies of #2 on the shelf, along with a few copies of "James Patterson's Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland", another IDW title.

The "Star Trek" deal, IIRC, is the first time "Star Trek" comics have been printed locally since the DC Comics' "Star Trek III" movie adaptation by Federal Comics (Aust.) in the 80s.

Curiously, there are a few differences:



Above: The IDW logo has been replaced on the front cover by a WP logo. Issue/price details are different, lowering the creators' credits. The "R" registered trademark symbol after the title is smaller. The barcode is gone, along with Joe Corroney's cover art credit. Ah! An Australian barcode appears on the back cover.



Above: No comparison art, featuring the US alternate chase cover, is presented. Some of the type is shifted around to fit in extra details and the comic is noted as "Printed in Korea".



Above: Some advertising pages are also different: The US back cover promotes "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" #156. The Australian back cover promotes "Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland". Instead of a promotional page for "Archie as Pureheart the Powerful", the Australian issue #2 carries a creator page (which had appeared in issue #1 of the US edition).

While I don't perceive a difference in internal paper or printing quality, both issue #2s have much thinner covers than the US #1. It will be interesting to see how sales go and whether WP gets the trade paperback omnibuses into general bookshops.

Captain's Log: Supplemental.
I found some WP copies of "Burden of Knowledge" issue #1! IDW's US edition had a choice of three covers, but Australia only gets Cover A, by Frederica Manfredi and the inside cover's text has been redesigned to eliminate the small insets of the three selections. The cover is printed on the same heavier stock used for the US edition of this issue. Again, the Australian barcode appears on the back cover, which has an advertisement for "Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland" instead of "Ghostbusters Con-volution!" Manfredi's cover credit does not appear on the front cover, as it did on the US version of Cover A.

Lots of new Andorians!

Wounded Andorian (cover); the colony's Prime Minister and his wife; and a guard.

How exciting to pick up the recent IDW Publications' "Star Trek" comic, "Leonard McCoy: Frontier Doctor" #1, written and illustrated by John Byrne, and discovered a host of new Andorian guest stars, coloured by Lovern Kindzierski.


Theela the stowaway!

Significantly, this comic is probably the first "Star Trek" comic to feature more than one Andorian antennae style in the same work:



Most of the Andorians featured in this story, "Weeds", have the original "crown of the head" of the location of the antennae, as per the original series of "Star Trek". However, the spokesman for the delegation that arrives at the end has antennae resembling Shran's distinctive look from "Star Trek: Enterprise"!

The comic takes place in the time preceding "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", in which the Andorians had a different look again: thin, tapering, tendrill-like antennae. Previously, most comic tie-ins set within TMP's time period had to reflect that movies's design for the Andorians, although there were eventually some exceptions.



And I finally caught up with details on the Andorians who used to be featured at "Star Trek: The Experience" theme hotel in Las Vegas! Of course, because the actors playing Tahryn and K'Stran needed to be able to interact with the general public, their antennae were a combination of several styles. The "Star Trek" bonus Blu-Ray disc, "Evolutions" has a great segment called "Farewell to 'Star Trek: The Experience'"!



Lt Commander Tahryn is serving the Andorian Imperial Guard as a member of the Diplomatic Corps. Her current assignment is to interact with the non-Starfleet aliens present on the station and report her impressions of the humans and non-humans she encounters back to Andorian Imperial Command. Often seen at Quark's. Portrayed by April Hebert.

K'Stran Thran is a lieutenant in the Andorian Imperial Guard, serving as intel attaché. He formerly served in Starfleet, on the USS Potemkin, and fought honorably in the Dominion War. Often seen at Quark's. Portrayed by Kerstan Szczepanski.

Three in one, 'cos I almost forgot!

Eerie battery-operated "mushroom" lamps from Officeworks. 21 October 2009.


View from the train, heading out of Penrith, bound for the CBD. 22 October 2009.


"When Nero met Ilia's Daddy"

Coincidentally, my exclusive Hallmark Ilia Probe Christmas ornament turned up on the same day as the comic in which Nero the Romulan met V'ger, of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". 23 October 2009.

Data's debut (again, or B-4?)

Great excitement this week, with the release of issue #1 of "Countdown", a four-issue prelude to JJ Abrams' "Star Trek" movie.



Thanks IDW! Looking great. An explanation to the mystery should be here B-4 we know it!?

Update: Ah, the uniform matches with screenshots from the upcoming Star Trek Online!

Countdown... to Star Trek XI

A website called Comics Continuum has posted links to the covers, alternate incentive covers - and completed internal artwork for the first five pages of issue #1 of "Star Trek: Countdown", a comic mini-series prequel to the upcoming "Star Trek" movie.

"Star Trek: Countdown" #1 is scheduled to arrive in US comic stores on January 21 from IDW Publishing. The story of the prequel has been developed with the writers of the movie, and the first 32 page issue is written Tim Jones & Mike Johnson, with art and cover by David Messina.

IDW describes the issue thusly:
"The countdown to the motion picture event of 2009 begins here, in the exclusive comics prequel to the upcoming blockbuster Star Trek! JJ Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman present the origin of Nero [the character being played by Australia's Eric Bana in the movie], the mysterious Romulan who will ultimately threaten the survival of the entire universe."

Scroll down Comics Continuum's page to thumbnails of the first five pages, or use these links:

Page 1

Pages 2/3

Page 4

Page 5.

More info from TrekMovie.com and here.

Looks great! What a fun way to make the waiting for JJ's "Star Trek" movie just a little easier. (Or does it make it harder?) The movie premieres worldwide in May. Of course, "Star Trek" completists will want to buy all the various designs of cover art, plus the omnibus reprint version in graphic novel trade paperback. (Who? Me?)

Recent ramblings about Star Trek

Here Down Under, we've recently had a rush of William Shatner print media interviews. I originally thought it was just Sydney, but my mother sent me several clippings from Perth newspapers and magazines, all covering the same information. Almost every newspaper, in several states, has carried a variation of his press release about his new autobiography ("Up Till Now") - and every local journalist covering the story for their paper has added mention of the new JJ Abrams "Star Trek" movie, and how Shatner had been a little disgruntled that Nimoy would be reprising Elder Spock alongside a new cast, but at least Shatner was doing well with his TV career, writing career, and his online selling. None of the articles I read were anti-Trek.

Paramount can't buy this kind of publicity. It percolates along - and they haven't even started their own campaign yet.

TrekBBS posters are perhaps overly concerned about public perceptions of the forthcoming movie. They seem to think that Internet complaining and whining about any changes JJ Abrams has forced upon the accepted "Star Trek canon" (what has gone before in decades of aired live-action Star Trek) may scare away the general cinema-going public.

Not a chance. There'll always be Star Trek fans who complain the loudest, but will still turn up on opening weekend, so they can blog about how much they hated it, or how well they boycotted/lied about it.

The "concern" is nothing new. It is precisely what happened with "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and "ST IV: The Voyage Home". While both films made huge amounts of money, both films angered some fans. A lot. The character interrelationships were supposedly "missing" from TMP, and many complained that ST IV's comedy and science had been "dumbed down" for the masses. But both films received sufficient buzz to draw in the curious general public.

Ditto "First Contact", which polarized many TOS and "The Next Generation" fans (action Picard, supposed mis-portrayal of Zefram Cochrane, too scary for kids, etc) but was still a critical and box office success.

Many Trek fans seem to feel that the general public always thinks that "Star Trek is for basement-dwelling 'dweebs' with no social skills". Well, it didn't stop the general public associating with nerds to see TMP, ST IV or "First Contact".

You know, in my life, none of my non-ST friends, neighbours, work colleagues, kids I teach, or blog readers, think that I'm a basement-dwelling deeb. If they do, it must always be behind my back, and done so well that I never catch them insulting me. I never hide that I'm a ST fan, and I've fielded many curious questions as people have started hearing that there's "a new movie" on its way. Maybe jocks think I'm a "dweeb", a "nerd" or a "droob", but I can't say that I choose to hang around too many jocks, so we don't really know each other.

That the general public hate nerds but love and respect jocks is a crock. I would think that most cinema-goers would prefer to associate with polite nerds (when sitting in the darkened theatre with a group of strangers) than with those who'd rather be off being... active. (Mind you, whoever said that jocks have to hate Star Trek?)

On another Star Trek track...

The final issue of IDW Publishing's "Star Trek: New Frontier" comic (#5) turned up on Thursday. Some fun stuff, as usual, and a little more Arex action, but online fans are complaining that the ending kinda fizzled. I didn't mind this issue, but the art and pace of #4 was probably the best. Perhaps author Peter David was setting up for the next "New Frontier" text-based stories..., or the next IDW comic mini-series?

While I got plenty of NF bangs for my bucks with "Turnaround". My only main concern was imagining how anyone who had no familiarity with PAD's recent NF books understanding what was going on. While I personally enjoyed seeing Morgan Primus, Arex and M'Ress - and a Mirror Universe incarnation of superbeing Mark McHenry - these characters must have presented new readers with many "WTF" moments, if you'll pardon their expression

I guess for those unsure about ordering future NF comic issues, they could wait to hear some amazingly positive reviews of the next NF mini-series, and then there's always Volume 2 of the inevitable IDW trade reprint...

Confusion in the New Frontier?

I'm enjoying IDW Publishing's "Star Trek New Frontier" storyline, "Turnaround" by Peter David, very much but it must be very confusing to anyone who isn't familiar with the long-running book series that David writes for Pocket.

Robin Lefler's mom, Morgan Primus, looking like Number One, Chapel and Mrs Troi is worth a smirk or two in the novels (and her face was obscured by a hand mirror in the Wildstorm one-shot comic), but seeing Number One - er, Morgan - phasing in and out in the new comic issues requires some background knowledge from the books.

Likewise, M'Ress and Arex (formerly of TAS - see below) have just turned up for their NF comic cameos (issue #4) and casual TOS readers (or anyone who's just been reading IDW's various "Year Four" issues) are gonna wonder why they're suddenly in the 24th century.


Art by Stephen Thompson

And hey! We've now finally seen a depiction of Desma the Andorian - she's the new first officer (below) of the USS Trident, introduced a few novels ago.


Art by Stephen Thompson

Lack of training?

I was in two minds as to how to fill in my day today. My comics didn't come in last Thursday and weren't due in the country until yesterday. As there were supposed to be two Star Trek titles, plus a "Starlog", I had to work out if I wanted to spend $10 and an hour into the city, and another hour coming back, or to use up some of my movie "Hot Cash"/"Super Saver" coupons on some recent releases.

After a quick call to Kings Comics - to establish there were no "alternative cover" options to be resolved - I decided to see "Iron Man" at Penrith Plaza. Kings made sure my comics had the right covers and were safely in my standing orders box. On my way there, I was passed by several luxury coaches along the road to the station... and realised that buses had replaced trains into Parramatta, which would have added about 20-30 minutes to the trip - each way!

I was very glad I had already chosen "Iron Man", and was very pleased with it. "Iron Man" isn't a particular comics favourite but I did have a familiarity with the old animated cartoon of my youth, and the old yellow and red Mego action figure. As the reviews have said, the film was very well cast and featured some great action sequences. Quite a good job presenting a famous, classic comic book character on the big screen for modern audiences. Ah yes, stay till the end of the closing credits!

Sunday's magic number: 94.0 - again. Sigh. (Spent too many Pedlar's Pennies on Thursday.)

A thousand suns for IDW

I picked up IDW Publishing's latest comic, "Assignment: Earth" #1 by John Byrne, last night and it looks great. Read it on the train home. Some fun 60s stuff; at times "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns" felt like it had been made in the 60s, although I'm so glad the paper quality was better! I assume Teri Garr had to sign off on her likeness? (I still remember her "Starlog" interview; possibly the only ST guest who doesn't have fond memories of her association with Star Trek and its fans - not that ST actors have to have fond memories, but her interview was quite... angry and bizarre when the topic turned to ST, IIRC).

Contracts of the 80s and 90s (and beyond) have very different wording to those of the 60s. Recently it was mentioned here that the original cover of the forthcoming Kevin Ryan "Errand of Fury" novel, from Pocket Books, was to have featured the TOS Organians, but that there was no permission for one of the deceased actors so the cover would be changing.

DC Comics had to draw a bald Garth of Izar, a ST III Captain Styles with no mustache, and a fat guy who vaguely-resembled Harry Mudd's physique for various issues. (Due mainly to existing likeness permissions not being on record.) When DC wanted to bring back Saavik in Series II, she had to resemble Robin Curtis, not Kirstie Alley, even though Kirstie's Saavik was more popular. And so on.

Sometimes the families of deceased ST guests might be happy to sign off. Others might insist on a royalty. Others might want approval of finished sketches, or they might refuse outright. It may vary from actor to actor, too, depending on their (and their agents') clout when contracts were signed. Welcome to Hollywood: a land of red tape.

The Enterprise Experiment

I picked up my copy of IDW Publishing's "Star Trek: Year Four: The Enterprise Experiment" #1 yesterday and read it in the train on the way home. A major role for "Star Trek: The Animated Series" (TAS)'s tripodal Lieutenant Arex - yay! - and a great, page-turning beginning for the new story arc by DC Fontana (Mrs TAS herself!) and Derek Chester.

I loved the TOS/TAS rendition of the San Francisco airtram station, soon to be upgraded in time for TMP, I presume.

The story is, of course, a sequel to the TOS episode, "The Enterprise Incident" (in which Captain Kirk disguised himself as a Romulan to steal a cloaking device from the female Romulan Commander). This time, in a story that takes place during the TAS years, the Enterprise is testing a cloaking device of its own.


Arex: such a handy crewman to have around


No "Quad Covers (TM)" for this storyline (as per the "New Frontier" issues)? When I arrived at the comic shop, they'd put aside the "Year Four" Spock cover (Cover B) issue for me, but I really wanted the great Mr Arex and Kirk (Cover A) instead, of course. But all the shelf copies had sold already! (Stock only arrived the day before.) Luckily, my trusty comic seller rummaged through the standing order boxes, found the last unclaimed Arex cover issue, and did me a swap. Too bad if the other guy preferred Arex, too.

I'm really enjoying IDW's efforts; I just wish the multiple and "rare" covers didn't cause as many heartaches for me, or for the completists out there who must be driven crazy by now.

Number one in comics

Star Trek author Peter David has written a comic mini-series for IDW Publishing that continues his excellent, quirky "New Frontier" novels. It's not his first time contributing to a "New Frontier" comic - "Double Time" (2000) was a one-shot for WildStorm (and later collected as a trade omnibus, "Other Realities" in 2001). The first new issue, "Turnabout, Part 1", is nicely done, and the mini-series promises to show us plenty of the cast additions since the timeline jumped forward three years in Pocket books' "After the Fall" (2004) and "Missing in Action" (2006).

This time, Peter David made sure to show us the face of Morgan Primus! Last time, he hid her face under a towel, and then behind a hand mirror. Of course, she's a dead ringer for Number One, of "The Cage", Star Trek's first pilot - but we knew that! In the books we've heard characters notice a resemblance to Number One (ie. Majel Barrett), Christine Chapel (ie. Majel Barrett), Lwaxana Troi (ie. Majel Barrett) and even the distinctive voice of Starfleet computers (ie. Majel Barrett).

It's also possible the immortal mother of Robin Lefler was also once the immortal Morgan LeFay, of the Excalibur/Arthurian legends (USS Excalibur being the name of the ship upon which Morgan now serves), or maybe it's simply the role which Majel Barrett would have played had "New Frontier" been a TV show!


The enigmatic Morgan Primus (left: "Double Time", 2000; right: "Turnabout", 2008)

Alas, this time there's no Ensign Janos. The sentient mugato security officer's fate was sealed in the novel instalment, "New Frontier: Stone and Anvil".


Janos in Ten-Forward
("Double Time", 2000)

Sunday's magic number: 89.7. Yay!

Star Trek Year Four comics finale - and Borg Spotlight

I felt so greedy! Two IDW Star Trek comics yesterday! I picked up my copies of the final issue of the first "TOS Year Four" mini-series, and "Alien Spotlight: The Borg", in the CBD and devoured them in the 50-min. train ride home. I thoroughly enjoyed both issues!

Visually, "Year Four" #6 reminded me very much of the type of TV SF stories being told in the 60s but, with US child labour laws, it would have been an impossible script to film as live action. Star Trek comics can really excel when achieving things the original show couldn't have ever managed, SPFX makeup budget- or time-wise. A great TAS cameo appearance - and two Andorians!

"The Borg" was also very enjoyable and thought-provoking. For Admiral Janeway and "Voyager" fans, another good guest appearance! And, as promised, another Andorian cameo.

I haven't had such an absorbing Trek comics ride home in a looooong time. Thanks IDW!

Second Stage - IDW Comics and Star Trek

Upcoming Star Trek comics from IDW Publishing:

January
TNG: "Intelligence Gathering" five-issue mini-series commences. Set toward the end of the show’s fifth season. Scott & David Tipton (writers) and David Messina (artist). Issue #1 is due this week!

February
Finale of the 2007 "Alien Spotlight" mini-series: "The Romulans" by John Byrne (writer/artist). Prequel to "Balance of Terror" (TOS).

All new titles after this will be branded "Second Stage". New strategy sees all variant covers included in each issue, and the aim is to have one new Star Trek issue, of any mini-series, arrive weekly:

March
"New Frontier" five-issue mini-series commences (below left). Continuing from the last NF hardcover novel from Pocket Books. Peter David (writer) and Stephen Thompson (artist).




April
TOS "Year Four: The Enterprise Experiment" five-issue mini-series commences. A sequel to "The Enterprise Incident" episode and continuing IDW's untold fourth season in comics. DC Fontana & Derek Chester (writers) and Gordon Purcell (artist). Issue #1 features Arex (TAS) on the cover (above right), and he supposedly has lots to do inside!

May
TOS: "Assignment Earth" five-issue mini-series commences. A set of sequels to the TV episode which guest featured Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln, each issue is set approximately one year apart. By John Byrne (writer/artist).

June
TOS: "Mirror Images" four-issue mini-series commences. A prequel to "Mirror, Mirror" episode, ie. the rise to power of Mirror Kirk, commencing with the overthrow of Mirror Pike. Chris Ryall and Scott & David Tipton (writers) and David Messina (artist).

Later in 2008:

TNG: "Mirror Images" mini-series, by Andrew Steven Harris & George Strayton (writers).

Possible "Alien Spotlight: Klingons" project by Keith RA DeCandido?

Possible comic adaptation (and spin-offs?) of JJ Abrams' "Star Trek" movie, due in December?

I'm very excited about the announcements for the so-called "Second Stage" of Star Trek comics that were recently announced. As a result of comments by the editor, Andrew Steven Harris, over at TrekWeb, I created an online reader poll on TrekBBS.

Andrew Steven Harris had said, "... one of the first things I did when introducing myself to the readers was ask our fans on the IDW message boards what they wanted to see in their Trek titles. A couple of things kept surfacing, over and over again: stories about Captain Pike, recruiting certain creators like Keith RA DeCandido or Peter David, and in particular a comic book series for 'New Frontier'...

"We are really listening to fan requests. Another common request is that we coordinate some stories or projects with Pocket Books, and though I was initially skeptical at the logistical prospects of it all, I've been in touch with Marco Palmieri over there and am greatly encouraged that it could be a positive thing for both the companies and for the fans. We've already got some ideas kicking around - very tentative, nothing to announce yet, but very encouraging. So we're keeping an open mind with what the fans want, even for things that seem unlikely at first."

And so... keeping in mind that IDW doesn't have all of the Trek comic rights at the moment, I devised some multiple choice selections. The original series, animated series and "The Next Generation" (TOS/TAS/TNG) spin-offs should be fair game as potential comic fodder, but perhaps not things like Section 31, "Voyager" (VOY), "Deep Space Nine" (DS9) or "Enterprise" (ENT). Yet.

As of a few minutes ago, the poll said:

What should be the Third Stage IDW Trek comic?
Users may choose many (96 total votes)

Alien Empire (ie. mention your choice of alien race below): 13%

Set between ST:TMP and ST II: 17%

Excelsior: 17%

Corps of Engineers: 15%

Titan: 29%

Write-in choice (below): 10%.

Also, I wanted to know which past Star Trek comic writers did the fans at TrekBBS want to see a comic mini-series from, keeping in mind that comics is a very different medium to work in (ie. some novelists might not necessarily make great comic writers).

Which past Trek comic Writer would you want to see Trek comics from?
Users may choose 2 (77 total votes)

More KRAD (Keith RA DeCandido): 25%

More PAD (Peter A David): 9%

Howard Weinstein: 4%

Michael Jan Friedman: 5%

Mangels & Martin: 23%

David Mack: 18%

Abnett & Edgington: 9%

Write-in choice (below): 6%.

My personal write-in comments for the poll:

Being biased, of course, I'd love to see more Andorian Empire stuff, especially after the great "The Old Ways" issue of "Alien Spotlight: Andorians".

I'd also like to see:

* more post-TMP stuff, moving the story on from the excellent "Ex Machina"

* Arex and M'Ress getting timeslipped into "New Frontier"

* a resolution to Abnett & Edgington's Pike story (commenced at Marvel/Paramount)

* new ST comics from David Mack (continuing "Titan" or "Destiny" in comic form)

* new ST comics from the team of Mangels & Martin.

Last night, the editor himself added a comment to the poll thread.

He said, "... I read these boards every single day. I don't chime in much because I'm more interested in reading what other people have to say than forcing everyone to read what I have to say...

"I can tell you that Titan and DS9 are the two far-and-away front-runners, and I've tried to put up a pretty good track record of being responsive to fan requests.

"... with the [JJ Abrams] movie coming up, the schedule is already pretty tight, even a year away. So, it may take a little while, but it won't be for lack of trying."

Sounds promising, yes?

Spotlight on the old ways

IDW Publishing's "Alien Spotlight: Andorians: The Old Ways" comic is out! It is indeed a TNG era story this time. Placed in TNG's seventh year, writer Paul D Storrie presents Ortees Sharad, an Andorian Starfleet officer hitching a ride to Andoria for extended leave. We see him with Troi but, once the Enterprise-D gets him to Andor's moon, it's an all-Andorian blue fest!

Now, anyone who knows me will say I'm biased - or maybe they'll see it as a sign that IDW has done well with the "Alien Spotlights" so far - but I found "Andorians: The Old Ways" to be thoroughly entertaining. The story is strong, the characters have more visual differences than a typical ENT Andorian episode, and I loved some of the background layouts, esp. those using visuals from "The Aenar".

I didn't get the feeling that the story was rushed, and it certainly doesn't stomp over fans' memories of TNG, ENT or Heather Jarman's "Andor: Paradigm" (the Andorian novel in "Worlds of DS9, Book 1"). The lead character is strong and likeable. Fans worried about which approach to the four-partnered-marriage aspect would be taken should be well-pleased, too.



I said on my blog a few months ago that I've probably been waiting for a comic about Andorians since December 1979 (TMP), or perhaps even earlier than that: "Yesteryear" (TAS) on one Saturday morning in the 70s.

Thanks IDW!

Down Under Trekkers

Aussie actors Eric Bana (left) and Chris Hemsworth (right) have scored roles in JJ Abrams' "Star Trek" feature film, which commenced filming last week in Hollywood. Eric's casting was announced last month, and will be playing a villain called Nero. Rumoured to be a Romulan? (Maybe it's just as well he gave up the chance to reprise "The Hulk" in the sequel to the Marvel comic spin-off?)

Chris Hemsworth was announced as a cast member of "Star Trek" only yesterday. He's an unknown in the USA, so far, but is highly recognisable in Australia (and the UK) for his long-running role in "Home and Away". While initial rumours claimed he was the new Sarek, father of Spock (ie. opposite Winona Ryder's Amanda), he's actually cast as George Samuel Kirk Sr, the father of future captain, James T. Kirk (Chris Pine).

Onya guys!

IDW Publishing's first two "Spotlight on..." alien one-shot comics are out: a Gorn issue, set during a Terrell & Chekov Reliant landing party, and a Vulcan issue, set during Pike, Spock, Tyler and Number One's time on the Enterprise. I've read both comics and really enjoyed them. They did seem very short stories, though, especially when followed by numerous glossy pages of advertising and hype for upcoming non-ST IDW comics. ;)

While the Gorn were drawn as a nice mix of TOS- and "Enterprise"- style sentient lizard-men, the second issue featured pre-"The Cage" crew reactions to serving with Spock. It showed that early 23rd century crews did have trouble working together. We saw that several times in ENT, and in "Balance of Terror" (TOS). This IDW issue shows how one crew came to accept a Vulcan in their midst.

I thought ENT did xenophobia well. There is often no "actual reason" behind prejudices, once an individual is put on the spot. Thus Phlox was accepted quite readily by the crew, but T'Pol less so, at first. The comments about human scent didn't help her. Then we had Trip getting along extremely well with a Xyrillian ("Unexpected"), but everyone finding the Andorians difficult to understand ("The Andorian Incident").

As for subplots in the IDW mini-series so far, "TNG: The Space Between" and "Klingons: Blood Will Tell" have both been mini-series where the individual issues still tell complete stories, yet they make a more complete story when read consecutively. "TOS: Year Four" has followed a similar format. And hey, you can't get more subtle than "The Space Between" and a certain admiral's "special delivery" canapés! (When a Trek trivia hound like me has to research on Memory Alpha just to understand the ending of a mini-series, that's subtle!)

IDW's marketing research has obviously told them that casual Star Trek readers will only pick up a recent ST comic if they can be assured of getting a complete story within its covers. I also like that the trade omnibus collections are scheduled to arrive just after the single issues complete their run, which must help some fans cope with the spottier release of smaller-press comics, such as IDW, than when ST was licensed out to Marvel, DC, Malibu, Marvel/Paramount or WildStorm.

Next month comes the Andorian issue! Yay!

Sunday's magic number: 92.5 - slightly up on last week, sigh. But there was yesterday's wine tasting, of course. That did some damage...

Latest IDW and TokyoPop Star Trek comics - in review

A big fortnight in the current realm of Trek comics!

The first IDW Publishing graphic novel-style reprint omnibus, for "The Next Generation: The Space Between", is out - rereading it will be very interesting, to see if the arc is more cohesive in one big lump. It was wonderful that all the rare cover art was included in the volume. It seems that if you collected the photo covers for the individual issues, then buying the collection will complete your collection in one big swoop.

I also picked up the final issue of "Blood Will Tell", the TOS Klingon arc, and the second issue of the "Star Trek: Year Four" TOS series. "Blood Will Tell" #5 was very enjoyable, with a twist that now seems so obvious, but it caught me by surprise, and gave the whole setup a great pay-off. Each of the previous four issues had featured flashbacks to well-known TOS Klingon stories (with Kor, Koloth, Krell, and Kang & Mara), but told from the Klingon POV. Now, the Klingons of the ST VI movie time period have to make their votes as to whether they will agree with Chancellor's Gorkon's quest for peace with the United Federation of Planets. The art of storyline has been consistently fresh in these comics and IDW should be very proud of them.


Tokypop's second manga collection is out!

Flipping through the first few manga stories in TokyoPop's "Kakan ni Shinkou", I was amused to notice a manga Andorian in the alien prison featured in the second of five stories in the collection: "The Trial" by Mike Wellman (and art by Nam Kim). He was near a TOS Gorn and various other aliens, but sitting opposite a Breen, a member of the mysterious race sometimes mentioned in "The Next Generation", and finally featured in several episodes of "Deep Space Nine". The appearance (above) would mark the Breen's TOS debut, I would think.

That story was a little infuriating, in that it tried very hard to be a typical TOS moral dilemma but, in fact, by having the alien Kos race put Kirk on trial for the crime of being human, it really wasn't all that different to Q's complaint about humans in "Encounter at Farpoint" (TNG).

More enjoyable was the collection's opening story, "Cura Te Ipsum" by Wil Wheaton (the former Wesley Crusher himself), which managed to bring together drama and destruction on the Enterprise and a new planet, a life threatening accident involving Spock, a budding romance with an alien healer for Kirk, and a reckless manga-haired, trigger-happy lieutenant who manages to complicate everything.

I still have three stories in "Kakan ni Shinkou" to go, but so far it seems on a par with the previous Star Trek manga collection, "Shinsei Shinsei" (Tokyopop, 2006). I'm really looking forward to the Diane Duane story, and hoping she has some references back to her days with Pocket novels and the DC comics.

However, I'm finding the small b/w panels and fine lines of the captions harder to read when I'm tired, or when my eyes start watering from the head cold I'm suffering, and I do find myself missing the colour of the regular Star Trek comics. More later!

New from IDW

I braved the CBD yesterday, despite APEC; the call of two fresh Star Trek comics, that had arrived late on Friday, was just toooo much. The new Klingon title was finishing up the "Blood Will Tell" mini-series, and the other one was issue #2 of "Year 4" (TOS).

The comics have a new IDW Publishing editor, whose first work will start to influence the line at the end of the year. There's an interview with Andrew Steven Harris right here.

Some fans are getting uppity about potential clashes with the Pocket novels, but the main reason that WildStorm had so many crossovers with Pocket Books was that the same known ST writers sought out projects with both publishers. IDW sounds like it already has its own pool of trusted comic writers. If a Pocket author wants to pitch to IDW I'm sure they be most welcome, but they'd be competing for spots like all the IDW teams.

The IDW policy of "multiple versions of cover art" concept is still causing me some grief, though. When the shops don't order double the copies they anticipate selling, not every customer will get the cover of their choice. It's driving me crazy! (I hope it is planned for all cover art to appear in the eventual graphic novel-style reprint volumes?)

I fully understand the "multiple versions" cover decision from a marketing standpoint but, living in Australia, where we work from a much smaller pool of collectors, here's the problem:

I used to collect "Xena: Warrior Princess" comics for a friend and he liked art covers, since the photo covers used well-known stills he already had in various magazines, video covers, collector cards, etc. I used to be able to specify "art cover" on my standing order. It made me glad I rarely had to worry about Star Trek comics doing the same marketing trick, although when Malibu did a few alternate covers. for its "Deep Space Nine" title, I treated myself to both versions!

But with IDW this year, I decided to use the same principle as my Xena friend: "Star Trek" art as my choice over photo covers, since the colour stills are quite common publicity shots.

Unfortunately, my comics dealer no longer guarantees I can have a choice of cover! There's no space on their new computer ordering system to specify alternate covers! Diamond Distribution catalogues say that the IDW Trek titles come in a 1:1 ratio, plus a few shop exclusives - which is very fair - but if the shop has over-ordered on one issue, they usually decrease the next few months of orders. When sales rise, the shop is caught short - and fewer collectors get to reject one (and buy the other) when they arrive to collect the order. If the shelf copies are already sold out before I arrive to collect my standing order, I'm right out of luck. And shop reorders also cannot specify art or photo choice.

The alternate, rare art covers from IDW are amazing! And what a waste that so few people get to see "Blood Will Tell" rare #1! A magnificent work of art so strictly limited in numbers! I did the happy dance on a recent trip to Brisbane, finding the rare Wesley art cover for "The Space Between" #5 - on special - to replace the Wesley photo cover I had to buy as a placeholder. It was very frustrating to own six comics where only one had the photo cover. (I wish I had room to buy all three/four covers of every issue!)

Luckily my Sydney comic shop refunded me on the Wesley photo cover this week, because two attempts to get art cover backorders had failed. Mind you, I'm probably buying all cover versions of the "Andorian Spotlight" special!

I'll review the new issues tomorrow.

Meet Ortees Sharad

Coming very soon from IDW Publishing:

Star Trek: Aliens Spotlight: Andorians is a one-issue comic written by Paul Storrie, with art by Leonard O'Grady, and four alternate covers (the above cover by Zach Howard and O'Grady).

"In the vast Star Trek universe, many diverse alien races abound, and now they finally get their due! Continuing a series of one-shots, each by a different creative team and featuring a different Star Trek alien race. Now, the spotlight shines on the Andorians." In this issue, "Andorian Ortees Sharad, a Commander in Starfleet Intelligence, returns to his homeworld while on leave and finds himself in the midst of mistrust and deception, and is captured by a renegade commander of the 'True Heirs of Andor'."

Sounds very, very cool! I think I've been waiting for this comic since... oh, about December 1979!

Captain's Log: Supplemental. Initial promotional material called the feature character of this comic "Ortees Shared".