Monday 30 November 2009

IDW bits

From Joe Corrney's website we have the first look at his cover for the fifth and final issue of the Ghosts miniseries:And from Amazon a cover for the omnibus of Alien Spotlight II (though I'm assuming not final as the Enterprise is rendered rather roughly and it omits the Cardassian issue at the moment):
Also from Amazon the first hints at a new book in IDW's Omnibus series, this time collecting several of their own miniseries. Star Trek Omnibus: The Original Series will apparently contain IDW's Year Four, The Enterprise Experiment, Klingons: Blood Will Tell, and the TOS Alien Spotlight issues (the other series are all IDW's earliest TOS series, so maybe just from Alien Spotlight I?).

Saturday 28 November 2009

IDW in February and comics updates

Comics Continuum have posted IDW's solicitations for February, which include three new Star Trek comics and two omnibuses.

Ghosts #4
With Captain Picard shifted into another dimension, Commander Riker takes command of the Enterprise and negotiates with Worf's hot-tempered captors for his release. Troi tries to pick through the noise in her patient's head to unravel information on the extra-dimensional ghosts. Meanwhile, the missing Picard finds himself in a peculiar leadership role.
Fool's Gold #3
As the temperature rises aboard Deep Space Nine, Captain Sisko, Kira and Odo come closer to getting to the bottom of the mystery. Can Sisko calm the volatile situation and restore order before another riot breaks out? And what does Garak have to do with all that has transpired?
Star Trek Movie Adaptation #1
JJ Abrams' blockbuster revitalization of the Star Trek franchise was the most thrilling film of the year. Now, under the direction of Abrams and screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, comes the highly anticipated graphic adaptation of the film! Additionally, new scenes and moments cut from the movie are revealed‹an event no Star Trek fan can dare miss!
Romulans: Pawns of War omnibus
Collecting Byrne's tales of Star Trek's Romulans in one volume. This special edition tells tales leading up to the seminal "Balance of Terror" episode. Included within is the Romulans Alien Spotlight, the two-part Hollow Crown story, and the three-issue Schism series. As an added bonus, Byrne writes and draws an all-new 12-page "Balance of Terror" adaptation just for this collection.


Nero omnibus
From Star Trek writer/producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, comes an all-new story set within the events of the hit film! Not an adaptation, this exclusive story follows the villainous Nero as he seeks to destroy the Federation.

Meanwhile on his forums John Byrne has given some new details of his forthcoming series Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor. It apparently sees McCoy dealing with a new disease in each issue, and is based on an idea Byrne once had for a TV series set in the American Civil War.

And final some new art. David Messina's cover for Fool's Gold issue 2 (also available on Messina's blog, Captain's Log: Sulu cover art at higher res than previously released):
And from the interior artist of the same series, Fabio Mantovani, a page from the first issue (which you can also see pre-colouring on the original post):

Books update

A few bits and bobs from the world of Pocket Books. First up, they have a new editor for the Trek line at last, Jaime Costas apparently (so says Mark Rademaker).

On the Simon and Schuster website you can find an excerpt from the latest Vanguard novel, Precipice.

Thanks to Amazon we have some new summaries for the new-TOS books coming out next year (plus a title and new authorship for the forth in the series):

Refugees, by Alan Dean Foster
Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise must decide if a group of refugees are a menace or misunderstood.

Seek a Newer World, by Christopher L. Bennett
Enterprise under attack escapes and discovers an entire civilization also hiding as is the ship. Kirk decides to find out what are they hiding from.

More Beautiful Than Death, by David Mack
Kirk leads a mission to Akiron, a dilithium rich world. Aboard is Spock's father, Ambassador Sarek, who is hoping to broker a Federation trade agreement.

The Hazard of Concealing, by Greg Cox
When the elder Spock surfaces from the future, will he be able to escape a sinister plan wrought by the enemies of the Federation, or will their quest to exploit Spock's knowledge succeed, with disastrous consequences?

And from an interview with James Swallow on Unreality SF we have the first indications of what his story, The Slow Knife, from Seven Deadly Sins is about: “The Slow Knife is set pre-DS9, during the period of Cardassian-Federation border skirmishes as detailed in the TNG episode The Wounded," "It’s about an ambitious young Cardassian officer who is passed over for a promotion and becomes slowly consumed by her own resentment and jealousy.” “a certain other Cardassian of note may or may not also appear in the story…

Ships of the Line 2011!

Doug Drexler has announced work has begun on the 2011 edition of the Ships of the Line calendar, with editorial oversight from Margaret Clark (apparently back at Pocket Books working freelance). Drexler has given a few hints at what to expect:
-An image of the new movie Enterprise
-An NX-01 refit for the fifth season that never was, with "a secondary hull and a TOS porcelin finish"
-A "a TNG era Romulan uber cruiser"
-And a "TOS.5.2 E" (whatever the heck that is?!)

Additionally Mark Rademaker has posted on his blog confirming he is working on something for the calendar.

DAC updates

Here are a couple of videos promoting the new updates to Star Trek DAC available now on PC and Playstation 3 as well as X-Box 360:

Star Trek The Experience, Online!

For those who never got the chance to go there, or those who wish to relive fond memories, here's a neat little site for you. The now closed Star Trek: The Experience has been put online in the form of a collection of 360 degree interactive images, you can view all the major areas of the exhibition, including staff areas. Check out, here.

Art of the Film previews

To compliment the release of the DVD/bluray of the new film Titan Books also released an art book. Several websites have previewed the publications, here are a few highlights:


And links to the rest: here, here, here, here, here and here!

Additionally the latest issue of the Star Trek Magazine has a supplement of additional material that couldn't fit into the book, and promises a second supplement in their next issue!

New Movie on DVD

The new movie is out on DVD and bluray now, you can find a whole host of clips from the extra features if you hunt about online, but it's much easier to just get the DVD/bluray and enjoy it all together.

When you do get it one of the cooler exclusive versions comes from Target, who offer it in a model of the Enterprise!!Not on the DVD is an unfilmed scene which could have given William Shatner his much demanded cameo, you can read it as it was scripted on TrekMovie (glad they didn't go through with it myself, sounds very forced to me).

IDW five page previews

Since my last updates three comics have been released by IDW, and all have had their usual five page previews. Here is a page form each a link to the full preview:

Schism #3
Ghosts #1Nero #4

Star Trek Online update

Apologies for the downtime folks, lots to catch up on!

There has been the usual barrage of information from Star Trek Online as it comes nearer to its release, now announced as February 2nd, and now with box art and system requirements!

There have been a few new videos, including the second "The Future Past" video, which gives a video version of The Path to 2409, and in fact beyond where The Path has so far progressed to, taking us all the way up to 2409.



Some of the highlights from this part of the Online history include the revelation that Species 8472 have been manipulating some of the major races to bring about the Online-verse's state of all out war, and that due to the Klingon victories in the wars when you play on the Klingon side you'll also be able to play as some of their recently conquered subject species; the Gorn, Nausicaans and Orions!

And if one video isn't enough, here's a new trailer too:



And a two part guide to space combat!





There have also been plenty of interviews and articles. One explaining the "episode" structure of the game can be found, here. Which explains the game at launch will come with three seasons of forteen episodes with plans to add more in future. While another article explains that he Federation part of the game takes most of the directed story telling, with users playing as Klingons to be focused more on player vs player gameplay. The Federation also get more ships, with sixteen ship configurations customisable into forty-eight different designs! While the Klingons get to work their way through thirteen configurations.

If videos aren't enough there's also the usual guzillion new screencaps, here're a few highlights:

And finally, if you fancy doing some pre-ordering, two retailers are offering exclusive bonus content, a classic Constitution class starship from Gamestop:

Or a Borg bridge officer from Amazon:


Find Star Trek comics, toys, statues, and collectibles at TFAW.com!