Friday 31 July 2020

Eaglemoss book previews: Star Trek Cocktails and Spock Mindfulness

Eaglemoss are expanding their Star Trek book offerings beyond starships, with new books covering a wide range of subjects and points of view. Two books coming soon are Star Trek Cocktails, and Mr Spock's Little Book of Mindfulness, and previews have now been released for both. Continue below to check them out.

Star Trek Cocktails is, straightforwardly, a book about cocktails with Star Trek twists. Due out in November, it is written by Glenn Dakin, with recipes from mixologists Simon Pellet and Adrian Calderbank, illustrations by Adrian Salmon, and photography by David Burton and Jess Esposito.

The book will be a hardcover release, and two covers are currently circulating; one which implies it will be a cloth-bound book, the other with just the digital art:

Set your taste-buds to stunned! These Cosmic recipes will take you where no one has gone before. They're cocktails, Jim, but not as you know them....

Have you ever longed for a taste of Romulan Ale? Or pined for the mellowing effect of Dr McCoy's Mint Julep? Perhaps a Fuzzy Tribble would get you purring? Or a soothing sip of Captain Picard's Earl Grey Martini? This voyage into the future of stylish drinking is a must for all Star Trek - and cocktail - fans. With a galaxy of illustrations, and a witty garnish of quotations, this book will help you celebrate your favorite show.

Mix the classic cocktails served on Starfleet starships throughout the Federation! Picard, Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, Quark, and more - try out each crew member's favorite!

Monday 27 July 2020

Discovery Season 3 release date set, plus latest behind the scenes

The much anticipated return of Discovery finally has a date. CBS have announced season three will begin on the 15th of October. They updated their previous teaser video to reflect the new date:


This is how CBS describe the season in their press release:
After following Commander Burnham into the wormhole in the second season finale, season three of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY finds the U.S.S. Discovery crew landing into an unknown future far from the home they once knew. Now living in a time filled with uncertainty, the U.S.S. Discovery crew, along with the help of some new friends, must work together to restore hope to the Federation.
The thirteen episode season will begin the week after the final episode of Lower Decks will arrive (which itself will start in just over a week's time in North America), which means we're set for a solid half a year of weekly Trek ahead between the two shows.

While we're thinking Disco, continue on for a look at the latest behind the scenes bits and bobs to hit the web:

Star Trek book updates from Comic Con

A smattering of panels from the the virtual San Diego Comic Con this weekend touched upon Star Trek books, with either dedicated discussion on the series, or mentions from publishers. While there were no big formal announcements, news of several new series, books, and authors did get a mention. Continue below for all the details of novels and comics revealed.

From the world of Star Trek novels, new books were framed with in the exciting promise of a real push for greater diversity in the pool of writers producing Star Trek books - Much as I like the works of the regular writers, there is a really noticeable lack of voices that are anything other than male or white, so this is a very welcome move. Simon and Schuster publicity manager Lauren Jackson broached this subject in the All the Starfleet Ladies: Then and Now panel:
I was trying to do some promotions for Women's History Month, Black History Month... And I went to Ed [Schlesinger]'s office, Ed is the senior editor who works on, and I guess brand manager of Star Trek too. And I was like "Dude, what are we- We've got to like, work on this", and he's like "I've been working on it for so long", and I was like "let's get it underway, let's really try to diversify this list, and get the perspectives of these authors".
We dug deep, and a bunch of us got together in a room - I'm not even kidding you, it was like a war-room - And we were like "Ok, what's the strategy? Who are we looking for?". And I'm super proud, I'm super proud that Ed went out of his way, and he approached Cassandra, and we have another author under contract now.

Saturday 25 July 2020

Round 2 Model kit round-up: New Shuttlecraft Galileo kit, bigger Disco-Enterprise, and more

Star Trek model kit makers Round 2 Models have been keeping up a steady stream of both new kits and reissues of late, with their most recent release being the long anticipated brand new Shuttlecraft Galileo kit. Continue below to check out that, plus other new TOS and Discovery kits.

The Shuttlecraft Galileo kit is 1:32 scale, and comes with a set of decals that can also name the shuttle Columbus and Einstein, and indeed the Galileo II (and I suppose if so inclined the Columbus II or Einstein II too!)


IDW resume new Star Trek comic announcements with October solicitations

IDW's October solicitations have been revealed, which include one brand new title, plus an omnibus - This is the first newly announced book since the covid-induce pause and subsequent schedule shuffle; with the backlog of covid-delayed titles currently filling the schedule being caught up on by October. Continue below for the details:

Star Trek: Year Five #16
Written by Jody Houser, with art by Silvia Califano.
Election season is in full swing across the Federation, and even though it seems ridiculous, Harry Mudd is rising to the top of the polls! The crew of the Enterprise suspects that there's more to Mudd's game than just wanting to do his civic duty, and their investigation will uncover a rot that threatens the entire Federation from the inside. The final voyages of the U.S.S. Enterprise continue with the amazing crew of writer Jody Houser (Stranger Things, Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy) and artist Silvia Califano (The X-Files: Case Files)!
The book will be offered in this series' usual two covers. Either the main Stephen Thompson, featuring a Mudd presidential rally, or a retail incentive travel poster by JJ Lendl, quite delightfully for Andoria.


Thursday 23 July 2020

Trek TV news from the Comic Con virtual panel

The Comic Con Star Trek Universe virtual panel today gave us a few nuggets of news. Continue below for a new preview of Lower Decks, and updates on Discovery season three, and Strange New Worlds. But first, a whole new show:

The biggest is the reveal of a brand new series title. The Nickelodeon animated Star Trek series aimed at younger views will be called Star Trek Prodigy, and has this snazzy title logo:


Picard home video details, and latest behind the scenes videos

CBS have announced the details of the home video release of Picard season one, which is due out in October on bluray and DVD. As expected the set includes the Short Treks prequel Children of Mars, as well as all the Picard episodes.

Here are the details of all the other extra features included:
MAKE IT SO – The co-creators and Patrick Stewart discuss bringing the iconic character back to the screen, including what was compelling enough to warrant it and the obstacles they had to overcome to make it so.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES EPISODIC FEATURETTES:
  • STORY LOG: REMEMBRANCE
  • STORY LOG: MAPS AND LEGENDS
  • STORY LOG: THE END IS THE BEGINNING
  • STORY LOG: ABSOLUTE CANDOR
  • STORY LOG: STARDUST CITY RAG
  • STORY LOG: THE IMPOSSIBLE BOX
  • STORY LOG: NEPENTHE
  • STORY LOG: BROKEN PIECES
  • STORY LOG: ET IN ARCADIA EGO, PART 1
  • STORY LOG: ET IN ARCADIA EGO, PART 2

COMMENTARY: EPISODE 101, “REMEMBRANCE” (Exclusive) – Executive producers Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman and Michael Chabon, supervising producer Kirsten Beyer, and director Hanelle M. Culpepper provide commentary about episode one of Star Trek: Picard.

THE MOTLEY CREW (Exclusive) – Working outside of Starfleet, Picard gathers his crew from across the galaxy. This special feature takes a look at the actors and characters that will travel aboard the La Sirena.

ALIENS ALIVE: THE xBs – A look inside the creative process behind the xBs of Star Trek: Picard, alongside Lead Creature Designer Neville Page, Vincent Van Dyke and his prosthetics studio team, as well as Make-Up and Prosthetics Department Head James MacKinnon about the process from start to stage.

PICARD PROPS (Exclusive) – Property Master Jeffrey Lombardi takes fans on a tour of the many props created for Season One of Star Trek: Picard.

SET ME UP – Production Designer Todd Cherniawsky serves as the tour guide for the main stages of Star Trek: Picard, including the La Sirena, Picard’s study and the Borg Cube. Cherniawsky, Supervising Art Director Iain McFadyen and Set Decorator Lisa Alkofer also discuss the various designs for the show.

STAR TREK: SHORT TREKS: "CHILDREN OF MARS" – Twelve-year-old classmates Kima and Lil find themselves at odds with each other on a day that will change their lives forever.

COMMENTARY: STAR TREK: SHORT TREKS: "CHILDREN OF MARS" (Exclusive) – Executive producer and co-writer Alex Kurtzman, and co-writers Jenny Lumet and Kirsten Beyer, discuss the featured Short Treks episode.

DELETED SCENES (Exclusive)

GAG REEL (Exclusive)

Loads of new Lower Decks images, plus first episode titles

CBS have released a load of new Lower Decks images, and the titles of the first four episodes. We get to see a lot of our new heroes - Ensigns Beckett Mariner, Brad Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford - in action, as well as the bridge crew, and other members of the USS Cerritos crew. Plus we get to see more of the ship, strange new worlds, and a load of references to all things Trek! Continue below to check them out.

Episode one is, of course, Second Contact. This would appear to be the episode with the zombie goo incident we've seen in the trailer, plus a visit to an alien world:


Tuesday 21 July 2020

Non-Fiction round-up: Art of Discovery and Ships of the Line preview pages, Wisdom of Picard cover, and autobiography updates

Got a few Star Trek non-fiction book updates today, including the new cover for the Wisdom of Picard book, autobiography book updates, and new previews from the Ships of the Line calendar. Continue below to check out all that. But first....

Due out in September from Titan Books is The Art of Star Trek Discovery, written by Paula Block and Terry Erdmann. Here's a reminder of the blurb:
The official Star Trek: Discovery art book.

Star Trek: Discovery, the newest chapter in the Star Trek Universe, follows the exploits of Vulcan-raised science officer Michael Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery as they boldly go where no one has gone before.

The Art of Star Trek Discovery explores behind the scenes of CBS's hit show, with cast and crew interviews, set photography, concept art and storyboards. With exclusive content from the first two seasons, this book is a must-have for every Star Trek fan.
Several preview pages have now been released, giving us a good idea of how the book will present its art collection:


The Wand Company tease "fully-functional" tricorder replica

The Wand Company, who have previously brought us the phaser remote control, and communicator bluetooth handset, are back, and ready to complete their TOS landing party kit with a "fully-functional" tricorder!

The Wand Company's approach to these products is not just to make a device that looks a bit like a Star Trek prop, with a practical function, but to really go to town to make a perfect replica of the screen used device, hiding inside it whatever function they have decided to give it.

The tricorder isn't due for release until summer next year, but they're excited to show it off, and so released this teaser video:



Sunday 19 July 2020

Discovery: Die Standing excerpts, and other Star Trek novel updates

Out this week was the latest Star Trek Discovery novel, John Jackson Miller's Die Standing. The book features Philippa Georgiou, in three guises; her younger prime timeline self, the mirror universe Emperor at the height of her power, and the Emperor again, once displaced into the prime timeline and forced to seek out new opportunities. Continue below for print and audio excerpts from the book, plus some other Star Trek novel updates.

But first, via StarTrek.com Miller wrote up a great tease of what the book has to offer. Here's a sample:
While we didn’t know her for very long, Captain Georgiou appeared again in a Short Treks episode, as well as in previous novels Desperate Hours and Drastic Measures. Die Standing, which I wrote in coordination with Kirsten Beyer of the Discovery writer’s room, opens even earlier in the character’s Starfleet career, with her serving aboard Archimedes as a young lieutenant. And once again, she’s forced to figure out a way to work toward a goal, while staying within the rules.

By comparison, Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius — better known as the emperor of the Terran Empire — is bound by no rules at all. Instead, she makes the rules, and isn’t shy about enforcing her will — brutally, if need be. We meet her in the Mirror Universe episodes of Discovery Season One, at the height of her reign; Die Standing first encounters her somewhat before that. A lot of things are different in her world’s history, but one thing isn’t: the dying words of another emperor, Vespasian. “An emperor ought to die standing,” the ancient Roman said, and Emperor Georgiou certainly would have, had Burnham not spirited her away from her regime’s destruction.

Thursday 16 July 2020

DS9: Too Long a Sacrifice #1 covers and excerpt

Out this week is the long awaited, in more ways than one, first issue of IDW's new DS9 crime noir comic miniseries, Too Long a Sacrifice. This is the first standalone DS9 comic in a decade, following IDW's only other DS9 series, Fool's Gold, in 2010 - Although DS9 has in the meantime featured in the Kelvin timeline crossover story The Q Gambit, the multi-series crossover The Q Conflict, and a few stories in the anthology series Waypoint.

IDW regulars Scot and David Tipton are on writing duty for this four-part series (they also wrote Fool's Gold and The Q Conflict). They are teaming up with artist Greg Scott, who is returning to Trek for the first time since working on a couple of Marvel Star Trek books in the 90s (including the final issue in their own DS9 series), working now with colourist Felipe Sobreiro.

The book is available in no fewer than five covers, all featuring Odo, who is the focus of this series. The A and B covers both go with an Odo lurking behind a bulkhead image, either illustrated by Richardo Drumond on the A cover, of a photo B cover. Two retail incentive covers both feature the same artwork by JK Woodward, which captures the explosive setup to the series. You can get this either with a cool pulpy title treatment, or an art only version, which is available in more limited numbers. Finally there's another photo-cover, available as a convention exclusive, supposedly for Wondercon, which would have been in April along side the original planned release of this book, had both not been either cancelled or delayed by the Covid crisis - No idea how you're meant to get this cover now if you fancy it!

Continue below to check out all those covers, plus a five-page preview.


Sunday 12 July 2020

Lower Decks trailer gives us first proper look at the series, plus other screen-Trek updates.

With the series due to star just next month, CBS have finally released a trailer for the new animated comedy Star Trek series, Lower Decks. Steeped in TNG-era goodness, and an obvious love for all things Trek, with a generous dose of humour, it looks freaking fantastic. Check it out:



Along side this CBS have also release a new poster, which might be work a closer look, as it reveals multiple new ships, including on the right hand side what appears to be an absolutely ginormous alien vessel encountering a couple of Starfleet ships.


Continue below for a closer look at what the trailer had to offer. Plus some other screen-Trek updates.

Saturday 11 July 2020

Latest Star Trek Graphic Novel Collection titles and other Star Trek comics updates

Eaglemoss have announced the contents of four new books in the Star Trek Graphic Novel Collection. Continue below for all the details, plus a few other Star Trek comics updates.

Star Trek Graphic Novel Collection #125: The Ashes of Eden

Named for the comic book adaptation of William Shatner's first "Shatnerverse" novel. The book will also contain a couple of other DC Comics TOS Specials. Contents and credits are:
  • The Ashes of Eden
    • An adventure set between The Undiscovered Country and Generations, featuring Kirk, the decommissioned USS Enterprise-A, and some Klingon/Romulan mixed heritage people among other things!
    • Written by William Shatner and Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, with art by Steve Erwin (pencils) and Jimmy Palmiotti (inks). 
  • DC Star Trek Special #2
    • Raise the Defiant
      • A TOS movie-era sequel to The Tholian Web.
      • Written by Kevin J. Ryan, with art by Chris Wozniak (penicls) and Jeff Hollander (inks)
    • A Question of Loyalty
      • A TOS movie-era meeting of Saavik and Valeris.
      • Written by Steven H. Wilson, with art by Rachel Ketchum (pencils) and Rich Faber (inks).
  • DC Star Trek Special #3
    • The Unforgiven
      • A TOS TV-era sequel to Operation: Annihilate! featuring Kirk and his nephews on a camping trip, and Orions in tanks!
      • Written by Michael Jan Friedman, with art by Steve Erwin (pencils) and Jimmy Palmiotti (inks).
    • Echoes of Yesterday
      • A TOS movie-era story that's also a sequel to Operation: Annihilate! featuring an older Peter Kirk on a time travel mission to try and save his parents in that episode.
      • Written by Mark A. Altman, with art by Ken Save (pencils) and Ron Boyd (inks).

Wednesday 8 July 2020

Little Golden Book: Star Trek Alphabet Book preview

Out this week is the latest Star Trek children's book from Little Golden Books, the Star Trek Alphabet Book. Forgoing the story element of previous books in the series, illustrator Ethen Beavers instead brings the Star Trek universe to life, in alphabetical order, with subjects inspired by TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise.

Amazon have posted preview pages up to letter G, giving us a good taste of what the book delivers. Curiously letter C gets a different subject matter between the cover and interior. Continue below for a look inside:


Tuesday 7 July 2020

Interview: Rich Handley on the Star Trek Graphic Novel Collection

Rich Handley might be a name familiar to you if you're a fan of Star Trek comics. His famously complete collection made him a key figure in bringing back into print the almost-lost Star Trek comic strips from the US and UK. More recently he's been working with Eaglemoss on their Star Trek Graphic Novel Collection; initially writing introductions for many of the books, and now as editor of the series. We had a chat recently to discuss his work on the collection, and the hope it might be able to continue long enough to get to reprint every Star Trek comic. Continue below to find out more.

So to kick off, I know you've been involved in Star Trek comics as a collector and professionally for a long time. Can you fill us in on how you ended up in charge of the Star Trek Graphic Novel Collection? And what it's been like getting to play with all the Star Trek comic toys as a result?
I'll paraphrase Commander Kor by saying it's been glorious.

My involvement with the Eaglemoss books goes back to shortly after the Star Trek Graphic Novel Collection was first announced—but my love of Star Trek comics goes back to 1984, when I was 16 years old. I'd been a Trek fan since pretty much my toddler days, as I was born in 1968 and my mother was a first-generation fan who'd watched the show all the time while I was growing up. Although I can't say one-year-old me was a fan (one-year-old me was too busy drooling on myself, sucking my thumb and figuring out how to say words more complicated than "mama" and "dada"), I was present in the room, sitting in my playpen, while my mom watched the final season in its first run. So I can truthfully say the franchise has been in my life since the beginning.

By age 16, I'd watched each episode countless times and I'd read each novel as it came out. But teenage me craved more. One day, as I was walking through a bookstore in my home town of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., a comic book cover caught my eye: issue #9 of DC's first Star Trek run. It announced "New Frontiers" on the cover, which piqued my curiosity, and the artwork was striking. I'd never been a comics reader before that point, other than perusing my cousins' funny books when I was a child of the '70s—Little Lulu, Archie, Fox and Hound, that sort of thing—so despite my love of the Trek franchise, the comics had largely been off my radar until I'd spotted that cover. I decided "Why the hell not?" and took it home, figuring that if I didn't enjoy it, I'd only be out 75 cents (comics were a lot cheaper back then). As it turned out, that wasn't a problem.

I soon began looking up local comic shops to find the first eight issues. That was easy, as they were all current. Then I went nuts tracking down the Marvel and Gold Key stories that had preceded DC's line, but this proved more challenging—still, I found them all. I've been collecting Trek comics ever since and have amassed every issue to date, including rare items fans might not know about. This culminated in my befriending Mark Martinez (proprietor of the Star Trek Comics Checklist), creating my own resource (The Complete Star Trek Comics Index), and eventually writing for Star Trek Communicator magazine back in the day, and later contributing to several unofficial Star Trek books offered by Sequart and ATB Publishing.

A few years back, I worked on five Star Trek hardcover books for IDW's Library of American Comics (LOAC) imprint, which reprinted all of the U.S. and U.K. Star Trek comic strips. The strips were scanned from my personal collection (you can imagine how tough it was to complete the full set of those stories in the pre-Internet days), and I wrote the supplementary materials for each volume. That was an amazing experience; working on an official Trek comic has always been number-one on my writing bucket list. Back when WildStorm had the license, editor Jeff Mariotte had invited me to write a tale for the Star Trek Special, but alas, since the company was about to lose the license, the budget was cut and I ended up being cut, too, since I'd been the last writer brought onboard. So joining the Trek comics fold with the LOAC books was extremely gratifying—and it opened up a door for me when Eaglemoss later obtained its license.

Monday 6 July 2020

STO round-up: Year of Klingon gets going, plus Discovery season 2 content

Star Trek Online's Year of Klingon has got into full swing with the first major story-content expansion, House Divided. Continue below for details of that, and other new updates to the video game:

House Divided picks up the story focused on the temporarily displaced Disco-Klingon J'ula, along with Aakar, Gowron's grandfather, voiced by Robert O’Reilly (Gowron himself). J.G. Hertzler has also returned as Martok. Here's how STO outline the story arc:
With the incursion of J’ula into the modern era, more and more Klingons are listening to her message of a return to “traditional” ways. What side will Martok choose?
Here's a trailer for the new content:



Wednesday 1 July 2020

Lower Decks gets release date, and USS Cerritos revealed

CBS have made some big Lower Decks reveals and announcements today, including details of the first season's release in North America. Continue below for all the details of the forthcoming Star Trek animated comedy series..

The other big update from the series is the much anticipated reveal of the series' ship, the USS Cerritos in a new teaser poster, which also features the tagline: "Rarely going where no one has gone before".


Be always on duty with new Starfleet uniform sleepwear and bedding

Is your insomnia driven by the thought that the urgent call of a Red Alert might leave you struggling to get into uniform and dash to the bridge on time? Well fear not, the latest Star Trek sleepwear and bedding means you're never out of uniform. Continue below to check out all your options.

Sleepwear makers Intimo have launched a new range of Star Trek sleep-shirts and pajamas inspired by the uniforms of TOS, TNG, and Discovery. All their pieces are made from a fleecy polyester material, and feature embroidered insignia badges, plus other details depending on the design.

From The Next Generation there is a command night-shirt, which slightly reinterprets the uniform design to give it raglan sleeves and black back.


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