Comic bits: nuTrek, photo-comics, and Doctor Who

A few bits of Star Trek comics news. Starting with Joe Corroney's latest art previews. The artist will be returning to the nuTrek ongoing series in May and June with the two-part story, Lost Apollo. So I presume these pages, which Corroney shared on his Facebook page, are form those issues:

Meanwhile John Byrne has been posting more previews and teases on his forums, of his work on his new ongoing photo-comic series, New Visions. One story Byrne is developing will be, in the tradition of many a TOS episode, featuring a robot. Byrne posted this image, which is an earlier design he is using as a stand-in for now:

The robot in this image is mostly a place holder. I designed "him" for an entirely different series, about ten years ago, and would like to tinker with the elements a bit before committing him to a TREK story. I want to keep the pipe-like arms and legs, but I'd prefer the overall design to be slightly less whimsical.

Continue after the jump for more from Byrne, and a look at IDW Limited's latest deluxe release:

Comic bits: Parallel Lives, IDW Limited, and essays

Out this week is the twenty-ninth issue of the nuTrek ongoing comic series, part one of a new story, Parallel Lives. StarTrek.com recently ran and interview with the issue's writer, Mike Johnson, and artist Yasmin Liang. Johnson gave this summary of the issue, which features a gender-swapped reality:

Without giving too much away, we start right away with the introduction of Jane Tiberia Kirk and her crew on the Enterprise. From there things get progressively weirder until Jane comes face to face with her doppleganger, a fellow starship captain with an unusual name: James Tiberius Kirk.

Both also talked about the inception of the story, and their work on it. Here's a snippet in which Liang explains her approach to drawing the suddenly female dominated crew:

I spent a lot of time humming and hahhing about how body language would translate. I figured a lot of Kirk's boisterous swagger and confidence would be present no matter what gender and from there, it started to make a lot of sense. These characters are so strong at their core that a lot of what makes them who they are would be present regardless of what gender, race or even species they are! I suppose the biggest challenge was trying to find a balance in their likenesses since they're based off of male actors. I also didn't want them all to be the same.

You can read the full interview on StarTrek.com, and can also find a seven-page preview of the comic, in my previous report.

Meanwhile, back from the early days of the ongoing series, IDW Limited have announced their second super limited edition Star Trek book. Operation Annihilate is a reprint of the second ongoing omnibus (which includes two two-part stories, Operation: Annihilate, and Vulcan's Vengeance), in an exclusive hardcover binding, presented in a tray case. Each issue is signed by the writer, Mike Johnson, and a pair of artists from the series (which artists vary depending which version of the set you go for). Each set also comes with four prints of artwork from the series. There are three different versions available: The Red Label, limited to one-hundred-and-seventy-five copies, comes with the standard stuff described above. The Black Label, of which there are just fifty copies, comes with all that, plus a piece of original artwork by Joe Corroney. And the most limited version, the Blue Label, with just fifteen copies, comes with a piece of artwork by Tim Bradstreet.

I posted a few examples of the art Joe Corroney has done for this some time ago. IDW Limited's Twitter posted a couple more samples, from both Corroney and Bradstreet:

IDW Limited are currently taking pre-orders for these, expecting them to be sent out in February.

Finally, several familiar names are involved in a new book of essays exploring the world of Star Trek comics. Coming this summer from Sequart Organization is New Life and New Civilizations: Exploring Star Trek Comics, a collection of essays exploring every facet of Star Trek comics; from Gold Key through to IDW, and the many, sometimes rather unusual, things in-between.

Several Star Trek fans, comic writers, and novelists are contributing. I'm sure you'll recognise more than a few names from this list: Jim Beard, Joseph F. Berenato, Julian Darius, Keith DeCandido, Kevin Dilmore, Robert Greenberger, Rich Handley, Mark Martinez, Tom Mason, David McIntee, Martín A. Pérez, Alan J. Porter, Colin Smith, Scott Tipton, Cody Walker, and Dayton Ward. It's edited by Joseph F. Berenato, and features snazzy cover art from Patricio Carbajal.

Comics bits: Deadly alliances, hot stuff, and Khan

A few bits of comics news: Starting with J.K. Woodward's latest Star Trek/Doctor Who crossover art, which will be available with super exclusive IDW Limited releases of the Assimilation² crossover series. Woodward posted some of the artwork he has been making, on his blog, including new images such as the latest encounter with the scarily forgettable Silence-Borg, and what is surely the the super cute deadly alliance at the center of the next crossover series: 

Out last week was the latest issue in the ongoing series, After Darkness, Part Three. Here's the cover, and a three page preview (via Comixology), which sees some exciting Vulcan action in a volcano:

Amazon have now added a cover for the After Darkness omnibus, which will contain the three-part After Darkness story, and the forthcoming Gorn one-shot. As one might expect it appears they'll be using the cover art from the first issue in the omnibus.

In other cover news, Paul Shipper, who is doing the covers for the forthcoming Khan prequel series, has posted his artwork for the first issue. Below is the cover for the first issue, without the titles, if you make your way to his portfolio you can see all the elements he used to create this:

More J.K. Woodward Star Trek/Doctor Who crossover art

Last week I posted some of the awesome artwork J.K. Woodward has been working on, to be included in IDW Limited editions of the TNG/Doctor Who crossover comic, Assimilation², specifically for the second omnibus of the series. Now Woodward has posted colour versions of several of those pieces on Twitter; there are some fantastic pieces, I've picked a few of my favourites, but you can see a lot more on Woodward's Twitter:

 

 

Make sure to scroll a good way into Woodward's Twitter gallery too, I didn't go far enough last time, and missed out on finding a load of art he had done for the Volume One book as well. So here are a few of my favourites form that selection too!

Universes collide in so many Trek crossovers!

Crossovers just keep coming to the Star Trek universe. It seems the TNG/Doctor Who crossover, Assimilation² is next in line to get the deluxe treatment from IDW Limited. The series artist, J.K. Woodward, has been tweeting unique artwork he has been working on, to be included in the higher end versions of IDW Limited's edition of Assimilation², Volume 2. He says he is working on one-hundred-and-thirty of these one of a kind pieces of art, which include Doctor Who aliens assimilated by the Borg, Star Trek characters being converted by the Cybermen, mirror universe doctors, and all sorts of other creative crossovers. Here are just a few of my favourites, check out Woodwards Twitter for many more!

Meanwhile, at the San Diego Comic Con, Bif Bang Pow! and Entertainment Earth will be offering a Star Trek/The Twilight Zone crossover, in the form of a pair of monitor mates in a lunch tin featuring William Shatner, as both Captain Kirk, and the character Bob Wilson from The Twilight Zone episode Nightmare at 20,000 Feet. You can see more images of each element of the set on IGN.

Finally, Things From Another World have added a listing for another T-shirt in the Star Trek/The Big Bang Theory crossover collection. This new design features Sheldon doing his best Picard:

IDW Limited's Star Trek Volume 2 art previews

Next month IDW Limited will release its first Star Trek book, a high end exclusive version of the first nuTrek ongoing comics omnibus; signed unique versions of the book, in a nice box, packaged with some prints of cover artwork, and for the even more limited edition versions, original and unique artwork from artists that work on the series.

IDW are evidently confident this first book will do well, as work is under way on volume 2. The Black Label version of this next collection will include original artwork by Joe Corroney, who has posted some samples of what he's been drawing for it, on Facebook. Here are a few of my favourites:

 

 

Corroney has put several other portraits up on Facebook too, check them out.

Comics news: Khan, omnibuses, and IDW Limited details

A few bits of comics news, starting with a tiny hint of things to come in the nuTrek comics. Apologies for those who still haven't seen Into Darkness, but I think the Khat is out of the bag on the spoiler which I'm about to discuss (look away now?) In response to the following on Twitter:

Can we get canon explanation for Khan's appearance change? Thanks!

Roberto Orci replied:

Wait 4 IDW comics!

Which I presume refers specifically to the John Harrison (probably prequel) series Orci confirmed is in the works, recently. So I guess they're not planning to gloss over the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch isn't Indian, or Mexican... or Spanish...

Aaaanyway, in other comics news, Amazon has added listings for a whole bunch of new omnibuses on the way! Three books all due out in October. Those include the second book in the fantastic newspaper comic-strips reprints. Star Trek: The Newspaper Comics, Volume 2, picks up where the previous book ended, giving us the final ten stories of the US newspaper strips. Lets hope it does well enough to continue the project into the beautiful, and equally rare and under-appreciated, UK strips. Here's the Amazon blurb:

Edited by Dean Mullaney with an Introduction by Rich Handley. Collecting the second half of the rare daily and Sunday newspaper strip. Ten complete missions from October 26, 1981 through December 3, 1983. Stories by Sharman DiVono, Larry Niven, Martin Pasko, and Gerry Conway; art by Ron Harris, Padraic Shigetani, Bob Myers, Ernie Colon, Dick Kulpa, and Alfredo Alcala.

Pre-order: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es, Amazon.it, Amazon.co.jp.

Another big hardcover on the way is the complete series omnibus of the TNG/Doctor Who crossover, Assimilation². This one has a great new cover by the Sharp Brothers. Here's the Amazon blurb:

The two greatest science-fiction properties of all time crossover for the first time! Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise have joined forces with the Doctor and his companions to combat an unholy alliance between the Federation's most terrifying enemy and one of the Doctor's greatest antagonists. But once the Cybermen turn on their Borg allies, the Doctor and Picard find themselves at odds over how to proceed against the threat, with the fate of the universe hanging in the balance!

Pre-order: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es, Amazon.it, Amazon.co.jp.

Finally, and also in hardcover, there's something a little more intriguing, The Stardate Collection, Volume 1. This book is apparently the start of a new omnibus series which aims to reprint Star Trek comics in stardate order. I somehow expect it will be doing so quite selectively, but it's an intriguing prospect none the less, especially as it will include additional commentaries and behind the scenes stuff. Here's the Amazon blurb:

The comic book tales of Star Trek have roamed the universe and spanned publishers, but now Star Trek: The Stardate Collection collects the many iterations of Trek in order... by stardate! Helmed by Trek experts Scott and David Tipton, and featuring special commentary and creator interviews, volume 1 starts at the beginning to reveal the motives, machinations and decisions that shaped the intrepid crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. For new and old fans alike, there's never been a Star Trek collection like this!

Pre-order: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es, Amazon.it, Amazon.co.jp.

Amazon UK list a wide range of writers and artists, which help determine the probable contents of this April/Pike era collection:

• Writers Dan Abnett and Ian Edginton, with artists Greg Adams and Patrick Zircher brought us Marvel's Pike-era Early Voyages. This collection can't possibly contain the entire seventeen issue series, as it's only 288 pages in total (the previous complete Early Voyages omnibus was over 400!)
• John Byrne, writer and artist of several series for IDW, including the most likely candidate for this book, Crew, which gave the story of Number One's early career in Starfleet.
• Writer James Patrick, with artist Josep Maria Beroy, gave us IDW's Pike-era Alien Spotlight: Vulcans.

Also on the list are Scott and David Tipton, they have written a Pike story, Alien Spotlight: Orions, but it occurs later than the rest here, after his time on the Enterprise, so maybe they're listed as the authors of the promised commentary in the book. That would make for a reasonably complete collection of Pike stories set before the transition era to Kirk's joining the Enterprise. The only glaring omission I can think of is the DC Annual, To Walk the Night.

Away from the mainstream omnibuses, IDW Limited have now announced the full details of their luxury reprint of Star Trek, Volume One, from the nuTrek ongoing series. All three of the different limited edition releases will be out in July. Each release comes in a tray case, containing an exclusive hardcover version of the omnibus signed by Mike Johnson, Joe Phillips, and Tim Bradstreet. Each case also contains a portfolio with eight lithographs of cover art from the series. There will be one-hundred-and-seventy-five copies if the Red Label version with just those features. Images and more information after the jump:

Comics round up: After Darkness, August releases, timeline, and latest covers

Lots of comics new for you, starting with news of a new comic series tie-in to Into Darkness, Roberto Orci tweeted to confirm there will be a four-part prequel series exploring the character of John Harrison, coming in the fall:

Ask and ye shall receive. IDW Pubishing IS going to do a 4-issue John Harrison miniseries this fall!

Before then though, we're heading into events after the film. Here's a first look at After Darkness; the three-part comic sequel to Into Darkness, which will comprise issues twenty-one to twenty-three, of the Star Trek ongoing series. Wired posted these two preview pages (pages 10 and 13 from Part 1):

 

Pre-order: Things From Another World, Forbidden Planet.

Wired also posted an interview with the series writer, Mike Johnson, where he gave a vague outline of where he'll be going next:

You’ll see immediately on the first page of [the story] that it’s very much a sequel in terms of plot. Things happen in the movie that can’t be ignored going forward, and we will see the repercussions play out over the months to come. It’s also a character-based sequel, as we see how the crew reacts to the events of the movie, and what it means for their relationships going forward.

I’m aiming for a combination of two things going forward. First, all-new worlds and stories that expand the galaxy as we know it, and second, a larger epic story about the clash of civilizations. And I’m not just talking about the Klingons vs. the Federation. The map of the Star Trek galaxy is divided into established empires and the great unknown. I want to explore both.”

IDW have also given us some idea of where what's next with the release of their August solicitations, which give us the first details of Star Trek ongoing issue twenty-four, a sequel to Star Trek: The Video Game:

Star Trek (ongoing) #24
Written by Mike Johnson. Art by Claudia Balboni. Cover by Tim Bradstreet, with retail incentive sketch and photo covers.

The adventures of Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise crew continue in an all-new adventure that follows the events of the hit film STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS and the new STAR TREK video game! A classic enemy returns in this story overseen by STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci. Beware... THE GORN!

 

IDW have also released an interactive timeline, explaining the timeline divergence, and placing all the ongoing comics.

They suggest the following chronological order for the ongoing series:

• 2256: #20 - Red Level Down
• 2257:
• #18 - Uhura origins
• #19 - Scotty origins
• 2258:
• 2009 movie
• #15 and #16 - Mirrored
• #1 and #2 - Where No Man Has Gone Before
• #3 and #4 - The Galileo Seven
• #5 and #6 - Operation: Annihilate
• #7 and #8 - Vulcan's Vengeance
• #9 and #10 - The Return of the Archons
• #17 - McCoy origins
• #13 - The Redshirt's Tale
• #14 - Keenser origins
• 2259:
• #11 and #12 - The Truth About Tribbles!
• Countdown to Darkness
• #21, #22, and #23 - After Darkness

If you've missed the ongoing series so far, IDW are going to try and tempt you with their latest 100 Penny Press release (reprints of their comics for one dollar), which is Star Trek (ongoing) #1. Details of that and other upcoming reprints, after the jump:

First details of IDW Limited Star Trek comics

IDW have announced the first details of the first IDW Limited Star Trek comic. IDW Limited offers exclusive editions of IDW comics, coming in more elaborate packaging and often packaged with unique original artwork. Star Trek, Volume One, the first nuTrek ongoing comic omnibus, will be the first Star Trek comic to get the IDW Limited treatment. Here is IDW's preview image, which shows the unique cover and tray case for the Limited release, as well as examples of some of the original artwork:

There will be three different versions released: 175 copies of the Red Label version at $125, 50 copies of the $300 Black label, and only 15 of the $450 Blue Label. The two higher end releases will come with artwork and prints from artists Joe Phillips (interior artist for several of the ongoing issues) and Tim Bradstreet (cover artist for the entire series). Each book will also be signed by writer Mike Johnson, and artists Joe Phillips and Tim Bradstreet. There should be more details about exactly what each of the three versions offer next week, when they will be available for pre-order.