IDW's Star Trek comics for December, latest Graphic Novel Collection titles, and more.

IDW and Eaglemoss have announced the latest new Star Trek comic titles, including two new books on the way from IDW in December, and four more issues of the Graphic Novel Collection reprints series. Continue below for all the details of those, and other Star Trek comics news.

December will see the continuation of IDW's TOS maxiseries Year Five, with the start of a new story arc, On the Death of a Friend, in issue 18. This will be written by Jim McCann, with art by Angel Hernandez. Here's the blurb:

The Enterprise receives a distress call from Alpha Centauri and arrives to find a planet in the midst of a deadly global pandemic. But is nature responsible for this new virus, or is there something more sinister at play? The final voyages of the U.S.S. Enterprise continue in this new episode from Eisner-winning writer Jim McCann (Return of the Dapper Men) and superstar artist Angel Hernandez (Star Trek: Picard)!

The regular cover team returns with the usual options of two covers for this series, both featuring Doctor McCoy. There's either the main cover by Stephen Thompson with some cool sciencey visuals, or the rarer retail incentive retro-movie-poster-style piece by J.J. Lendl, with a bit more of a mad scientist look - The latter also features a black cat, surely indicating another appearance in the series from Gary Seven and Isis?

Comic bits: Q, Pike, and zombies

A few bits of comics news. First up, from Tony Shasteen, the artist for The Q Gambit, the current six-part DS9 crossover story in the nuTrek ongoing series, we have his cover art for the fifth issue in the story (issue thrirty-nine in the series). This comes via Shasteen's galleries on Candence, where he has the original cover art for the first five issues of the story available for sale (and is where you can see all five pre-colouring too).

This issue hasn't been solicited yet, but it should be this month, due for November release.

In December there will be another nuTrek ongoing release, Star Trek: New Adventures Volume 1, an omnibus of the first twelve issues of the series. Amazon has the blurb:

The adventures of the Starship Enterprise continue in this series of stories that take place between the first and second movies! Featuring the new cast of the film, these issues feature re-imagined stories from the original series in the alternate timeline as well as brand-new missions, all with creative collaboration with Star Trek writer/producer Roberto Orci. Collects the first 12 issues of the new ongoing Star Trek series.

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

Meanwhile over in John Byrne's photo-comic world, it appears Captain Pike will be turning up in a forthcoming New Visions story. As Byrne explained when he posted this preview image on his forums:

Here's a peek at the current issue-in-progress. In a flashback, Captain Pike takes a cautious ride down an anti-gravity shaft. Not a spoiler. Pike and his Enterprise are on the first page of the issue!

Finally, something that escaped my notice when it was solicited. This month will see the release of a new Infestation omnibus. The more than five-hundred page book will contain both the original Infestation series which saw crossovers with various universes into a zombie invasion, and the sequel series which featured Lovecraftian Elder Gods. A two-part Star Trek story featured as part of the original zombie series, with Motion Picture era Kirk and the gang finding a zombiefied colony.

Star Trek NOT a part of Infestation 2

IDW have unveiled the details of their sequel to Infestation, and disappointingly Star Trek will not be part of the sequel crossover. Ghostbusters has also been dropped from the lineup, with the two series being replaced by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dungeons and Dragons.

Full details of the Trek-less crossover can be found on IDW's announcement.

IDW December

IDW have released their solicitations for December, which include three Star Trek titles; the next two issues in the current Star Trek series, plus confirmation IDW will be doing a reprint of The Gorn Crisis. Also out that month will be a hardcover omnibus of the entire Infestation crossover (previously released as two paperback books). StarTrek.com have also done a feature on the Star Trek issues for that month, including releasing the second cover for the next Legion of Super-Heroes crossover issue that month.

Star Trek (ongoing) #4
By Mike Johnson, art by Stephen Molnar, covers by Tim Bradstreet (3/4) and Joe Corroney (1/4), plus retail incentive sketch and photo covers. Also noted to be "Part of IDW’s photo-cover month".

Mr. Spock faces a deadly choice as he tries to save the crew of a stranded shuttle! Featuring the likenesses of the new STAR TREK cast, this story boldly re-imagines a classic episode, Galileo 7, but in the new timeline of the hit movie!

Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #3
By Chris Roberson, art by Jeffrey and Philip Moy, covers by Phil Jimenez (3/4), Mike Grell (1/4), and Gabriel Rodriguez (retail incentive).

Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship: Enterprise have come face to face with Cosmic Boy and the other members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and each team assumes that the other is responsible for the change in the timeline that landed them in this strange world. But will they find common ground in time to defend themselves from an attack by an elite group of imperial enforcers, some of whom are VERY familiar to the two teams?

 

The Gorn Crisis
By Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta, art and a cover by Igor Kordey.

With a fierce war raging and resources running low, the U.S.S Enterprise has been assigned a sensitive diplomatic mission–to enlist aid from the alien race known as the Gorn. But the Gorn have a crisis of their own, a brewing revolution in their ranks. And when it comes to the Federation, some of the Gorn have long memories...

Infestation hardcover omibus
By Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Mike Raicht, Scott and David Tipton, and Erik Burnham, art by David Messina, Giovanni Timpano, Nick Roche, Gary Erskine, Casey Maloney, and Kyle Hotz, cover by Ashley Wood. This will also include the previously digital-only Pocket Gods Infestation story. The cover released in the solicitation is by Gabriel Rodriguez, if the cover credit to Ashley Wood is correct then this is not the final cover.

IDW's first-ever mega event is collected in this hard cover collection as something goes horribly awry in the IDW universe: a dimensions-spanning zombie outbreak of epic proportions, which threatens to tear many of IDW’s biggest realities asunder! The infestation spreads through the TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE, STAR TREK, and GHOSTBUSTERS universes. Zombie apocalypse looms and the remaining members of CVO are running out of options...

In other IDW news: This week's first issue of the new ongoing series has already sold out, prompting a second printing which is due in October, with a variant cover.

A little more on Infestation 2

Comics Continuum have posted a video with IDW's Tom Waltz in which he briefly discusses Infestation 2, which is planned to start in January 2012. As previously reported, this time there will be more direct crossovers, plus there will be more franchises involved, as well as a new bad guy.

According to Newsarama's coverage of IDW "Greatest Panel Ever" at the San Diego Comic Con, IDW showed artwork from the series, featuring Transformers and G.I. Joe, plus new additions Danger Girl and Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles. This report also gives a title of "Infes2ation".

Comics Alliance meanwhile, reports the sequel series will have all the original Infestation series (Covert Vampiric Operations, Star Trek, Ghostbusters, G.I. Joe and Transformers). Plus the aforementioned new licenses Danger Girl and Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, aas well as Weekly World News and Groom Lake - The latter of which has already been tied into the Infestation: Outbreak sequel, which started this summer.

IDW: Infestation II, and Ongoing

In a Comic Book Resources interview Chris Ryall has revealed IDW are working on a sequel Infestation event for release in early 2012. No word yet which licenses will be involved (so whether or not Star Trek will play a part again) but he did comment on the increased level of crossover to come next time:

The last one, we kind of stayed away from the crossover part, but this one there is actually going to be interaction between different licensed characters and other characters we’ve pulled from different places. It’s not really anything I can go into detail, it’s going to take a lot of coordinating. But when we do this thing, it’s like all sequels, it has to be bigger and better, involve more characters and a bigger story. There will be a lot more interaction between characters people might never expect to see interacting.

He also commented on the recently announced Star Trek ongoing series:

“Star Trek,” we announced last week, we’re finally going to be doing some new movie-related “Star Trek” properties which are tied in closely with the filmmakers, which are plotted and pushed forward through [Executive Producers Alex] Kurtzman and [Roberto] Orci. It’s nice to be able to do the first stories to take place after the movie. We’re able to tell those kind of new stories, and I love the fact that the filmmakers are involved, too, because then we’re able to avoid things like--I always default back to the “Star Wars” comics from Marvel, where Han Solo was running around with Jaxxon, the Giant Green Rabbit. That had nothing to do with any of the other movies, and the second movie came along and kind of invalidated all that. Doing this in tandem with the filmmakers, you can really tell stories that fill the gap and are viable, canon projects that give give people the Star Trek movie universe before the next movie comes out.

Comics Continuum meanwhile have released images two of the photocovers for the first issue of the ongoing series:

 

IDW June, still no new Trek!

Is IDW Trek dead (Jim)? Newsarama have released IDW's solicitations for June, and for the fourth month in a row there are no new Trek titles. This month also has, for the first time, not even any Trek omnibuses, reprints, or cuddly toys on offer! Give us something IDW please, there are trekkies just itching to throw some money at you!

What June does offer is a follow up to Infestation: "Outbreak" looks at the fallout in the CVO universe with a crossover from IDW's Groom Lake series.

Spinning out of IDW’s acclaimed Infestation series! The zombie threat is over, but at great cost to CVO, who must pick up the pieces, rebuild the team, and figure out what lasting repercussions there are in a world where magic was forever changed. And a threat from beyond also brings in other familiar faces from across IDW’s developing universe!

Also, Doctor Who with dinosaurs; niiice:

Star Trek zombiefied

Chris Ryall has posted images form the Infestation Sketchbook on his blog. Those include three Star Trek based images, including a not-so-far-from "reality" Search For Spock inspired Spock:

You can see Uhura and McCoy as well on Chris Ryall's blog.

Comics update

Star Trek: Infestation #2 was out last week, and if you haven’t got it yet, startrek.com has a five-page-preview up, including this amazing cover:

Got to be one of IDW's best ever; can we have the Attack of the Killer-Tribbles comic to go with it?

With that issue out the Star Trek and Transformers parts of the event are over, with G.I. Joe and Ghost Busters to go before the concluding issue. And here is David Messina's cover for that issue:

You can see it before colouring too, on his blog.

Finally IDW's May solicitations are out, and once again there are no new Star Trek comics listed. They are re-releasing their Khan cuddly toy though...

Mega update #7: IDW

It's a bit of a quiet time on the Trek front from IDW. The end of last year saw just one series runnning, Khan Ruling in Hell, and following the current Star Trek element in the Infestation crossover we wont have any new Trek comics for at least a couple of months (the first time since IDW starting doing Trek comics a few years ago)!

TrekMovie talked to IDW about this and were reassured there was more Trek coming later this year:

IDW is not moving away from Star Trek. We’ve included it in our company-wide event, INFESTATION, and are working on some big things to start in the spring. There are several Star Trek books in the works. 

Those books apprently include stories form both the prime and new-movie timelines.

If you missed any of Khan you can find previews for the final three issues: here, here, and here.

Solicitations for the next few months:

February

Star Trek Infestation #1

The first-ever event in IDW Publishing’s history crosses over into the Star Trek universe with this two-part, bi-weekly series! A routine visit to a colony world takes a horrifying turn when Admiral Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy find themselves surrounded by hordes of the undead! Spinning out of the pages of last month’s INFESTATION, this series takes the crew of the Enterprise into a dark and deadly new direction!

Star Trek Infestation #2

The second chapter of a bi-weekly Infestation tie-in! Admiral Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy fight for their lives against mobs of zombie colonists! Will they be able to prevent the Infestation from spreading throughout the Federation? And will they discover the greater threat behind the undead invasion in time to save themselves?!

March

Captain's Log omnibus

The most legendary captains of Starfleet get their due in this collection of five standalone tales! See how Captains Pike, Sulu, Harriman, and Jellico handle the responsibilities and challenges they face as Starfleet Captains.

April

Infestation #2

IDW's first-ever mega event ends here! Britt has returned from the universes of TRANSFORMERS, GHOSTBUSTERS, G.I. JOE and STAR TREK, armed with new technology that will spread the Infestation across all known realities. Zombie apocalypse looms and the remaining members of CVO are running out of options... humanity's last hope may be a risky sacrifice that could alter the IDW universe forever!

Khan: Ruling in Hell omnibus

When the most infamous villain in Star Trek history is last seen in the Original Series episode "Space Seed," Khan Noonien Singh's an elegant, proud warrior-king. When he's next seen in Star Trek II, he's a grizzled maniac, twisted by loss and an unquenchable thirst for revenge. What has happened between these two points in time to so radically alter what seemed to be an unbreakable will? That story is finally told!

Countdown #1 100 penny reprint

Our line of affordable reprints continues with the prequel to the blockbuster film from Paramount Pictures! JJ Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman present the origin of Nero, the mysterious Romulan who will ultimately threaten the survival of the entire universe.

And finally with Infestation now begun, and the Star Trek section starting this week, there are lots of previews about! From Infestation #1 preview pages before colouring, and after. From Star Trek Infestation, three pages to get you going. Some character designs from David Messina. And a zombie-McCoy by J.K. Woodward, which appeared in the retale incentive Infestation Sketchbook. There's also a Comic Book Resources interview with Scott and David Tipton on their work on the Star Trek issues. They noted the choice of setting:

...one choice we did make was to use a slightly later incarnation of the Classic crew, as seen in ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture.’ This was done in part in the hopes of setting the stage for future stories to be told in that period, which has long been a favorite of ours, and also because that 1970s feel that's found in ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’ seemed to be a good match for this more bleak kind of tale.

IDW January

Comics Continuum have posted IDW's solicitations for January next year. This month sees the final issue of Khan: Ruling in Hell, and the first issue of the Infestation crossover. Outside the Trekverse this month also marks the launch of IDW's second Jurassic Park series, by John Byrne!

Khan: Ruling in Hell #4

It's all-out war on Ceti Alpha V! Reeling from last issue's devastating loss, Khan Noonien Singh rallies his troops for the ultimate battle for control of their world! The final missing piece of Khan's life between "Space Seed" and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is at last revealed!

Infestation #1

It begins here! The first-ever IDW event, which affects the Transformers, G.I. Joe, Ghostbusters, and Star Trek universes! This dimensions-spanning storyline begins with a specially priced 40-page story. Something goes horribly awry in the Zombies vs Robots universe, threatening to tear many of IDW's biggest realities asunder!

Infestation details!

IDW have announced the details of the Infestation crossover event running early next year. Starting weekly from the late January until the beginning of April the series will consist of a two-part framing story and then a series of two-issue blocks for each of the licensed properties involved.

-Infestation #1, January 19.
-Transformers: Infestation #1 & #2, February 2 & 16.
-Star Trek: Infestation #1 & #2, February 9 & 23
-G.I. Joe: Infestation #1 & #2, March 2 & 16
-Ghostbusters: Infestation #1 & #2, March 9 & 23.
-Infestation #2, April 6.

The Infestation itself will be zombies, the sort seen in IDW's Zombie vs Robots series, IDW's Covert Vampire Operations series will also play a role. As reported by CBR IDW's editors describe the series as follows: "...we start in the IDW universe with a zombie outbreak of epic proportions. The threat is contained (or is it?), but not before it infests other realities - the realities of our licensed books. The individual series will show just how our intrepid heroes - folks like Optimus Prime, Dr. Peter Venkman, Mr. Spock, Baroness, and so many others - face down this new and obviously shocking threat, and their desperate efforts to stop it before it can completely consume - both literally and figuratively - their realities."

The crossover element will be from the IDW universe into each licensed universe, but not between those other universes. Although "there is a surprise licensed-based crossover into the IDW universe in 'Infestation' #2".

According to the CBR article the Star Trek element will be set in the TOS movie era (though both covers showcased - see below - show distinctly TV era styling).

The framing story will be written by Dan Abnett (of Early Voyages distinction) and Andy Lanning with art by David Messina. The Star Trek issues will be by Scott and David Tipton with art by Casey Maloney (TNG: The Space Between).

The series will be available in the usual array of covers, issues will also come with incentive embroidered patches featuring the logo from each participating series, and there will be 16-page sketchbook featuring zombified versions of characters from each of the involved series.

Here are the Trek related covers so far released:

You can see more of the other series covers and details on those issues on IDW's press release and the CBR article.

Infestation, and hints from Chris Ryall

StarTrek.com have posted an interview with Chris Ryall. It doesn't give us much news, except for hinting at something coming early next year: "Star Trek TOS factors hugely into IDW’s “Infestation,” our big event starting in early 2011"

He also talked about IDW's general approach to Trek, in interesting contrast to Andy Mangels' recent report: "That’s been the goal from the start, even when just working on TOS and TNG properties: to offer something for every era of Trek fans. That’ll always be our ongoing mission, too, to make sure there’s a Trek in every pullbox of any comic fan who wants one, whatever the era."

UPDATE: Been doing a bit of googling, it seems Infestation was announced at the San Diego Comic Con, and is a big event coming next year featuring Star Trek, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Ghost Busters, CVO (?), and potentially some other series! What sort of event isn't specified, a common foe across realities, infesting realities? Or direct crossover?? Who knows, other than that it "will be in continuity and will have lasting effects within each series". (I hope they talk the Jurassic Park and Doctor Who licensors into this too, I'd love to see Trek crossovers with those two!)

In non-Star Trek related news, it also seems that John Byrne will be doing a three part Jurassic Park series next year!!