IDW's June Star Trek comics, and other updates

IDW have announced their June solicitations, which include four Star Trek titles, but only one entirely new comic. The rest of the releases are nuTrek omnibus books, which will arrive just in time to get you in the mood for the release of Star Trek Beyond the following month. Continue below for details of those, and other Star Trek comic updates.

That one new comic in June is Legacy of Spock, part four, which is issue fifty-eight in the nuTrek ongoing series. This final issues in the Spock story-line is from the series' regular creative team of writer Mike Johnson and artist Tony Shasteen. Here's how IDW describe it:

The stunning conclusion of "Legacy of Spock"! The fate of the Vulcan people hangs in the balance as Spock tries to prevent all-out war with the Romulan Empire! Will the Vulcans find a new homeworld on which to rebuild their civilization... or does this spell the end of their species? Don't miss the final chapter of this mini-series event celebrating the 50th anniversary of STAR TREK!

There will be two covers for this one, the regular by Tony Shasteen, featuring Spock from three eras (you can see Shasteen's development process for this in an article on 13th Dimension), plus a subscription cover by Alberto Silva:

Details of Manifest Destiny and other Star Trek comics news

Starting in April is Manifest Destiny, a new four-part nuTrek comic miniseries featuring the Klingons, which will be released fortnightly. Continue below for new details of that, and other Star Trek comics news from IDW.

Things From Another World have posted an interview with Manifest Destiny's writers, Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott, artist Angel Hernandez, and editor Sarah Gaydos, revealing some new details about the series. Perhaps the biggest news is a quick note that there will be no prequel comic series for Star Trek Beyond, but that this series kind of fills that event role anyway, as Johnson explains:

We aren’t doing a movie prequel this year, but we wanted to do another event-worthy series to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek. What could be more event-y than a showdown with the Klingons? And this time both sides are out where no one — human OR Klingon — has been before.

As that summary suggests, it seems this series will be exploring strange new worlds from a new perspective, with the Klingon equivalent of our heroes, as Parrott notes:

...who’s the Klingon “Captain Kirk?” What does their “Enterprise” look like? How does the Empire explore? So we did some research into the Vikings and Mongols, just to establish a base...

Parrot also outlined the Klingon-Kirk, someone called Shotok:

There are some great villains in the original series, but outside of Khan, they’re mostly races — Klingons, Romulans, etc. So our goal was to try and create a worthy adversary for Kirk — someone personal, who thinks and acts like he does. Shotok is an outsider who doesn’t conform to the traditional Klingon code of honor. And because of that, he’s dangerous, unpredictable, and a bit of a wildcard when he first encounters the Enterprise.

While Johnson elaborated on the setting:

May's Star Trek comics from IDW

IDW have released their May solicitations, which include two new Star Trek comics, and omnibus. May will see the thirty-third issue in the nuTrek ongoing series, which will mean that series has now over taken Malibu's DS9 series in becoming the fifth longest running Star Trek comic-book series ever published. The next series it has to catch up with is DC's first TOS series, but at fifty-six issues, it will be a while before it climbs up the longevity chart.

Also coming in May is the first issue of IDW's new ongoing series, John Byrne's photocomics series, which will be known as New Visions. The series will be released bi-monthly, starting with a double length issue (not sure yet whether future issues will also be longer). The cover below identifies the issue as "part one", but John Byrne has confirmed on his forum it is the whole story in one issue, and that cover is from when they were considering doing it as a two-parter for a monthly release.

Star Trek (ongoing) #33
Written by Mike Johnson, with art by Joe Corroney. Cover by Corroney, or subscription variant photo cover.

After the events of "Star Trek Into Darkness", Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise have embarked on their Five Year Mission into uncharted space... only to encounter a deadly new alien species unlike anything the Federation has met before! Don't miss this all-new adventure overseen by STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci!

New Visions #1: The Mirror, Cracked
Written and photo-manipulated by John Byrne.

Following up on last years hugely successful "Strange New Worlds" photonovel, John Byrne once again sets sail aboard the Starship: Enterprise, this time with an ongoing, bi-monthly series that begins by going through the looking glass to tell the story of what happened after the classic "Mirror, Mirror" episode of the original series. The crew discovers two strangers in their midst, and quickly learns that one has made a pact with one of James Kirk's oldest foes. "The Mirror, Cracked" is the title, and the action unfolds in May!

Khan omnibus
Written by Mike Johnson, with art by Claudia Balboni. Cover by Paul Shipper.

Witness the shocking origin of Khan Noonien Singh from his earliest years through his rise to power during the epic Eugenics Wars! Behold the events that led to his escape from Earth aboard the Botany Bay! Learn the truth behind his re-awakening by Admiral Marcus and Section 31! It's the origin of Star Trek's greatest villain!

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

Khan #5 preview

Out this week is the fifth and final issue in IDW's Into Darkness prequel series, Khan. The story concludes Khan's post-Into Darkness trial, with the second issue in the series explaining what he got up to in the 23rd century prior to the events of the film. If you were a little disappointed at the parts of Khan's story which seemed to be skipped over in the previous issue, you should find this one more satisfying, as it fills in a lot of the gaps. Here's a seven page preview to wet your apatite (continues after the jump):

Comics bits: April releases, photo-comics update, and Khan

IDW have released their solicitations for April. There will be just one Star Trek comic that month, part two of the latest story in the nuTrek ongoing series, I, Enterprise, which will be the thirty-second issue of the series. As ever Mike Johnson will be writing, with Erfan Fajar continuing on art and cover duty. Here's how IDW describe the issue:

The concluding chapter of "I, Enterprise"! The flagship of the fleet is now a sentient entity with a mind of its own... and it doesn't take kindly to the biological "invaders" inside its hull! How do Kirk, Spock and the rest of the crew fight an enemy upon which their very survival depends?

There will be two covers, Fajar's regular cover featuring 0718, the cyborg crewmember introduced in Into Darkness, and a Tron-style USS Enterprise. The subscription variant cover uses the crashing Enterprise from Into Darkness:

While that's it for April, there is a bit more comics news. Continue after the jump for the latest on John Byrne's photo-comics, and the Khan prequel series:

Khan #4 preview

StarTrek.com have released a preview for this week's fourth issue in the Into Darkness prequel comic series, Khan. This issue sees the series jump forward to the 23rd century, and jump straight into Khan's life as John Harrison. StarTrek.com also released this new subscription variant cover, featuring Khan at work with the Klingons:

A seven-page preview of the issue continues after the jump:

IDW's March releases

IDW have released their solicitations for March, which include three Star Trek titles: The first part of I, Enterprise, a new story in the nuTrek ongoing series, and confirmation of two omnibus books.

Star Trek (ongoing) #31: I, Enterprise, Part 1
Written by Mike Johnson, with art by Erfan Fajar. Cover by Gerry Gastonny, or subscription variant photo-cover.

Part 1 of an epic all-new 2-part adventure set within the continuity of the blockbuster STAR TREK films! Captain Kirk and the crew have never faced a threat like the one they face now: their own ship! Don't miss the first chapter of "I, Enterprise", overseen by STAR TREK writer-producer Roberto Orci!

Star Trek: Gold Key Archives, Volume 1
Written by Arnold Drake and George Kashdan, with art by Nevio Zaccara, Alberto Giolitti, and Giovanni Ticci. Cover by Michael Stribling.

Presenting the first comic book adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise and her crew! Fully re-mastered and with a new throwback cover, Star Trek Gold Key Archives, Vol. 1 collects issues #1–6.

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

Star Trek, Volume 7
Written by Mike Johnson, with art and cover by Erfan Fajar.

War breaks out across the stars as the Klingon and Romulan Empires fight for supremacy, with the Enterprise caught in the middle! Don't miss this epic all-new story set after the events of the blockbuster movie STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, overseen by STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci!

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

While both solicited for release in March, Amazon are currently listing both of these omnibus books for publication in April. Amazon have also recently added a listing for the omnibus book of the Khan series, which they are expecting in May.

Khan #3 covers and excerpt

Out this week is the third issue of IDW's Into Darkness prequel series Khan, which finishes off the Eugenics Wars portion of the story before the last two issues skip ahead to the 23rd century.

There are three covers for this issue, including this snazzy retail incentive design by Andrew Currie

IDW have also released the usual seven page preview, which continues below after the jump:

Books bits: More Voyager, Seekers tease, comic commentary, and fun books

The latest updates from the world of Trek publishing: Starting with news of the next next Voyager book! With the next book in the Voyager relaunch series, Protectors, due for release in February, Kirsten Beyer has announced she is already under-way on the next instalment. Posting on the TrekBBS, she revealed she is busy working on, Acts of Contrition, which will continue to tell a "bigger story" in the series, which she hopes to conclude in a third book. Beyer isn't yet aware of a release date for this one, but she is meant to be finishing it by mid-December, so I'd guess it has a good chance of being one of the gaps towards the end of the year in the 2014 schedule - Which would mean a triple Voyager year, if you count the TOS crossover in Greg Cox's No Time Like the Past.

Beyer also teased one thing to look forward to in Protectors, a meeting of Janeway and Picard:

Janeway comes to Picard seekeing a little perspective from somoene with whom she has shared many common experiences. One of the oddest realities to confront while writing it was that despite the fact that these two have a great deal in common, they really don't know each other all that well.

In another prose tease, I didn't spot it when he first posted, but looking at David Mack's recent post about Seekers, I noticed the teaser cover (ie not the real one) for the his first book in the series, Second Nature, has now been updated, with not just the new title, but a Klingon Bird of Prey menacing the USS Sagittarius:

Meanwhile, in the world of Trek comics, StarTrek.com have posted their second Writer's Log feature, this time Mike Johnson explains some of choices he made in Khan #2, including taking the series out of real world history (spoilers):

Here we see that the nuclear nightmare of the Cold War did in fact take place within the timeline of the STAR TREK universe, but not as a result of conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Augments were responsible. Their attacks on Moscow and Washington D.C. signaled the beginning of their worldwide takeover.

Initially we discussed the Augments launching a singular attack on New York City, but in developing the story we realized that an attack on the capitals of the Cold War, the two most powerful nations of the time, was both logical and appropriately symbolic. Logical in that the attacks would immediately reset the balance of power in the world and create a void that the Augments could fill themselves, and symbolic in that the ascension of the Augments represented the end of our historical timeline and the beginning of the new one that leads to the 23rd century as we know it in STAR TREK.

This was the biggest point of discussion in developing the story: whether to make a clean break from “our” timeline, or whether to attempt to preserve history as we know it from the “real” 1990’s and early 2000’s. Ultimately the deciding factor was to embrace canon as we know it from STAR TREK itself, and in “Space Seed” it is clear that the 1990’s did not play out as we lived them. It’s a question that every story set in a specified future time period has to address eventually, given that our present will eventually catch up to it on the calendar. In fact, we’re only fifty years away from first contact with the Vulcans!

In the more whimsical realms of Star Trek publishing, Amazon have recently added a listing (which I found via Allyn Gibson on the TrekBBS. UPDATE: And may-not-be-final cover via the Simon and Schuster catalog), for a new Star Trek children's book from Cider Mill Press. Fun with Kirk and Spock, is due out in April, and the blurb tells you all about it:

See the Enterprise. See the Enterprise go boldly. Go Go Go, Enterprise! Go Boldly! Join Kirk and Spock as they go boldly where no parody has gone before!

Since the 1930’s, the book Fun with Dick and Jane and its various adaptations have helped children learn to read. It’s inspired several parodies and movie and television references, but none as amusing as this clever spoof, written with Trekkies in mind! The characteristic simplicity of the classic book is used in Fun with Kirk and Spock, delighting Trek fans with creative sequences and humorous illustrations.

Finally, Amazon have also updated their listing for Running Press' forthcoming miniature book and light-up USS Enterprise set, with a new image showing the, presumably, final form of the model:

IDW's February Star Trek comics

IDW have released their solicitations for February, which include three Star Trek titles:

Star Trek (ongoing) #30: Parallel Lives, Part 2
Written by Mike Johnson, with art by Yasmin Liang, and a cover by Cat Staggs, or a subscription variant photo-cover.

Captain Jane Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise fight for their lives in this concluding chapter of a 2-part story overseen by STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci! The Five Year Mission between blockbuster movies continues here, in this all-new mind-bending adventure!

UPDATE: If you'd like to see Cat Stagg's cover art for this issue without the titles, you and find it on her DeviantART. Which is where she also posted this set of character designs for the gender-swapped crew:

Khan #5
Written by Mike Johnson, with art by David Messina, and cover by Paul Shipper, or a subscription variant photo-cover.

It's the climactic chapter of the origin of STAR TREK’s greatest villain! But how did he come to be called "John Harrison"? How did his vendetta against Admiral Marcus and Section 31 begin? All is revealed in this all-new story overseen by STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS writer/producer Roberto Orci!

The Star Date Collection, Volume 2: Under the Command of Christopher Pike
Written by Ian Edgington, Stuart Moore, Scott Tipton, and David Tipton, with art by Patrick Zircher, J.K. Woodward, and Elena Casagrande.

Star Trek: The Stardate Collection continues to collect the many comic-book iterations of Trek “as they happened”… by stardate! Helmed by Trek experts Scott and David Tipton, and featuring special commentary, creator interviews, and more, Volume 2 completes the early voyages of the Enterprise under the command of Captain Christopher Pike, and wraps up with two lost adventures from Pike’s career! 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.

Khan #2 preview

Out this week are no less than three Star Trek titles from IDW: The first post-Into Darkness omnibus from the ongoing comics series, After Darkness; the first Pike-focused book in their new Stardate Collection omnibus series; and the second issue in the Into Darkness tie-in series, Khan. IDW have released a seven page-preview of the latter - So here's a look at Khan's rise to power (continues after the jump):

Books bits: New Lost Era, comic extra features, Khristmas preview, and German covers

A few bits of books news, starting with the reveal of the title of David R. George III's forthcoming Lost Era novel. The Simon and Schuster website has recently had a listing added for The Lost Era: One Constant Star, which they have listed for release in May. There are no other details yet, but George has previously suggested it will be set between 2303 and 2319, will feature a captain he has previously written, and will be exploration focused.

If that is the final format of the title, it would be the first time The Lost Era (the catch all title for books set between the end of the TOS movies, and the start of TNG) has been part of the title of a book since the original 2003 series. Subsequent lost era books, The Buried Age, and the Terok Nor trilogy, used the cover copy "A tale/saga of the lost era", while Cast No Shadow made no reference to the idea of a lost era series at all.

UPDATE: A little more novel news. Jens Deffner pointed be towards a tweet from David Mack, in which he revealed his forthcoming novel, Section 31: Disavowed, will be a direct sequel to his entry in The Fall series, A Ceremony of Losses (which has just been released).

Elsewhere in the publishing world, StarTrek.com has launched what they promise will be a new regular feature, providing a writers commentary to Star Trek comics. In their first "Writer's Log", Mike Johnson pulls apart the first issue of the Khan prequel series. If you follow the comics it's certainly worth a read, as Johnson expands on some of his decisions in characterisation, and points out some of his nods to other parts of Trek. For instance, here's what he had to say about the appearance of Samuel T. Cogley, from the TOS episode Court Martial:

Cogley’s appearance here was suggested by John Van Citters of CBS Consumer Products, and brought to life by the great David Messina, artist on both 2009’s “Countdown” and 2013’s “Countdown to Darkness.” Whenever we can, we like to insert characters and places into the new comics that are callbacks to the original timeline. Part of the fun of having an alternate timeline is seeing how familiar things have changed (or haven’t) in this reality.

For a completely different sort of illustrated Star Trek, this month sees the release of Paul Ruditis' A Very Klingon Khristmas. Amazon have now added pages from that book to their look inside feature, giving us a look at this particularly quirky release, and its lovely artwork by Patrick Faricy, including a look at the real Shakespeare! Here are the three spreads they preview:

Finally, Cross Cult have released the finalised covers for several of their forthcoming books. Continue after the jump for a look at those:

Comic bits: Eugenics Wars, photo-comic, and new covers

A few bits of comics news, starting with the latest comments from Mike Johnson on the Khan prequel series: The IDW Tumblr posted an interview, which included this note of how the Eugenics Wars will be presented in relation to real history, in comparison to Greg Cox's Eugenics Wars books:

I’m a fan of that series, but in developing this new one we wanted to stick to what is canon, which is what is on film and TV, and create a new story based on that. The biggest difference is that we wanted the Eugenics Wars to be known to the public in the 1990’s, rather than allow the possibility that they happened without anyone knowing in our own ‘90s.

You can read the rest of the interview, here. IDW's editor-in-chief, Chris Ryall, also has a Tumblr, and that's where he posted these preview pages from John Byrne's forthcoming photo-comic (the first in a series if it goes well):

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

Finally, here are the latest omnibus covers (after the jump):

IDW's January releases, and other Star Trek comics news

IDW have released their solicitations for January releases, which include two new Star Trek titles:

Star Trek (ongoing) #29
Written by Mike Johnson, with art by Yasmin Liang, and a cover by Cat Staggs, or a subscription variant photo-cover.

The all-new Five Year Mission of the Enterprise continues as Captain Jane Tiberius Kirk and her crew encounter a never-before-seen enemy in deep space! Wait... Jane Kirk? What's going on?! All will be revealed in the first chapter of this new two-part story overseen by STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci!

WildStorm's Jane T. Kirk

This looks and sounds fun! Some sort of character twisting plot, perhaps in a similar vein to TOS classics such as Mirror, Mirror and The Enemy Within. Believe it or not this isn't the first time Jane T. Kirk has popped up! A supposed alternate universe female version of Kirk also appeared briefly in WildStorm's TOS comic All of Me.

The above art-only version of Cat Staggs' brilliant cover for this issue was posted by Staggs on her DeviantART account. For more behind the scenes comics stuff, you might also like to check out David Messina's blog, where you can find pages of his art, sans-text, from the first issue of the new Khan prequel series. Speaking of which, the other comic out in January:

Khan #4
Written by Mike Johnson, with art by David Messina, and cover by Paul Shipper, or a subscription variant cover by David Messina.

The Eugenics Wars are over... but the next chapter in the life of Khan Noonien Singh has just begun! Only in this all-new mini-eries are the secrets of Khan's revival in the future by Admiral Marcus and the agents of Section 31 finally revealed! Don't miss this exclusive tie-in to the blockbuster Star Trek Into Darkness, overseen by the film's writer/producer Roberto Orci!

Praxis? The wreck of a Klingon moon seen in Into Darkness.

The cover for this one has me intrigued, the thought that immediately leapt into my mind is that the exploding planet might be Praxis. If so, hopefully the comic might shed some light on it's premature destruction, as seen in Into Darkness, and maybe Khan's involvement while spying on the Klingons for Section 31, as partially described in the leaked Starfleet document which was part of the viral campaign around the release of the film (or maybe it's nothing to do with any of that!):

Looking further ahead than January, John Byrne has been continuing to post updates on his forum from his work on follow-ups to his forthcoming Star Trek photo-comic. He apparently has ideas for as many as three more stories in the format, and has also started to work on virtual sets, to expand the possible locations he can use. Here's his design for a Klingon bridge:

You can read back through the evolution of this design, and the entire photo-comic project, on Byrne Robotics.

UPDATE: A little bit more comics news, in the form of the latest omnibuses to be listed on Amazon. Coming in March will be Star Trek Volume 7, the latest omnibus from the nuTrek ongoing series, which will most likely contain the current four part Klingon-Romulan war story, The Khitomer Conflict.

Amazon also list a new endeavour from IDW: Coming in April will be Gold Key Archives Volume 1. The description for the omnibus states they will be presented "fully remastered and under a new throwback cover". It will also be a hardcover release.

I wonder how far along this series will get; the previous Enterprise Logs and Key Collection reprints of the Gold Key comics never quite got through the entire run. This new collection will be going at a slower pace than the previous series too, with six issues in volume one, compared to the eight issues a book in the older reprints.