Regenerating

This drone is regenerting, he shall return, in a week or so...

If anyone happens to drop by, leave a comment, I'd be interested to see if anyone actually comes here.

----
And return, guess nobody dropped by, ah well, lets get this place up to date...

Preview for The Sace Between #5

IDW have put a five page preview up for the next issue of The Space Between, due next week.

Covers: Art, Photo, Retail incentive
Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5

Pages four and five are this image:

Blood Will Tell #2 review

Well it's a slow news week, and I really enjoyed the most recent comic from IDW, so here's a little review:

Blood Will Tell #2, titled "Beneath the Skin" according to the previous issue but again not actually given a title in the comic, was brilliant!

It was more difficult to fill the gaps with the first issue, set around "Errand of Mercy" as there weren't so many to fill, but this issue had a lot of room to play with, set around "The Trouble with Tribbles", and did good.

A bit of a sad story for Gralmek the Klingon, and the poor unfortunate Arne Darvin who's place he took. It really goes to show Klingons are no Vulcans when they have all those human looking Klingons about but decide to sand away ridges of a Klingon who has them to make him look human, poor fella. Made for cool, if gruesome, imagery and a good back-story though. I think this comic really built very well on the episode, and Trek in general featuring the Lexington, discommendation and sneaking Sisko in from "Trials and Tribble-ations". All round very cool.

I think Blood Will Tell is a really excellent series I can’t wait for the rest. Unlike the TNG series The Space Between, Blood Will Tell doesn’t suffer issue after issue of bizarre plot holes and is all joined up nicely with both the overall framing story arc set around "The Undiscovered Country" and TOS TV era story arc joining the Klingon episodes together very cleverly. Not that I don’t like one off stories, I’m really looking forward to the Alien Spotlight series later this year, the Gorn issue will be written by Scott and David Tipton who write Blood Will Tell and if they do as good a job with the Gorn as they do Klingons it will be glorious.

I like the art for The Space Between, I think they are really very beautiful, but they have also been criticised by others for being too stylised. It is interesting to note how despite being equally if not even more stylised I think Blood Will Tell does a much better job of getting the character likenesses, and also has very attractive, if less pretty, look. The boldness suits both the Klingons and TOS.

Post-Nemesis TNG blurbs

Amazon.co.uk have updated there listings with blurbs for two of the Post-Nemesis TNG novels coming later this year:

Q & A, by Keith R.A. DeCandido:
Few of Star Trek's recurring characters have made such an impact as the mercurial, capricious and frequently menacing Q. A seemingly all-powerful being who nevertheless came naked and vulnerable to Captain Jean-Luc Picard for help; cosmic joker, judge and arbiter of the universe; this is an entity to whom humanity apparently means nothing, yet who learns lessons in humility, tolerance and hope from his interactions with Captain Picard and his crew. Now top genre writer Keith R.A. DeCandido conjures him vividly to life as his path and that of the USS Enterprise cross once more, and, in typical Q fashion, he presents Picard and his crew with a deadly challenge to solve the secrets of an enigmatic planet. If they fail, the universe will end.

Before Dishonor, by Peter David:
To the disbelief of Starfleet Command, and especially of Admiral Janeway, the Borg were not vanquished when the USS Voyager destroyed their transwarp conduits. A disabled Borg cube seems to hold the answers to why the Borg are now striking out and killing, without troubling to assimilate their prey. Admiral Janeway, Seven of Nine and a team of Federation scientists know they don't have much time to stop the threat. Meanwhile Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise, who barely defeated the Borg who were trapped in Federation space, turn to Ambassador Spock for help. Can they discover what lies behind these strange and chilling developments before the Borg can make their triumphant return?

Star Trek: The Manga 2 writers and artists

I was doing some googling and managed to find out who is working on Tokyopop's second Star Trek manga anthology Star Trek: The Manga 2 "Kahan Ni Shinkou".

Paul Benjamin will be working with artist Steven Cummings on a story featuring Spock, McCoy and Kirk on Vulcan.

Christine Boylan will be working with Bettina Kurkoski on a story.

And the final three writers are, as we already knew, Wil Wheaton, along with Mike Wellman and Trek novelist Diane Duane, and the other three artists are Ej Su who worked on the first anthology along with Don Hudson and Nam Kim.

Sources: Interview with Paul Benjamin, Bettina Kurkoski's deviantART blog.

DST releases

I've not reported these before (I think they were announced before I started the site) and Toy News International seems to consider them news, so have yourself a bunch of Diamond Select Toys press releases:

Due September, DST's first DS9 figures (with the exception of the "Trials and Tribble-lations" set):

The debut action figure assortment of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine characters, this first series features Captain Benjamin Sisko, Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax and the limited Lieutenant Ezri Dax! Sculpted by Art Asylum and featuring multiple episode-specific accessories, each figure is in scale with past releases and features multiple points of articulation!

A Previews Exclusive! Bring some much-needed security to your collection with this Previews Exclusive Constable Odo action figure! This shape-shifting star of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is the perfect addition to your Star Trek crew and comes with episode-specific accessories and multiple points of articulation. In scale with past releases and sculpted by Art Asylum, continue building your Star Trek universe today!

Also due September, coming in three parts starting with Kirk with the full set out by November, DST second TOS statue set:

From the classic STAR TREK episode “Amok Time” comes this three-part statue designed to bring one of the most memorable moments in STAR TREK history to life! Featuring the fan-favorite fight between Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, this epic battle can only be fought to the death. Sculpted by Bill Mancuso and featuring interchangeable weapons, each piece is limited to 1000 pieces and includes a hand-numbered box with matching base and Certificate of Authenticity.

IDW August issues

IDW have updated their solicitations page with their issues due in August which includes two Star Trek titles, the second issue of Year Four and the final issue of Klingons: Blood Will Tell.

Year Four, issue 2:
During a routine visit by the U.S.S. Enterprise to Aarak 3, a major supplier of dilithium to the Federation, an attack on the royal palace reveals a group of zealots who resent the Federation's intrusion and desire a return to "the pure ways" of the ancestors. Captain Kirk must figure a way to prevent the zealots' coup while not violating the Prime Directive. Written by David Tischman (Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Space Between) with art by Steve Conley, and an additional cover by Joe Corroney.

Blood Will Tell, issue 5:
The decision has been made! The Klingon Empire is in desperate need of assistance, but will they be willing to ask for it? Kahnrah has chosen how to cast his vote in the High Council—the question is, will he survive long enough to do so? It's high political intrigue, Klingon-style, in the grand finale of Blood Will Tell! Artist Joe Corroney once again provides a special incentive cover.

"Shore Leave" remastered preview

StarTrek.com have a video preview up for the next remastered episode "Shore Leave". They have also added some new images from the episode, though nothing highlighting any effects changes.

Sagittarius views

Jeff Ayers has updated his Voyages of Imagination website with some orthographic views of Masao Okazaki's Archer class design from the Vanguard book series. Here's the lateral view:

See the rest at Mr Ayers' site.

Minimates wave 2

Diamond Select Toys have announced in their latest Radical Confidential webzine type thing the next wave of Star Trek Minimates. The announcement reads:

The soon-to-break-away hit Star Trek Minimates will continue their legendry journey through the cosmos with this second series of pint-sized adventurers! Featuring two-packs of your favourite Original Series crew members, this series is set to contain Battle Damage Captain Kirk and Gorn, Mr. Spock and Uhura from "The Cage", Sulu and Chekov and the limited swashbuckling Sulu.

Designed and sculpted by the masterful artisans of Art Asylum, these interstellar Minimates will be in scale with past 2" releases and will feature the same articulation and detail of past waves. With Minimate-sized accessories included with each release, set your phasers to stun and prepare to embark on a fantastic five-year mission of your own!

Diamond Select Toys' first wave of minimates will be out in July and will include two packs of Captain Kirk and Spock, Captain Pike and Vina as an Orion slave girl, Scotty & Dr. McCoy and the limited edition Dress Uniform McCoy:

Art Asylum previously released a wave of Trek minimates when they held the Star Trek toys license back in 2001, though those were a different scale to the new ones.