Star Trek: The Key Collection, Vol. 3

Volume 3 does see some vast improvements in the artwork and coloring in terms of technical merit. The representations of actors William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and others by Alberto Giolitti continue to be second to none. Well, I take that back Nevio Zuccara, who drew several issues in Volume 1, is just as impressive on the likenesses. But things are still far from perfect on the Enterprise. 

The bridge still looks like the cockpit of the Space SHUTTLE Enterprise with everyone crowded around a tiny view screen. The phasers used by the crew are varied and futuristic. But they are not Federation issue. And while the visuals of the crew being transported is starting to look more like what you'd see on the original TV show, the transporter room looks like it is off to the corner of the main bridge, instead in another part of the ship. 

Captain Kirk finally is portrayed wearing an orange/tan looking tunic. But everybody else, including Sulu and Chekov, who makes 2 brief first appearances, are still wearing green. Bones is finally in blue. But I don't think anybody knows for sure what color tunic Scotty is supposed to wear as he's decked out in blue, green and red in different issues of this series. 

It doesn't look like Len Wein was involved in the scripts at this point. The Swamp Thing co-creator's name isn't listed in the credits at the beginning of this book. In fact, nobody is credited as to have written these stories and that's a shame because many of them were very, very good. 

A Taj Mahal in space! Space Mummies! Kirk on trial for assisting iron poachers! A war between two tribes of teens as Spock races across the galaxy to find a cure for a deadly disease! A brat becomes the leader of his planet after his father is murdered by an unknown assailant. Machine/tree hybrids run amok! All very good stories, though I also saw a couple of these stories when they were TOS episodes 'Court Martial' and 'Miri'. 

Also, I refuse to believe that Captain Kirk doesn't know what a black hole is. Granted, his ignorance was used as a plot device to help educate readers as to what this anomaly in space is. But Kirk shouldn't have been the character used for this scene. 

The space Taj Mahal story is also notable for its artwork of an all-new crew member. The Federation historian Dr. Krisp, is assigned to unravel the mystery as to why almost anyone who visits the intergalactic shrine never returns. Dr. Krisp looks amazingly like Julie Newmar (Catwoman on TV's Batman)! Not sure if Giolitti or Zuccara drew that issue, as Gold Key didn't give artist credits. But BRAVO nonetheless. 

This is my last hurrah with the Checker reprints of the Gold Key books. I've already read volumes 4 and 5. Unfortunately, the publisher went defunct after Vol. 5. That means I still need issues 43-61. IDW released 5 hardcover volumes of these books. But they only went to issue #30 and the last edition was published in 2016. So, it's going to bargain bins and affordable back issues in order to complete my read of this entire innovative series that was a constant work in progress.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: The Key Collection, Vol 2

I really enjoy reading the Gold Key Star Trek books. True, they are filled with errors, inaccuracies and glitches. But they are still amazingly creative stories that bring the original Enterprise crew back to life.

When I reviewed Volume 1, I noted that the tunics worn by Kirk and Sulu were green and not gold. While Captain Kirk did wear a ceremonial tunic that was green, that shirt is not the worn being worn by him in these books. Then I read an article on Mental Floss. 

A couple of days ago, I learned that the 3 tunics worn by the crew of the Enterprise were supposed to be the colors of red, blue and GREEN! However, due to the lighting of the sets, the green uniforms came out appearing as yellow/tan on screen. I've got some mild color blindness issues, especially with green. Thanks to that online article, I now understand why it feels like my brain was always playing tricks on me when I watched classic Trek. I always felt like when I looked at Kirk or Sulu or Chekov, I was seeing 2 colors at once and I really was!

As for some of the other errors, I don't think I can excuse them anymore. In the forward of the previous volume, the editors remarked on how many of the problem with the early Star Trek books was the fact that artist Alberto Giotlitti and Nevio Zaccara both had never watched the show. They mostly had stills from the series and props to work with in order to craft the artwork. This is why Gold Key printed Kirk's tunic as green- because it was! However, we're now covering books 9-16 and it's 1970-71. The artwork problems should be fixed by now!

The Federation phasers look more like a Klingon disruptor. Spock's ears are the size of my feet! And for some reason, Bones' tunic is green instead of medical officer baby blue. And Scotty isn't wearing his engineering reds. The bridge of the Enterprise- it looks impressive but it's not the Enterprise. The very act of transporting from ship to planet also looks really different- cool- but different. But since none of the artists ever watched the TV show, I can't fault the creative license. 

I will say that the likenesses of the main characters are second to none. By issue #16 of Marvel's Star Wars series, the art team still couldn't get Luke Skywalker to look like actor Mark Hamill. By issue #16 of this old school series, not only does Spock look like Leonard Nimoy, I'm expecting him to jump off the page. Alberto Giolitti's work is that lifelike! But not all Klingons look like French wrestler turned actor Maurice Tillet!

As for the writing, I did see a large jump in quality. Len Wein pens these stories and you can tell that he at least had watched the series. I'm not sure if he was a Trekkie as some of Spock's dialogue seems too emotional. But if you really think about it, it's hard to not be emotional. I tried to write some Vulcan appropriate dialogue in my head recently and it's darn near impossible. But everybody else sounds pretty close to their onscreen counterparts. 

This was a fun read. Quite flawed. But it was an enjoyable adventure that I wish to continue by getting my hands on the remaining 30 some odd issues that I don't own.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: The Key Collection, Volume 1

Collecting the first eight issues of the equally much loved and much maligned Star Trek series from Gold Key. The publisher first debuted the sci-fi series in early 1967. All artists and writers had to go on was a series bible written by Gene Roddenberry and photos taken from the filming of the pilot episodes 'The Cage' and 'Where No Man Has Gone Before.' So there were quite a few errors in these early issues, such as:

• Mr. Spock uses contractions and has emotions. 
• Nobody except for Spock wears blue or red smocks! It's all greenish gold.
• Mr. Scott is thin and blond. He looks more like Jose Tyler, the navigator on 'The Cage', then he does actor James Doohan.
• and my favorite- the transporter room is a combination between the room from 'The Cage' and is encapsulated within a transparent chamber.

Despite the mistakes, the Gold Key/ Whitman Variant Star Trek is still a thing of beauty. The artwork was so detailed and rich. The stories were complex. They might have been cookie-cutter plots with some off-the-wall dialogue; but the creativity and applications of physics and science was astounding. Considering how little the writers and artists such as Nevio Zuccara and Alberto Giolitti had to go on, it's amazing how close to the real thing Gold Key got to Roddenberry's vision of 'Wagon Train in space.'

There's now only 2 volumes in this reprint series from CheckerBPG to find. Unfortunately, the company never got to releasing books covering issues 41-61. But I'll find them all one way or another, warts and all.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.