Star Trek: The Newspaper Comics, The Complete Comics Vol. 1: 1979-1981

Celebrating a forgotten period of Star Trek comics. From 1979-1983, select newspapers nationwide carried the further adventures of Kirk, Spock and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew in comic strip form. Unlike the Gold Key Comics version or Marvel's short-lived run of adventures, the Star Trek comic strips are the rarest of the rare because most newspapers decided instead to run the Star Wars strip along with the continuing escapades of Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon in the funny pages.

Set immediately after the events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, this book covers the next 5-year mission, which coincidentally is being explored right now in the IDW Publishing miniseries Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Echoes. These 23rd century episodes are full of Klingons, with their new head ridges, along with many of the races introduced in the 1979 Robert Rise flick such as Arcturians, Saurians and Zaranites. But sorry Next Gen fans, not a Romulan in the bunch!

This joint IDW/Library of American Comics collaboration was published in 2012. I didn't even know this thing existed until I saw a post about this in one of the Star Trek Comics groups I am a member of on Facebook. I learned about this collection from Rich Handley, who wrote the foreword and helped with the editing, from a post. Thus, in the manner of complete transparency, I am not in any way being compensated for a review of this book. (Unless Rich follows through on the No-Prize I requested when I found an error in one of his story recaps.)

The main genius behind many of these stories is Thomas Warkentin. He provides nearly flawless older representations of the Enterprise crew. It's forgivable that Lt. Ilia appears in the first story, despite having died earlier in her lone canon appearance during The Motion Picture. The quality of the stories, the artwork and just how in character everybody is is top notch! 

After about a year, Warkentin left the strip. He was replaced by Sharman DiVino and Ron Wilson. The stories were just as good. The art was just as stunning. Only for some reason, both Spock and Kirk have been de-aged to look like their 1960s incarnations while Uhura, Scotty and the rest remain their middle aged selves. 

Both this volume and volume 2 are out of print. Amazon at least still has a few copies of this edition left at the original cover price of $49.99. As for the companion piece, it's really expensive. Not just on Amazon but everywhere that claims to have a copy. $119 and up! No joke. And no way I'm going to ever get my hands on a copy for that price, right?

If you do go searching for Volume 2, it can also get a little confusing. Eaglemoss, which is a publisher out of England, released the entire 1979-83 run of the strips in 3 volumes. They can be purchased on eBay for around 25-40 pounds. Not sure what the dollars to pounds conversion rate is. And since I already have volume 1, I'm not about to go that route. Plus, with UPS about to go on strike, I'm afraid if I order from the UK, it'll be the 23rd Century before I receive them.

A great read of long lost tales exploring the final frontier! Including a fantastic look at the ST:TMP McDonald's Happy Meal boxes that featured comic strip art by Thomas Warkentin!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

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 Vs. Transformers (Family Comic Friday)

IDW has been doing a line of miniseries based on classic cartoon shows from the 70s and 80s. A GI JOE and a Ninja Turtles book have been huge successes. Now the publisher is gambling on a micro-series based on the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon that ran on CBS from 1983-85. I'm trying to get all of these books and I think none of those 'Saturday Morning Adventures' would have happened if not for this miniseries.

This 2018 story joins the Star Trek and Transformers franchises for the first (and so far) only time ever! Drawn in the style of the 1973-74 Star Trek Saturday morning toon and the original Transformers syndicated series from 1984-87. 

The story starts with the Enterprise intercepting a distress call from a mining colony near the Neutral Zone. Expecting to run into Klingons, Kirk finds the colony under attack by aircraft from the late 20th Century! Adding to the mystery is the massive red and blue big rig that comes out of nowhere to counterattack the out of place planes! 

Oh.... Did I mention that the truck just transformed into a big ole' freakin' robot?

This story was just amazing! It had Arak and M'Ress! Klingons! And writer John Barber and artist Philip Murphy figured out a way to make a Transformer out of the Enterprise!

This story was also kinda sad. Or bittersweet. Star Trek: The Animated Series takes place around the year 2269. That means from 1990 to 2269, the literal hundreds of Transformers whittle down to about 6 Autobots and around a dozen Decepticons. Okay, there could be more. But that's about how many Transformers are in this crossover. So, I'm to infer that a whole bunch of characters died from my cherished childhood memories to about 270 years in the future; all thanks to a needless war for power and energy.

I did love the Easter eggs peppered throughout this book. To get to see the Eugenics war and Zefram Cochran and company from Star Trek: First Contact. Though this is supposed to be a family friendly comic book story, it is a bit shocking to see one of those soldiers from World War III taking narcotics in a throwaway panel. It's a lot like those innuendos that get thrown into Disney films. The kiddoes don't get it. But it's something the adults catch on to. Same thing here. It looks like a dude is picking his nose or something. But really, he's getting high as a kite!

There's something here for the whole family. Whole generations of family. The artwork was utterly amazing. The story was action packed and full of the stuff of dreams. If I had seen Optimus Prime transform into an iconic ship from pop culture history, like the Millennium Falcon or a Cylon raider one Saturday morning, I would have spit my cereal out like an exasperated grown-up drinking coffee when they hear something incredible and then done victory laps around the living room.

I don't think I need to have Star Trek and the Transformers ever meet-up again. But I hope this isn't the end of the animated Enterprise joining forces with other animated entities from my childhood.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: New Visions #5

I've been re-cataloging my collection currently. I'm creating a back-up in case my main archive ever goes away. In this lengthy process, I am coming across some treasured items. I'm also realizing there's a lot of stuff I forgot I had, like this issue from John Bryne's photo-comic series Star Trek: New Visions. 

Taking stills from the original series along with newly created CGI-art, Bryne created a 22-issue issue series that I imagine had to have been a lot harder to create than it looks. With drawing your own comic book, your imagination can run wild. But by basing your visuals on photographs, there's only so much you can work with without being repetitive. And if you want to add action to the images though digital means, there's an even finer line you can't cross without making the changes look fake. That's the massive challenge Byrne has with this issue. 

In the story 'A Scent of Ghosts', Number One from the pilot episode 'The Cage' has returned to the Enterprise. The officer is on a short trip to her newest assignment as the commander of the USS Yorktown. Eventually, the Enterprise catches up with its sister ship. Only, the crew of the Yorktown is missing!

Kirk leads a landing party to the Yorktown. But within moments, Kirk's team begins to vanish as well, leaving only Dr. McCoy left on board to conduct the investigation! As the country space doctor checks through records, both Spock and Number One, along with Scotty, notice that the last encounter the Yorktown crew had was with a ship that the former crew members of Captain Pike are very familiar with. Only, the last time they parted ways, it was as friends. 

Scenes of Captain Pike's original interactions are peppered throughout this tribute to the most unknown first officer in Star Trek history. Considering that John Bryne only had 1 50-minute long episode of character interaction to go on with Pike's crew, I'm amazed at how well a never before revealed tale of the Enterprise was pulled off. Having most of the story set during Kirk's time as captain helped. But still, this was a feat that only a master storyteller could pull off. 

I would have liked to have seen an interaction between the two crews. That's what I thought I was getting from the cover. Alas, they just weren't the case. This omission doesn't make for a worse story. I was just disappointed. 

There's a small back-up feature set during Spock's pursuit of Kolinahr. This tale pays respect to a character whom the actress who played her had passed away just recently in real life. The stunning visuals of Vulcan reminded me of Jack Kirby's collages. Only, these were better. 

I really like this series. It always impresses me how John Byrne made these work. Hopefully, I'll one day find out his process because I am fascinated by the meticulous nature it must have took to make these books.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: The Manga Ultimate Edition (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

From 2006-2008, Manga publisher TokyoPop produced a trilogy of books based on the classic Star Trek TV series. Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the crew of the original Enterprise were given the Manga treatment in an assortment of stories written by classic Star Trek screenwriters and modern comic book authors. In 2009, TokyoPop was ready to release a 4th edition. Only instead of all-new material, the international publisher held an online poll in which fans voted for what already published tales they wanted to see in a giant treasury of 'Best Of' material.

Star Trek: The Manga Ultimate Edition was over 300 pages of already published material. Incentives to purchase the treasury edition was having the first 2 dozen pages of the opening story 'Side Effects' printed in full color, along with a color insert poster comprise of artwork by cover artist Michael Kelleher.

The first story gives a possible origin story to the definitive foe of the Next Generation era of Star Trek: The Borg. Given that these Manga stories are not canon, it's not an essential story that Trek fans must read. But with that chilling ending that sets up a massive reveal, 'Side Effects' was a spectacular choice to open this fan's selection of Japanese inspired Star Trek reads.

David Gerrold, the writer of the original series classic 'The Trouble With Tribbles' pens the closer. Gerrold's 'Bandi' is a sequel to 'Tribbles' in spirit when the Enterprise picks up a stowaway. During a recent survey mission, a crew-member brings with him a Bandi-Bear; a seemingly adorable creature that looks like a cross between a gummi bear and those bruins found on Grateful Dead t-shirts. A creature that thrives on emotions, when Kirk becomes adamant that no foreign animals be allowed on the Enterprise after the Tribbles incident, the Bandi begins to exhibit hostile intentions towards the crew.

Another story of note was 'Art of War'. That tale was scripted by Wesley Crusher himself- Wil Wheaton! Told from the joint perspective of the court-martials of both Captain Kirk and his Klingon counterpart, this story hints at the eventual peace between the Federation and Klingon Empire. 

Aside from a 2009 volume of material based on Star Trek: The Next Generation (of which a 28-page preview is included in this book), no further Manga works based on the CBS franchise have ever been released by TokyoPop. IDW Publishing has definitely taken over the reins of Star Trek related comics. Meanwhile, TokyoPop has focused on works owned by Disney along with traditional Japanese titles and American inspired Manga works.

Note: If you buy this book on Amazon- BEWARE! Amazon claims that the Ultimate Edition 'Collects the original Star Trek manga trilogy'. That's just not true. This volume is a collection of fan favorites. If you were to buy all 3 volumes, they would equal almost 700 pages. This treasury is 342 pages (28 of which is TNG previews). So you miss out on over half of the available material out there devoted to the classic Star Trek TV series if you decide to purchase this work instead of the 'trilogy'. I made such a mistake and now I am having buyers remorse despite being such a fan of these stories.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars because I really want to read those missing stories!

Completing this review completes Task #14 (A Manga Work) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

The 25 Baubles of Pop Culture! Advent 2022 Day 12

Today's Advent is boldly going where no holiday countdown has gone before- it's a look at the Christmas ornaments from the extremely popular sci-fi franchise, Star Trek.

While Star Wars beats the pants off of Star Trek in terms of quantity of ornaments sold by Hallmark, it's the latter franchise that predates the world of George Lucas. The first Star Trek ornament produced by Hallmark was released in 1992. It is a magic ornament representing the Shuttlecraft Galileo from the original series. When plugged into the Christmas lights on the tree, Trekkies could push a hidden button and hear a special holiday message from Mr. Spock himself! Yes, Hallmark managed to get Leonard Nimoy to record a voice-over. They must have paid him a buttload of cash to do it!

Two of my favorite ornaments produced from Hallmark are of a pair of obscure characters. The tri-armed Lt. Arex and feline Lt. M'ress were characters on the short-lived NBC Saturday morning cartoon version based on the original series. Producers wanted to include more alien characters onto the cartoon to make it more visually appealing to kids. This meant that Nichelle Nichols' Uhura, George Takei's Sulu and Walter Koening's Chekov were to be cut from the show. Seeing that both of Star Trek's ethnic characters weren't going to be a part of the cartoon, Leonard Nimoy went on strike. A deal was made and Uhura and Sulu were kept on the crew with M'ress trading duty of coms with Uhura. Arex slid over to Chekov's seat and Mr. Sulu remained as the helmsman. Don't feel too bad for Walter Koening, he was involved on the show in production as a script writer and story consultant.

Anyways, Arex and M'Ress were really awesome characters. Thus, I want to share this pair of 2018 Comic Con exclusives, which due to their limited release are currently valued at $160 for the set.

You can't talk about Star Trek ornaments from Hallmark without mentioning this piece from 2015. Consistently ranked as one of the strangest and most awkward ornaments in holiday history. This ornament depicts the death of Mr. Spock at the conclusion of Star Trek II: The Wraith of Khan. A great moment in sci-fi movie history. But a kinda weird choice for something to hang on your tree what with Spock's skin all burnt and peeling off...

From the DIY department, I bring you this crafty idea. Take your favorite photo of Captain Kirk from the original series, laminate it and stick it inside a plastic globe. Then add several miniature pom poms, preferably of earth tones (IRONIC!). Boom! Instant recreation of the penultimate scene from 'The Trouble With Tribbles!'

Lastly, let's look at the craft made realm of Star Trek decorations for sale on the internet. I chose this pair devoted to Star Trek: The Next Generation's Captain Jean-Luc Picard. First from a seller on Etsy is this laminated print of the good Captain wearing a Santa Cap and  getting ready to pronounce his trademark phrase 'Make It So.' To go with that is this wooden ornament found on Geekxgirls.com. It's a wooden ornament that makes a holiday pun of Picard's famous phrase by instead proclaiming 'Make It Snow.' HA! I love it!

Star Trek: New Visions #22

The Enterprise crew are summoned to the planet of the Guardian of Forever. Time ripples are threatening to tear apart the research station in orbit above the Guardian. The source of the trouble appears to be in the late 90s during the aftermath of World War III and the Eugenics War. 

Kirk and Spock enter the Guardian in hopes of fixing the time ripples. But instead of arriving in an area of utter devastation, the Federation officers find themselves in the middle of a bustling suburban business center. 

Almost instantly, the duo are rendered unconscious by an unknown force. When they recover, they find themselves facing an old ally- Gary Seven. Only this time traveler has no knowledge of Kirk, Spock or the Federation of Planets. That's because this is a Gary Seven from an alternate earth!

The last issue of John Byrne's labor of love. On paper, it appeared that this issue was going to be a home run! It's got the Guardian of Forever, Gary Seven and time travel; a trio of fan favorite Trek plot devices! And yet, the X-Men and Superman legend barely manages to get to second base with this story. 

Overall, New Visions #22 is a confusing mishmash of alternate timelines that aren't really explained that in-depth. Kirk and Spock go to an alternate earth that never experienced the devastating effects of the third World War. Several crew members travel through the Guardian to rescue Kirk and Spock when contact with them is cut off. But those characters end up in the right time line. It's never explained why the Guardian did this.

Then there's the villains behind this caper. Their inspiration for attempting to destroy time is also never really explained. It's almost like Byrne had so much that he wanted to put into this story but ran out of book in which to do it!

Lastly, there's that Trump reference. I was really disappointed in it. I thought John Bryne was classy enough to not stoop that low. I was wrong. That knock on POTUS #44 took away from the fantastic whimsy of the Star Trek Universe and instead made it real. It also capped a forgettable story that closed out otherwise an unforgettable series that I looked forward to on a regular basis. 

A major disappointment.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

They Made A Christmas Album?- Advent 2018: Day 24

It's Christmas Eve! I heard that some areas of the country (I'm in the US) will be having snow tomorrow. And you know what that means! Rudolph!!!

I thought the best artist to usher in Santa's need for his crimson beaked caribou would be the one and only Captain James T. Kirk- William Shatner!

Upon my research for this Advent, I have come across a lot of hub-bub about Shatner's new Christmas album called Shatner Claus. While Shatner has done several albums, this is his first holiday one. The thing that has surprised many fans has been that it's taken this long for him to finally get holly jolly!

So without further to-do, I gift you tonight with William Shatner's Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer! Enjoy!

Star Trek: New Visions #21

Two great stories comprise this John Bryne produced picto-comic.

In the first adventure, Captain Kirk and the Klingon commander, Kor are taken prisoner by an all-new alien race. The unlikely allies escape their prison together because they've both been implanted with detention charges in their hearts that will explode if either gets further than 10 meters from the other. 

The second tale takes place aboard the Christopher Pike Enterprise. Here, the crew encounter a ship and a weary traveler that according to read-outs are from early 1900s Earth. While the technology and the science of the traveler's story seems to check out, clearly there's something odd. Because this Victorian era space traveler is also the character from a novel by H.G. Wells!

Both stories were very good. The Kirk and Kor story was better if only because I wasn't familiar with the Wells' story that was the inspiration for the Pike episode. I love Bryne's creativity and enthusiasm with these stories. I hate that the series just recently came to an end.

What I had issue with was some of the 'art'. The premise of these untold tales of Star Trek: The Original Series is that they are made of old cast photos mixed with new CGI photo shop. I normally overlook the oddity of how the computerized stuff looks. But I can't this time.

There were several panels in the Kirk/Kor story in which I couldn't tell what it was Bryne had made. Turns out later it was a phaser weapon used by this new alien race. But it was so poorly crafted and just plain dark and hard to make out. Then there's the space traveler in the Pike-era set adventure. At first, he looks pretty decent for an all-new character. But by the end, he starts looking like parts of his faces were being morphed out of existence. I swear, one panel looked like Scotty was transporting the poor guys lips right off his face. 

The stories were good, the photos were great but the new art had some technical issues. So really bad, the Enterprise explodes in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock technical issues...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: Boldly Go, Volume 1

Story by Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott. Art by Tony Shasteen and Chris Mooneyham. Published by IDW.

Go Your Own Way

Star Trek: Boldly Go immediately follows the explosive events of Star Trek Beyond. This miniseries continues the story of the Kelvin Universe after the destruction of the Enterprise. A new Enterprise is being constructed. But until then, the ship’s crew have undertaken temporary assignments.
Kirk has accepted the position of the interim captain of the Endeavor. Spock and Uhura have taken sabbatical to establish an academy on New Vulcan. The family Sulu undertake a 6-month long scouting mission. Meanwhile Scotty teaches safety protocols at Starfleet.
Once the reader has become familiar with the roles of the crew, the action takes a giant leap into… I’m sorry folks, but there is no way in the universe that I am going to spoil things. What I will say is that the cliffhanger at the end of chapter 1 left me stunned.

Potential For So Much More

I’ve been reading for some time now that there doesn’t seem to be a script ready for a fourth Star Trek film. The producers can’t seem to nail one down. Actor Chris Pine hasn’t seen a script. Actress Zoe Saldana is clueless as to if another film set in the Kelvin Universe will be made at all. Hello? Guys- your script is right here! Just have someone adapt this series into a script and get going on filming Star Trek 4!
Maybe series writers Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott should do it. Star Trek: Boldy Go, Volume One only captures the opening rounds of miniseries.Yet, I am thrilled with the direction it’s heading. Johnson is putting ‘Holy Crap!’ moments into a franchise that hasn’t really surprised anyone for years! Meanwhile, Parrott is shaking the Kelvin Universe up in mind blowing ways. You might not like every change either are making in the alternative universe Trek. But at least they're reinvigorating it at warp nine speeds!

Spock Looks Like Spock

Equally as good is the artwork. There’s been quite a bit of debate on the internet about photo-realism in comics lately. For books based on TV/ Movies, should the drawings looks just like the actors or not? I am strongly in the camp of making James T. Kirk look like Jim Kirk. Witchblade illustrator Tony Shasteen and Chris Mooneyham do an amazing job in capturing the likenesses of the actors. But I think I like Shasteen's work a little better as it looks a bit less like it's Manga.
Plus, I like the extras he’s adding to the series as well. For instance, following a Trek tradition of having respected British actresses play high ranking Vulcan’s, Tony Shasteen cast Dame Judi Dench as the head of the Vulcan High Council.
Drawing Judi Dench as a Vulcan! This is an example of the nostalgic feel of the original series that the creative staff have put in the series. You can tell that they all equally love Star Trek. But the team also don’t want this book to be a repeat of already established story lines either. If the next volume is just a fraction as good as this one, I will boldy go wherever they take the Enterprise crew!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Review originally published July 27, 2017 on outrightgeekery.com.

Star Trek Gold Key 100 Page Spectacular #1

     Collecting some of the earliest Star Trek issues by the now defunct Gold Key Comics. The point of this 100-page special isn't so much as being able to full some key missing issues in your collection- though that helps. Instead, this special highlights some of the very odd discrepancies between the classic sci-fi series and the comics.

     Continuity and production errors include:

• Captain Kirk and Sulu's tunics were green- NOT Gold!
• Scotty looks less like James Doohan and more like Robert Stack of Unsolved Mysteries fame.
• In most panels, Spock's ears take over 3/4 of the side of his head.
• The nacelles of the Enterprise spits fire.
• The Klingons all look like Mr. Clean in purple onesies- in other words: white, bald, and in need of a diaper change. 

     I could highlight some further errors, but I don't wanna spoil all the fun.

     The problems that occur in these issues is something I never really thought about, but it explains a lot. Comics based on movies and TV shows usually go into production before the product ever airs. So all the writers and artists had to go on are production photos, some rough drafts, and maybe some sketches. The rest is just made up. Thankfully, if a series gets popular, the production team of the comic book can start to make the two entities sync up

      This was a very interesting read, especially the essay at the end of this volume that delves into the backstory behind the early days of the very first Star Trek comic book. As a fan of MST3K, I had a lot of fun with this book in which you can't really complain about the flaws as that's really the whole point of this special.

      As I had mentioned earlier, this collection also isn't really ideal if you are looking to complete your Gold Key run. But as the first issue, collected here, is valued at anywhere between $500-$1600 depending on edition and condition, this is an affordable way to get your hands on the story without breaking the bank. 

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

   

Star Trek Beyond

 Who knew that in the 50 year history of Star Trek, the only thing missing was the Beastie Boys?!

    Clearly, this is a reference for those who have gone to see the film. I finally was able to see it tonight and I loved it. No, I was not scared off by the detractors of the latest entry in the Star Trek Reboot Franchise. I had every intention of seeing it the week it came out with a buddy of mine. But he kept putting it off with excuses that I later learned never came to be on his end. Maybe Rotten Tomatoes scared him away. Regardless, after 3 weeks of waiting, I said 'enough's enough." and decided to see it by myself.

    In this chapter of the rebooted Trek universe, Kirk and crew are into year 3 of their 5-year mission and are about to enjoy some much needed R&R. While on shore leave on the Yorktown space station, the Enterprise is called upon to launch a rescue mission is an uncharted sector of space. The missing ship is located in a nebula, which means that the Enterprise will be cut off from communicating with Starfleet. Once through the nebula, it becomes immediately appearant that Kirk and his crew were duped as the are overcome by an unknown swarm of enemy ships that cripple the Federation's flagship. 

   After ordering all hands to abandon ship, the majority of the Enterprise crew are captured by the army of a completely new character named Krall (Luther's Idris Elba, as you've never seen him before under about 9 pounds of prosthetics and make-up), whose got a major beef with the United Federation of Planets for some reason. But not all of the Enterprise crew are held captive by Krall. Kirk and Chekov made it out safely. Can they organize the remaining uncaptured crew members, save their comrades, and find a way off planet before Krall unleashes a weapon that promises to destroy the entire Alpha Quadrant?

     I don't know why some many people hatred this movie. I thought it was really good. By shear coincidence, I happened to see the film on the day that media outlets were declaring Star Trek Beyond to be a massive flop. But, this film had me and the 30 or so other patrons who saw the movie with me, flipping over how awesome it was. There was lots of great moments, some funny, lots filled with action. There's even a very touching tribute to the late Leonard Nimoy as well as the original Enterprise crew in this film.

     In the original Star Trek films, it is commonly agreed upon that the even numbered films are the best. But if you ask me, the odd numbered films in the reboot franchise series are the best. Beyond captures the spirit of the original series so well and it just surpassed Into Darkness, the previous Trek film that critics and fans just raved over. 

     Star Trek Beyond was directed by Fast & the Furious franchise director, Justin Lin and it marks the first of the new series not to be directed by J.J. Abrams, who was busy with Star Wars Episode VII. But Abrams did have a hand as an executive producer and his good buddy Greg Grunberg even makes an appearance in the film. 

     Maybe critics of this film weren't happy that Justin Lin was at the helm for this one. I for one thought he did an very good job. I'm not very familiar with his other works but with all of the crazy angles and fast paced machinery, you could tell that the Fast & the Furious had something to do with influencing this picture. But some of these crazy angled shots made me a tad motion sick, but I quickly was able to rebound from that. So glad I did not opt for 3-D!

      Don't let those who have trashed this film keep you away. It's a good way to spend 2 hours. In fact, it's one of those films that I kept looking at my phone not for knowing how much time until I could leave but I was checking to see how much time was left as I did not want this one to end. 
     
     Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek The Key Collection: Volume 5

  

    The fifth volume of the Checker reprints of the Gold Key Star Trek comics from the 60s was an even better thrill ride than the previous one. The art was so much better in this one and the writing was very, very good. Let's discuss the art first.

 In the issues of volume 4, Spock's ear were drawn to such a degree they were freakin' huge. They took up most of the side of his head. Thankfully, the ears here are much less pronounced. The likenesses were amazing as well, especially of Kirk and Scotty, who plays a much larger role in these issues.

    The art of the Enterprise featured dynamic exteriors (AGAIN) and very good facsimiles of the interiors. The renderings of the aliens were pretty good too. I had to remind myself that with these issues being published years before the Star Trek films came out, that the Klingons were not going to be sporting their now iconic cranial ridge.

     Speaking of Klingons, they were featured in a clever story in which Kirk must go undercover to expose a Klingon gun running scheme in order to overtake a dilithium rich planet along the Neutral Zone. Another great tale features Kirk, Spock, Scotty, and McCoy racing against time when a radiation leak begins to turn them into children. Along with a cryogenically frozen professor and a time-travelling romp through the 1850s and 60s, this volume was near flawless in its delivery.

    Sadly, this appears to be the last volume in the series. Though Gold Key published about 30 more issues before ending in 1979, this volume was last issued in 2006. Along with that, the Checker Book Publishing group went out of business in 2010. Though I can find all five volumes on Amazon, I've not found another publisher that has issued reprints of the remaining issues- yet!

     IDW Publishing, who currently owns the rights to the Star Trek comics franchise, has issued two volumes reprinting the Gold Key series. But there are only two volumes thus far and they're only at issue #12.  So, only time will tell, unless I get lucky in the bargain bins.

Worth Consuming
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: The Key Collection, Volume 4

Normally, I wouldn't start reading something in the middle of a run unless I had a good reason. I'm big on continuity and I hate to read something and then have a cliffhanger which I don't have the following issue to complete the story. But the Gold Key books of the 1960s and 70s were single issue stories- no multiparters here. Also, to obtain some of the earlier issues would cost me an arm and a leg. For example on the online site for Mile High Comics, a fine issue of Star Trek #3 sells for $101!

   So it's reprints for me!

   I found this volume at a local comics show for only $5. Containing 8 issues, that was less than a dollar a book and way cheaper than the combined price of about $150 bucks if I were to buy all the issues online. I also bought volume 5 at the show and since there are 3 more books in this series, I should be able to have a run of the first 40 or so books for a very reasonable amount of money.

    It wasn't an official standard practice to give credits to artists and writers until the late 70s. While DC and Marvel were already doing this when these Gold Key books were published, not every publisher gave credit when and where it was due. None of these issues boast a credit so I haven't a clue who were behind these stories nor can I determine who to praise for the gems and who to blame for the stinkers.

    The art was of near superior quality for a Silver Age licensed work. Most comics based on live action shows contained artwork to looked nowhere near to the actors they were representing. That's not so here. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, and sometimes Scotty were drawn in a near photo-realistic style. Well- except for one thing- the ears on Spock were enormous. They were drawn to look like they covered 3/4 of his head. I know Vulcans have big ears, but this was ridiculous. Artwork of the various alien races were quite good as well and the rendering of the Enterprise was stunning.

   The coloring was hit and miss. Sometimes you'd see one of the crew members wearing the wrong color tunic. I noticed that in the mistakes, you'd see one crew member wearing the right color and the other crew member inked in the same color as their colleague. For example, there was a panel in which Bones and Scotty were sitting together and they both wore science officer blues. I'm wondering if these color mistakes were a cost saving measure. Nonetheless, it was a little irritating to me.

    The stories ranged from 'The Trouble With Tribbles' good to 'Spock's Brain' bad. 'Dwarf Planet' in which Scotty is hit with s shrink ray and the clone saga 'The Perfect Dream' were the best in this collection. The mutant uprising story 'Ice Journey' was horrid. I suggest you skip that tale. One problem all issues had were that the last couple of panels attempted to be humorous like the final scene of each episode of classic Trek but the jokes mostly fell flat and the endings were quite awkward.

    Regardless of some of the nits I have about the books in this series, the overall book was an enjoyable tale and this work is a welcome addition to my Star Trek comics collection

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: Year Four: The Enterprise Experiment

  Yesterday, the galaxy lost a great man with the passing of Leonard Nimoy: forever to be known as Mr. Spock. In no way was my reading of this trade done as a tribute or some sort of cheap attempt at garnering readership or hits within the Star Trek community. Honest. I actually started reading this book a couple of days before news of Nimoy's hospitalization for chest pains and had finished this book up the night before his death. With yesterday being my day to review a family-friendly comic, I got a day behind on reviewing 'the Enterprise Experiment' and this just happens to be an eerie coincidence.

   'The Enterprise Experiment' was written by original series screenwriter DC Fontana. The story is set during the fourth year of the Enterprise's five-year tour. (The CBS show was canceled after only 3 years, so there are two 'mystery' years of the Enterprise. Why there has never been a Star Trek: Year Five though is beyond me.) The mini is also a sequel to the episodes 'The Enterprise Incident'- which was originally written by Fontana and 'Errand of Mercy', the episode that interduced the Klingons and the Organians.

  Since this story is based on two episodes, there's basically two parts to this story. The first part is the sequel to the 'Enterprise Incident,' in which the Federation has developed cloaking device based on the cloak Kirk and Spock stole from the Romulans during the 'Enterprise Incident.' When Kirk and Spock are on a shuttle craft in order to test the cloaking device's effectiveness they find themselves unable to detect any trace of the ship. That is because the cloaking device is also based on the technology of the Guardian of Forever, thus it phases the ship out of sync with the physical universe. With a Romulan warship on the horizon, Kirk and Spock must regain contact with their starship or they'll become sitting ducks.

    Part Two is the sequel of sorts to 'Errand of Mercy' starting with the Klingon Kor launching several successful attacks on outposts in the Klingon Neutral Zone. Since it appears that the Organians are no longer enforcing the peace treaty they imposed during "Errand of Mercy' the Enterprise is ordering to investigate the Organians disappearance and to stop Kor's attacks on Federation enclaves.

       I liked part one a lot better than part two. Mostly, I found the Romulan story to be more exciting and interesting. But I also found the Klingon story to be in error with the films, particularly 'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.' Though the actual whereabouts of the Organians is a subject of debate amongst Trek fans, it's mentioned in both the film and novelization of ST:VI that the sentient beings have suddenly disappeared. But Year Four takes place a good decade or so- thus this story is in error. Trekkers call this sort of continuity flaw a 'nit' and this is a serious one.

    Another thing that I felt was out of sorts were flashback sequences involving Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. The purpose of those scenes was to show how much the three men are a family to each other than their actual families are. But it really didn't have much of a place in this story since the main themes had more to do with trust amongst people and faith in technology and not "family is the company you most keep."

   I don't think DC Fontana meant for these flashbacks to even be included. In the back of this volume is the writer's five-part original proposal for this series. Nowhere are the family flashbacks of the Enterprise's big three even mentioned. So, I think the blame rests with the editors. A good 10 pages was wasted on this extraneous storyline- pages that could have been used to better fill out the conflict between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.

   Once again, IDW Publishing did a great job examining the unexplored reaches of the fourth year of the USS Enterprise's five-year mission under Jim Kirk. However, with the new Trek movies, IDW seems to be less focused on the original series. There's no reason why the publisher can't release comics based on both Treks since the new films are set in a tangent universe. I'd really like to see how the fifth and final year of Kirk's first command of the Enterprise ended. But since it's been 7 years since this Year Four story was published, it's probably a pipe dream.

    Lastly, let's talk about the art. It's very good with amazing detail to not just the original cast but the guest stars and the Enterprise as well. I marvelled at how much detail was put into the cloaking device and the work done on animated series character Arex, was fantastic. But the covers by the Sharp Brothers were even better and I enjoyed the pencil to inks processes added to the director's cut materials at volumes end.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Into Darkness hits a little close to home with the acts of terrorism conducted by Benedict Cumberbatch’s character. Even more relevant is how Starfleet has become like our government when the long-range torpedoes developed to kill Cumberbatch are like the drones of today. What right does any government have to kill someone, even a known terrorist without a trial? It’s a question that not only Spock asks in the film, but the average Joe on the streets in the 21st century.

Besides being preachy, a few scenes seem like they were made only for being added to a video game- or to make the 3D version more exciting. But, those action scenes are too far fetched and not needed, really.

The acting is great. Abrams did a fantastic job getting actors who look and act like those of the Original series. I must admit, I liked the first Star Trek a little bit better, but in no way did this film not leave me wanting a 3rd film, either.

I am waiting for the director’s cut, because several actors are listed in the credits that do not appear in the film, like Chris Hemsworth's George Kirk and whoever Heather Langenkamp of Nightmare on Elm Street fame played.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek #3, 1995 Special

This special is all about Kirk and his nephews in light of the aftermath of the events of the classic Trek episode: Operation Annihilate! In the first tale, Kirk and his boys stumble across an Orion invasion while dealing with the demons of having lost both a dad and mom.

The second tale involves Kirk’s only nephew to appear on the show, Peter and his attempt to travel back in time to stop the death of his parents from occurring. It’s a powerful tale and has a great tie-in easter egg with the original series.

The art is very good. But, it’s the powerful storytelling that steals the show.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek #1, Spring 1994 Special

Kirk and Spock’s relationship is looked at in great detail in a pair of stories. 

The first tale sees the return of RJ Blaise, last seen in the pages of the second DC volume of Trek. There is some great sexual tension banter between Kirk and Blaise and Spock’s more human characteristics add for some riotous exploits.

   Then we have got a tale on Vulcan, where Spock has trouble finding his place in the universe after his resurrection. Kirk must save him before the elements of the harsh Vulcan wilderness claims do. 

Two really good tales. The art is 50/50. Sometimes spot on and sometimes you can’t tell Uhura from Scotty. Always good to have dynamic Star Trek writer Peter David back, however.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek Movie Special #2: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

The Enterprise crew, having restored Mr. Spock to life, must now return to earth to face their fate for their crimes of disobeying orders, stealing a starship, and subsequently destroying said starship. But, before the gavel can be lowered, a strange probe has arrived on earth, threatening all life. It appears that whales are descendants of an alien race and Kirk must attempt to travel back in time in order to bring the now extinct mammels into the future in hopes to saving the world.

This issue has some great back up info not included in the film. We see more of the crew’s struggles to repair their stolen Klingon bird of prey and to create the galaxy’s largest aquarium of all time.

Sadly, much of the out-of-time humor the Enterprise crew experience being stranded in the 1980s is omitted in order to keep all the plot points moving. It's that humor what makes ST:IV a classic amongst Trekkies and casual fans alike and it's missing here!

It’s slightly forgivable, but still lacks a little bit of that old cinematic magic. Still, it’s Worth Consuming if you find yourself wanting to see the film but without a copy to watch on DVD.

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.