In September 2011, publisher IDW released the first issue of its new ongoing comic book series, Star Trek. The first series to be set in the altered timeline of the 2009 movie, it was rumoured to be filling in the gaps between that film and the new one due to hit our screens in 2013.
The Storylines
So far, only the first five issues have been published but they will be featuring a combination of brand new stories and re-visualized versions of Original Series episodes.
The first two issues re-told the story from Where No Man Has Gone Before, introducing this timeline to one of my favourite characters, Gary Mitchell. This was followed by two issues covering The Galileo Seven. January 2012 saw the release of the first of two issues entitled Operation: Annihilate.
The stories are well-written (or re-written, depending on your point of view), but occasionally suffer from feeling a little rushed, which is probably due to the two issue format. Mike Johnson, the writer, has worked on most of the new IDW Trek comics as well as several other tie-in titles for the company. He seems to have a clear understanding of this new timeline and keeps the characters true to their current incarnations. Jim Kirk's character, for instance, is a very different person in this new timeline and Johnson translates this well.
The Artwork
I have to admit here that I'm a little bit of an artwork snob. I like comic book art that makes it easy for me to recognize which character I'm looking at.
It can't be easy to make every drawn character look like flesh-and-blood actors that the reader is overly familiar with. Each time we see Jim Kirk, Leonard McCoy or Spock it has to look like Chris Pine, Karl Urban or Zachary Quinto. But the artists have succeeded here. Stephen Molnar (who worked on issues 1 & 2), Joe Phillips (issues 3 & 4) and Joe Corroney (issue 5 and presumably 6) each have a slightly different style, but have all managed to make these characters easily identifiable.
Overall
I have to admit that while I was nervous about these comics when I first heard about them, I'm well and truly hooked now. I have a soft spot for background canon details in comics and these help fill in some of the details that the movie didn't get a chance to look at. For example, in Operation: Annihilate, we're discovering more about Jim's life before he joined Starfleet. We're getting to finally meet the illusive Uncle Frank and see more of Winona Kirk (another one of my favourite characters). I already mentioned the inclusion in Where No Man Has Gone Before of Gary Mitchell, but other characters such as Lee Kelso are also featured. The Galileo Seven brings Yeoman Rand into this universe.
These provide a way for Trek fans who know nothing of the Original Series to get some knowledge of stories they may never have seen before, as well as providing those of us who have long watched and loved the show a new way of looking at old classics.
While we have no confirmation of how long this series will continue for, I'd like to hope that it will last at least until the next film.
Kim McGreal - Kim McGreal is an aspiring British writer trapped in the mundane guise of an office worker with an unhealthy superhero obsession.
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