books comic books Star Trek TV

I’m in a Star Trek mood…

Maybe it’s the upcoming movie or maybe it’s just the cyclical nature of my fanhood, but I’ve had Star Trek on the brain for a while now.

For whatever reason, the classic movie era is my favorite Star Trek time period. I’m a sucker for the adventures of Kirk and crew anytime between Star Trek: The Motion Picture through Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. A few weeks ago I posted an ad from 1984 for Star Trek comics by DC. I’ve wanted to read those comics since I was a kid. Those George Perez covers on the first three issues are fantastic! Well… I broke down and ordered the first 21 issues of that 1984 series plus the first annual from Mile High Comics. They were having an insane sale and I got all of them for under $30 (that includes shipping). I’ve read the first couple issues already and I’m loving it! I can’t wait to get to the Mirror Universe saga!

I also broke out my copy of the 1989 novel Star Trek: The Lost Years. This was a great book that took place after the end of the Enterprise’s original five-year mission, but before Star Trek: The Motion Picture. In the story, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy struggle to establish new lives apart from each other and the starship. This book was created to bridge the gap between TOS and the movies. It was popular enough that they did three more books under “The Lost Years” banner. I’ve only read the first one, but I’m going to work my way through all four pretty soon here.

I’m pretty excited for the new movie, but if it sucks I’ve still got old Kirk comics and novels I’ve never read to fall back on. To paraphrase, “If you haven’t read it, it’s new to you.”

7 thoughts on “I’m in a Star Trek mood…

  1. IDW has some really good Trek titles running right now. If you haven’t checked them out yet, they do a great job of capturing the atmosphere of the different series, to the degree that I love the original-series-era titles and roll my eyes at the Next Generation ones for the exact same reasons I did the shows.

    Even more interesting, they capture the feel of different eras within each series. For instance, one of my favorite titles, Star Trek Crew (a title that baffles me, but oh well), follows the career of Number One, Majel Barret’s character from the first pilot. So, thick collars, female officers wearing pants, and shipboard life that feels more like being on a submarine than a luxury yacht.

  2. Right there with you — I got both DC series late last year and am about 3/4th of the way through the first one. Great stuff, especially the continuing development of Ssavik’s character and the way the creative team shoe-horned new adventures in between ST II and III and then again III and IV. Hope you will enjoy!

  3. I’m with you, Shag. The new Star Trek movie has me eagerly returning to all of my old Trek obsessions, and the movie era happens to be my favorite as well. The DC Comics series just got better and better as it progressed. Those back issues are definitely worth revisiting. Meanwhile, I’m going to be picking up a copy of IDW’s Star Trek Omnibus (Vol. 1), featuring the stories that Marvel published following Star Trek: The Motion Picture!

  4. Have you seen the Star Trek Complete Comics Collection DVD-ROM? It’s a collection of 500 or so Star Trek comics in PDF format. Amazon has it. I just ordered a copy and can’t wait to get it. Like yourself, I love the original cast movie era, and those old DC comics from the early to mid 80s were great, I have a fond place in my heart for those.

  5. I too am a big fan of the classic movie time period and the dc comic series. My favorite story was the the time when the Enterprise was transformed into hell as related in Dante’s Inferno. “abandon hope all ye who enter” My favorite original character was Bearclaw. I love characters named after pastry. Probably explains why I like the little robot sidekick from the old Buck Rogers tv show.

  6. I liked Konom. Others disagree, but I think it can take courage to “go against the grain” of your dominant culture. Plus, of course, he was a predecessor of Mr. Worf. And why *should* every Klingon “buy into” the values of Klingon society — as if it is monolithic in a way that no real society ever is. Just as not all Americans agree on what it means to be a good and patriotic Americans, in a more nuanced presentation of the Trekverse, not all Klingons would agree on “the Klingon way,” just as we do, in fact, see that not all Vulcans agree on “the Vulcan way.” It’s a common failing of media sf — understandable due to time and budget constraints, and needs to tell a good story efficiently, but still regrettable. “Bablyon 5” may have done some of that nuanced society-building better than Trek. (Like ’em both, so flame me not! Just sayin’…)

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