IDW ANNOUNCES 2008 STAR TREK PLANS

[MattBrady]

It’s a comics appearance that Trek fans have been waiting many, many years to see – the New Frontier continuity finally making it to Star Trek comics. IDW today announced their 2008 plans for the Trek franchise, which include New Frontier, more from John Byrne, stories from the legendary D.C. Fontana, and more, all falling under the “Second Stage” banner.

The press release from the publisher reads:

In its first year of Star Trek storytelling, IDW Publishing blasted off the launch pad with marquee titles like Star Trek: Year Four, the hit miniseries Klingons: Blood Will Tell and the fan-favorite Alien Spotlight one-shots.

Now, for its sophomore cycle, IDW will take its titles to the next level with STAR TREK: SECOND STAGE, an all-new publishing lineup showcasing some of the top Star Trek storytellers in comics, books and television. Among the creators: fan-favorite comic book writer and novelist Peter David, legendary comics artist John Byrne, IDW’s new rising stars Scott & David Tipton, and the grande dame of Star Trek writing, D.C. Fontana.

“We’re incredibly proud of the work that we produced in our first year of Star Trek publishing, and the quality of those titles has really allowed us to recruit some of the best Star Trek storytellers from across several different mediums,” says IDW Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall. “In the first year, we took the IDW starship on its shakedown cruise. For 2008, we’re taking the storytelling beyond the Final Frontier.”

“This will really be an epic year for Star Trek, and we want to make sure our books do justice to the scope of it all,” says IDW Star Trek editor Andrew Steven Harris, who together with Ryall conceived of and assembled the teams for SECOND STAGE. “We’re expanding our slate of titles to four issues a month, so that there’s a feeling of weekly appointment reading for our audience, like a Star Trek TV show. At the same time, we want each title to have the significance of a Star Trek film, so that each series is a seminal comics event. That’s the level that we’re shooting for with STAR TREK: SECOND STAGE.”

All SECOND STAGE series will debut with a specially-designed STAR TREK: SECOND STAGE logo. Titles launching in the opening months of SECOND STAGE include:

MARCH — STAR TREK: NEW FRONTIER®

New York Times Best-Selling novelist Peter David, author of the first Star Trek series designed exclusively for print, celebrates the 10th anniversary of the New Frontier saga with its first-ever comic book series. The five-part epic, debuting in March with artist Stephen Thompson (Beneath the Valley of Rage), features all-new stories and the official continuation of the runaway hit novels by Pocket Books.

In "Turnaround," the most dangerous experimental vessel in the galaxy—a prototype time ship—has vanished, and it appears that the man who stole it is none other than Starfleet Admiral Edward Jellico. Only Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the crew of the Excalibur have a hope of finding him before the ship, intended purely for scientific exploration, is used to disrupt the space-time continuum.

To mark the launch of SECOND STAGE with New Frontier #1, IDW will debut its new Quad Cover™ format, with four separate covers bound directly onto the same issue.

APRIL — STAR TREK YEAR FOUR: THE ENTERPRISE EXPERIMENT

D.C. Fontana, who started her career as Gene Roddenberry’s assistant during the Original Series, went on to write some of Star Trek’s most memorable episodes, including ground-breaking episodes of that first series, as well as the pilot for Star Trek: The Next Generation®, and contributions to the Star Trek animated series and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine®. Now Fontana adds Star Trek comic books to her literary legacy, continuing IDW's successful Star Trek Year Four saga with co-writer Derek Chester (Star Trek: Legacy) and longtime Star Trek artist Gordon Purcell. Fan-favorite illustrators The Sharp Brothers will also contribute special covers for the five-part series, which debuts in April.

The Star Trek Year Four series has chronicled the untold fourth year of the U.S.S. Enterprise’s legendary five-year mission, depicted for just three seasons on the original Star Trek show. For The Enterprise Experiment, Fontana and Chester craft a sequel to Fontana’s celebrated Star Trek episode "The Enterprise Incident," in which Kirk famously posed as a Romulan to capture a new state-of-the-art cloaking device.

In this all-new story, Federation efforts to fully adapt the cloaking device to Starfleet ships leads to an experiment gone awry, trapping Kirk and Spock on an Enterprise out of phase with space itself. At the same time, Romulan forces close in on the starship, intent on claiming revenge for their stolen technology. Later chapters in the series will provide a sequel to the first two issues, as the Klingon™ Empire—with its own agenda—suddenly enters the fray.

MAY — STAR TREK: ASSIGNMENT EARTH

Comics icon John Byrne provides a prequel to the SECOND STAGE titles with the February finale of IDW’s Alien Spotlight series in an issue showcasing the Romulans, the writer/artist’s first-ever illustrated Star Trek story in a decades-spanning career. But in May, Byrne will unveil his first full-blown Star Trek comic series, the five-part, time-jumping Star Trek: Assignment Earth.

The original TV episode "Assignment Earth" had been the Season Two finale for the Star Trek series. It introduced the cryptic character Gary Seven and was intended by Gene Roddenberry as the pilot for a spin-off series that never came to pass. Now, however, Byrne will bring Roddenberry’s dream to life, delivering the spin-off 40 years after it would have debuted. The series tells the tale of the interstellar time traveler and his Earth-born assistant as they covertly confront threats to the past so that they can save Star Trek’s future.

Byrne will both write and draw the series, which steps one year forward with each installment, beginning with 1968, the year that the original "Assignment Earth" episode aired.

JUNE — STAR TREK: MIRROR IMAGES

The Mirror Universe remains one of the most popular themes in Star Trek canon, and IDW will travel through the looking glass with Star Trek: Mirror Images, written by IDW Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall together with Scott & David Tipton, brothers have become the new breakout stars of Star Trek comics writing with hit series like Klingons: Blood Will Tell. The new four-part epic launches in June, teaming the brothers once again with Klingons artist David Messina.

In Mirror Images, Ryall and the Tiptons recount twin tales: the rise of the mirror James Kirk to the command of the ISS Enterprise as he plots to unseat Captain Christopher Pike, as well as the story of Enterprise crew members whose counterparts were not prominently featured in the original "Mirror, Mirror" episode—McCoy, Scotty and Uhura, who use their unique positions on the ship to advance their own ambitious agendas.

A second Mirror Images series, spotlighting The Next Generation crew, is slated for the second half of 2008, written by IDW Star Trek editor Andrew Steven Harris and screenwriter George Strayton (Xena, Dragonlance).

Note:
Art for the later-debuting series (Assignment: Earth and Mirror Universe) are promo images and not final cover art.Credits for the promo artwork include:

Assignment Earth -- Art: John Byrne; Colors: Leonard O'Grady.
Mirror Universe -- Art: Joe Corroney.
New Frontier -- Art: Stephen Thompson.
Year Four -- Art: The Sharp Brothers; Colors: Leonard O'Grady.

[AbacusComics]

Looks like a lot of fun. Star Trek comics rock.

[Marcimus]

Now if you could give me an on-going New Frontier written by Peter David and drawn by John Bryne, I would be stoked. In general good news, though I would like to see the interiors for the New Frontier series.

[Carlos Javier]

Cannot WAIT for this! Admiral Jellico always seemed like an interesting character.

Roddenberry had to have been a Doctor Who fan because no one can tell me the concept of Assignment Earth isn't an homage to it.

[von Doom, M.D.]

So, does IDW's current Trek license preclude the other companies from reprinting the Trek material they've got in the back? I believe that out of all licensed comics, Star Trek is the one that's had the most homes, from Gold Key to DC to Marvel and Malibu and so on.

I ask because a few years ago, I had the chance to purchase DC's "The Mirror Universe Saga" trade for about $4, and didn't take the opportunity. Now, I wish I had, since I remember reading it and loving it when I was a wee lad. So I was wondering if there's any chance, however unlikely it may be, that such reprints could be coming, especially if J.J. Abrams' upcoming movie proves to be a hit.

A second Mirror Images series, spotlighting The Next Generation crew, is slated for the second half of 2008, written by IDW Star Trek editor Andrew Steven Harris and screenwriter George Strayton (Xena, Dragonlance).

Is there that much story to be gained from the perspective of slaves to the Alliance?

[Simon DelMonte]

I love Star Trek passionately. But it's time to give it all a rest till at least the new film opens. There is so very little left to say after five TV shows, 10 movies, and countless books and comics and video games.

[skaly]

Originally Posted by Marcimus

Now if you could give me an on-going New Frontier written by Peter David and drawn by John Bryne, I would be stoked.

The behind-the-scenes stories alone would be worth every penny.

[HieuLeBui]

absolutely no love for DS9

[vbartilucci]

I gotta admit, I always liked Gary Seven. So more of him is a good thing for me.

Hell, why not have him team up with Questor while we're at it?

[KoozyK]

Originally Posted by Simon DelMonte

I love Star Trek passionately. But it's time to give it all a rest till at least the new film opens. There is so very little left to say after five TV shows, 10 movies, and countless books and comics and video games.

that's not true at all.

while i've never been a fan of the trek comics or books, there is always room for more stories in that universe. they just need new talent in the pool to make something new and original. i've never been attracted to any plotline i've read about. get me a talented creator on the job (abrams), and my interest is piqued. i still don't know what to think about starting over with the new movie, but i'll give it a shot because it sounds like it could be intersting.

don't just say the universe has not more potential. that's like saying marvel comics should just end the 616 and only do ultimate or dc should abandon new earth and just start over on a different earth. give me a break.

[AbacusComics]

Originally Posted by von Doom, M.D.

So, does IDW's current Trek license preclude the other companies from reprinting the Trek material they've got in the back? I believe that out of all licensed comics, Star Trek is the one that's had the most homes, from Gold Key to DC to Marvel and Malibu and so on.

I don't know for sure, but I know you can read the original Gold Key comics on Wowio.com for free now, and those are put up by Checker Books, who buy the publishing rights from other publishers like Cross Gen, Rob Liefeld, etc. So I would imagine the other books have publishing rights outside of this general agreement.

[HomerdaBorg]

I take it there's no chance PAD could write New Frontier comics? That would be so cool...

[ticknart]

Please, IDW, bring us some Deep Space 9 stuff that takes place after the finale, soon.

Pleeeeeeease?

[grphxkindaguy]

I've only read the first TNG IDW mini-series. The writing and art were subpar IMO, for Star Trek.

Have the subsequent mini's (Klingon BWT and Year Four) been any better?

[Thephanboy]

i love what idw is doin with the star trek lisense. they are doin these titles with the respect that they deserves. look forward to all these books.

[Grenadier]

Originally Posted by HomerdaBorg

I take it there's no chance PAD could write New Frontier comics? That would be so cool...

Go back and read the article this time. PAD is writing the 5-part mini.

[Grenadier]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

the New Frontier continuity finally making it to Star Trek comics.

New Frontier made it to comics 7 years ago. Wildstorm had a one-shot called New Frontier: Double Time.

[Cessty101]

DS9 in 2009!

Please?

[brawl2099]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

New York Times Best-Selling novelist Peter David, author of the first Star Trek series designed exclusively for print, celebrates the 10th anniversary of the New Frontier saga with its first-ever comic book series. The five-part epic, debuting in March with artist Stephen Thompson (Beneath the Valley of Rage), features all-new stories and the official continuation of the runaway hit novels by Pocket Books.

I have a Wildstorm Star Trek trade with a New Frontier story (that I swear was a two-issue mini not a one-shot) in it by Peter David. Don't remember what the title of the trade was but it was a time travel story where Calhoun went back in time a week to prevent a disaster that killed an entire civilization.

[SpyGuy]

Since IDW currently has both the DOCTOR WHO and STAR TREK licenses, I really think we need a CYBERMEN VS. BORG one-shot. I imagine it would go something like this:

Cybermen: "We are the Cybermen. Resistance is useless."

Borg: "We are the Borg. Resistance is futile."

Cybermen: "You will become identical. You will become like us."

Borg: "You will be assimilated. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own."

Cybermen: "We debuted in 1966."

Borg: "We debuted in...um...1989."

Cybermen: "Destroy them! Destroy them at once!"

[Scavenger]

Originally Posted by vbartilucci

I gotta admit, I always liked Gary Seven. So more of him is a good thing for me.

Hell, why not have him team up with Questor while we're at it?

You'll want to check out the first 2 Eugenics War/Kahn Novels...they're all about Gary 7 (and Kahn)

[Scavenger]

Originally Posted by Carlos Javier

Cannot WAIT for this! Admiral Jellico always seemed like an interesting character.

Unfortunately, not when PAD writes him, where he comes off like a screaming, bullheaded jerk.

[Alpinemaps]

RE: DS9

I don't believe IDW has the license to DS9, Voyager, or Enterprise, hence no comics for those series.

New Frontier is considered part of the TNG line. I think IDW just has the licenses for the original series and for TNG.

[BUMP]

Stephen Thompson is one of the finest emerging talents out there, great to see more of him.

[Gordon Lee]

Slowly gaining in consumer confidence during the year one of ST titles, year two looks much better!