I thought it was about time for me to revisit the world of comics. There are some interesting projects going on in many different places in that world. This week, I take a look at what has been coming out from IDW in their Star Trek titles. Next week, I'll be looking at projects at other companies, including DC, Marvel, Wildstorm, Dark Horse, and Dabel Brothers Publishing.

Earlier this year, IDW began what they called “Second Stage”, bringing us new and exciting stories from all around the ST universe. In IDW's words, Second Stage would be “featuring some of the top Star Trek storytellers in comics, books and television.” To kick this project of, they brought us Star Trek: New Frontier written by Peter David. Not only is David a top comic writer (The Incredible Hulk, Spectacular Spider-man), a top novelist (Iron Man, Knight Life, Sir Apropos of Nothing), and an experienced ST writer (Captain's Daughter, Imzadi, I,Q), he is also the creator of the New Frontier series of novels. Who better to bring Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the crew of the Excalibur and friends to comics? I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but the story presented in this 5-part limited series was excellent, featuring all the favorite characters from the book series and a couple of surprise characters as well, and giving us the exciting plot points that ST readers love, including intrigue and time travel and some surprises there as well. The artwork was drawn by Stephen Thompson, and was very well done. Unlike some other ST comics, many of these characters were either not seen or rarely seen on screen, so there were not as many “likeness” issues as are found with other licensed properties. However, those that were, or have been illustrated on book covers, were all definitely recognizable as who they were supposed to be, particularly Shelby. Thompson also did a great job with his interpretation of McHenry, and all of the ships seen, especially the Paradox.

David is not the only notable ST scribe writing for IDW. D.C. Fontana brings us her first comic work, Star Trek Year Four: Enterprise Experiment. Fontana is known for writing episodes of TOS, the TNG pilot episode, and making contributions to TAS and DS9. Enterprise Experiment is a sequel to “The Enterprise Incident”, which Fontana wrote for TOS. Again, no spoilers, but Fontana and co-writer Derek Chester give us the cloaking device, phasing, Romulans and Klingons for a great story. The pencils are provided by Gordon Purcell, and they are excellent. He does a wonderful job with the likenesses of Kirk, Spock, and company, as well as great renditions of Romulans and Klingons. Also good is the use of primary colors; the pages look bright and vibrant, and the whole feel is reminiscent of the Original Series. Just as each TV series had it's own atmospheric feel, so does each comic series.

If you are looking for ST-type stories with different characters, try Star Trek Assignment: Earth. While we do/will occasionally see regular ST characters, the main characters in this series are Gary Seven, Roberta Lincoln and Isis, from the original series episode “Assignment: Earth”. This series is written and illustrated by comics icon John Byrne (X-Men, Fantastic Four, Superman). The stories seem to be self-contained, rather than a continuing storyline, and we are seeing ties to the historical events taking place at the time each story is set, making each story more interesting. Unlike the other ST series, Assignment: Earth has more of an “animated” feel to the artwork, rather than realistic images, but I believe this adds to the stories. This gives the whole package a somewhat whimsical tone that I think fits perfectly with what Byrne is presenting.

The newest ST offering is Star Trek: Mirror Images from writers Scott and David Tipton and illustrator David Messina. As the title suggests, this series involves the Mirror Universe first made famous in “Mirror, Mirror” and even though there has only been one issue so far, there is plenty of intrigue, backstabbing and plotting. The lines between friends and enemies are definitely blurred, and things promise to get worse in upcoming issues. The illustrations are great, with wonderful likenesses, but also showing the differences that are necessary between the two universes. Also, as was mentioned above, the atmosphere is perfect for this series, with darker tones and colors.

While I enjoy reading the Star Trek and other comics produced by IDW, I do have one bone to pick with them: their website is not kept up to date as well as many other sites. Therefore, I was unable to get much information on upcoming ST projects. However, one page did mention that once the current Mirror Images story is complete, they are planning a TNG Mirror Universe story. Also, the final New Frontier issue (well, for this series...I sincerely hope that we see more in that line) had an ad for Star Trek Romulans: The Hollow Crown which is being written and illustrated by John Byrne, and scheduled for release in September. I look forward to these series, as well as more issues of the current ones. I think they truly capture the essence of what good Star Trek stories were meant to be.

Photos:  IDWcomics.com