10 Star Trek Comics To Read If You Didn't Like The New Movies
With several films released, the new Star Trekis well-established in the franchise's history. Many fans of this universe enjoy the new timeline's stories. Conversely, some don't like the new movies. Among the complaints: it played too much with the Enterprise's original five-year mission.
Luckily, there are plenty of Star Trekcomic books firmly based in the original universe. Most focus on Kirk and his crew. Others look at different aspects of Starfleet. For a sample, here are 10 Star Trek comics to read if you didn't like the new movies.
10 Star Trek: Mission's End
There's a big gap this comic tries to fill between the Enterprise'sfirst five-year mission and ST: The Motion Picture. Mainly, why everyone ended up in the places they did when the film started.
The five-part Final Mission looks to the past and the future. It recalls Kirk's early days with Gary Mitchell at the helm. On the other end, the comic reveals the moments when Spock and McCoy retired and Kirk became an admiral.
9 Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes
IDW has done amazing things since it took over the publishing rights for Star Trek. On top of its many series and specials, it set up several crossovers with different universes that made sense. They did two with characters from DC Comics. One was the Green Lantern Corps. The other was the Legion of Super-Heroes.
When several Legionnaires land in the 23rd century it shifts both them and he Enterprise into another reality. Kirk and his crew need to work with the likes of Cosmic Boy, Shadow Lass, and Chameleon Boy to determine what happened. The six-issue series is a fun experience.
8 Star Trek: Gold Key Archives
The illustrated adventures of Star Trek have been published by many companies during the last half-century or so. The first of these was Gold Key. From 1967 to 1979, the company kept interest in the show with untold stories.
Save for issues where everyone wore green tunics, the stories from this era continued the Enterprise's five-year mission. Each of the archives contains approximately six issues, starting from the earliest stories.
7 Star Trek/Planet Of The Apes
Here's another crossover IDW worked on, and, truth be told, it made a lot of sense. During its mission, the Enterprise encountered human-like lizards, living boulders, and furry creatures that quickly multiplied. So, why not meet up with a group of anthropomorphic apes and their human slaves?
During the series, Kirk and his crew team up with Dr. Zaius to protect Ape City. In addition, Colonel George Taylor escapes the devastated Earth while the Klingons team with the planet's gorillas to attack Ape City. In other words, it's craziness.
6 Star Trek: Captain's Log
Star Trek: Captain's Log focused on other famous captains that fans saw briefly in the original show and the subsequent movies. In turn, readers got to know them a bit better. Particularly if they didn't read about their adventures in the Star Trek novels from Pocket Books.
Among those profiled is Captain Christopher Pike. His story focuses on the aftermath of the episode "The Menagerie." Others look at Excelsior's Captain Sulu and John Harriman, the first captain of the Enterprise B.
5 Star Trek: New Visions
This series, produced by comic book veteran John Byrne, is not illustrated in the normal manner. Instead, it's done in a photonovel style. Byrne took images from the original show,and added new dialogue.
Not only did it do the show justice, it moved the series forward in some places. For instance, we see how Chekov goes from a helm officer to become a member of the security team. Readers also get to experience the return of Gary Seven as Kirk and the crew travel back to 1971.
4 Star Trek: The Trial of James T. Kirk
DC Comics had a problem when it gained the publishing rights to Star Trek. It was right in the midst of the movie franchise's trilogy of Wrath of Kahn, Search for Spock, and The Voyage Home. Because that continuity was firmly set by Paramount, they were in a bit of a bind.
So, they decided to go about it on their own. And one of the best stories came in the second volume of the comic book series. "The Trial of James T. Kirk," written by Star Trek veteran Peter David, continued the tale of Kirk and his crew after the events of the third movie. Brought to trial by the Federation, Kirk goes through the rigors of defending his reasons for taking the Enterprise to Genesis to rescue Spock.
3 Star Trek: Mirror Images
The Mirror Universe has been used as a plot point in Star Trek stories across its media outlets, with much of it in the comic books. In Mirror Images, readers look at the history of the ISS Enterprise before the original series episode "Mirror, Mirror."
The Mirror Universe's Kirk was a ruthless commander. However, how did he come to power? The five-issue series details the scheme that resulted in the overthrow of Captain Pike. It also shows how he built his cadre of allies to make it happen.
2 Star Trek: Kahn - Ruling in Hell
The best thing about Star Trek comics is how they delve into the histories of characters that made impacts in Kirk's universe. Though they may not be canon, they certainly provide entertainment value.
One of these is Kahn - Ruling in Hell. The four-issue series tracks Kahn's rise as a genocidal leader on Earth to his exile on Ceti Alpha V. Along the way, he attempts to maintain his power while fighting disease, famine, and climate.
1 Star Trek: Debt of Honor
One of the best Star Trek stories during its DC Comics run also featured two of the great talents at the time. Debt of Honor was written by X-Men veteran Chris Claremont and illustrated by Adam Hughes.
While on a trip with Dr. Gillian Taylor, Kirk is called to duty to pair with the Romulans and Klingons. Their goal is to stop a galactic threat no single government is willing to take on. Along the way, Kirk recalls many of his old adventures.
Source: www.cbr.com