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ChrisIII
12-09-2007, 11:36 AM
Anybody remember when DC had the license? After so-so runs at Gold Key and Marvel, DC got the license in the mid-80s shortly after Wrath of Khan. They sort of went off on their own tangent in the years between III and IV, with Kirk and co. getting the Excelsior and Spock getting his own ship (Things were quickly undone to fit into Star Trek IV, though-although according to Paramount it's all non-canon anyway). The first run also featured some new crewmembers such as the Klingon Konom (A couple of years before Worf)The Native American Bearclaw, and a few others, including returning characters from the animated series such as the cat-woman M'ress. After Trek IV a few issues continued with the Enterprise-A before the title was canned.

They also published a limited series TNG comic in '87, which was then followed by an ongoing series in '89.

In 89 the TOS crew was also relaunched post-Star Trek V, but Konom/Bearclaw etc. were written out entirely. The art looked a little better but despite writing by Peter David it didn't have the creative freedom the past title did. (Apparentally this was due to some wrangling from Paramount). It did try to deal with some of the changes between V and VI, such as Sulu leaving (replaced by Saavik in the interim before Valeris shows up in VI)


After a short return to Marvel, the comics returned to DC (Sort of) when they were published by Wildstorm. For the first time the comics attempted to tie-in with the novels, specifically the Deep Space Nine relaunch, New Frontier, and the Elite Force, but this only lasted for a short time. There were no ongoings, just a couple of limited series.

Any thoughts?

The Same-Old Atom
12-09-2007, 01:04 PM
I've got really fond memories of DC's first Star Trek series for a couple of reasons. First, I was an absolute fanatic for Star Trek as a kid, and second, it was DC's Star Trek #5 staring me in the face from the spinner rack at my local pharmacy that got me hopelessly into comics. From Gold Key up to the current IDW books, DC's first crack at Trek is still my favorite. Whether that's purely from nostalgia or due to the quality of the books I'm not quite sure. I loved them as a kid when they were a monthly dose of new Star Trek in the days before all the new TV series. But looking at them now some of the luster has worn off. I'm not really that fond of Tom Sutton's art anymore. It just looks kind of rushed a lot of the time. Although I'm not sure how much of that is due to Sutton's pencils and how much is Ricardo Villagran, his inker for most of his run. If you look at the few issues were Sutton was inked by someone other than Villagran his work looks completely different, a lot more sharp and technically detailed. Also I think that series was hampered quite a bit by telling Star Trek stories set in the movie era while the movie series was still in production. Every couple of years everything would have to be wiped clean and the status quo restored in time for the new movie. But there were still some great stories in that run. The Mirror Universe Saga from #9-15 is probably my favorite Star Trek comic story ever. And Annual #1, which told the story of Captain Kirk's first mission aboard the Enterprise was great, I think much better than the Pocket Books novel Enterprise: The First Adventure which told a different version of the start of Kirk's mission.

Captain Jim
12-09-2007, 01:56 PM
Nobody has ever done Star Trek better than DC. Period.

Toreador
12-09-2007, 05:04 PM
I think my favorite story line would have to be the Trial of Captain Kirk. Nice to see all those old characters popping up to defend/prosecute Kirk: Anon7, Bela, Samuel T. Cogswell, Leonard James Akaar.

Roquefort Raider
12-09-2007, 05:29 PM
I think my favorite story line would have to be the Trial of Captain Kirk. Nice to see all those old characters popping up to defend/prosecute Kirk: Anon7, Bela, Samuel T. Cogswell, Leonard James Akaar.

Agreed!!!

The exchange between Spock and his father at the trial was absolutely hilarious. Peter David really got the voice of those two characters!

Polar Bear
12-10-2007, 09:42 AM
Fond memories:

1) The return of Finnegan by Peter David.

2) The aforementioned Mirror Universe story.

3) The solo "Spot" story by Diane Duane (Spot being Data's cat).

4) The Modala Imperative, which was a kind of crossover between the two Enterprises.

Yes, DC "got" Star Trek in a way no one else has to date.

DarthAstuart
12-10-2007, 11:22 AM
I've actually been pleasantly surprised by the Star Trek: Year Four miniseries from IDW. It's not earth-shattering Trek, more like very good episodes of the original series, but still fun. I like that each issue is a little done-in-one parable like TOS itself.

stelok
12-10-2007, 12:30 PM
I have collected and read a few issues of TOS and TNG from DC. It was pretty entertaining.