Star Trek:TAS Comic "Murder On Tuesday"

[Kail]

Startrekanimated.com has started releasing it's newest comic titled "Murder On Tuesday". This one is going to be different
in a couple of ways. First, pages are going to be released bi weekly. Second, it's in a comic strip format, and it's also a mystery.
We welcome all constructive comments.

The new comics main page is here...
http://startrekanimated.com/tas_comic10_main.html

Page one is here...
http://startrekanimated.com/tas_comic10_01.html

Thank you for your interest, and we hope you enjoy it!

[TigerOfDarkness]

Great to see another of your TAS comics. I look forward to the next part.
The new format is an interesting change.

[Kail]

Thanks, we really wanted to do something different with this one.

[Therin of Andor]

Kail wrote:

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Page one is here...
http://startrekanimated.com/tas_comic10_01.html

Cool. Is that a Zaranite's silhouette?


Zaranite in Races of the Federation fanzine by Therin of Andor, on Flickr

[Kail]

That is very similar to one of our scientists.

[Therin of Andor]

Kail wrote:

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That is very similar to one of our scientists.

Squeeeeee!


Rec deck aliens by Therin of Andor, on Flickr

This was the panel I reworked for Christopher L Bennett when he featured Zaranites and other TMP aliens in "Ex Machina".

[Pauln6]

Coool. They could use the andorian officer from the alternate timeline episode as a template for an andorian crewman too. I see that somebody has knocked up an image of Chekov as a security character. Let's also have some love for Janice please!

[Kail]

I do have Chekov as a security officer in my comics, as the timeline is the fifth year of the original crews 5 year mission. Janice is long gone from the crew, but she could show up as a guest sometime down the line. Perhaps we could reveal why she left... Hmmm.

[Navigator_NCC2120]

Kail wrote:

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I do have Chekov as a security officer in my comics, as the timeline is the fifth year of the original crews 5 year mission. Janice is long gone from the crew, but she could show up as a guest sometime down the line. Perhaps we could reveal why she left... Hmmm.

Perhaps Janice Rand left the Enterprise to receive extensive training at a starbase to become a transporter chief or transporter operator or transporter technician.

Just a thought,

Navigator NCC-2120 USS Entente
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[Kail]

Ahh, yes, but WHY? What lead to her decision to leave? That's where the story lies.

[Navigator_NCC2120]

True. Maybe she wanted to advance her career and Star Fleet regulations required her to get her training at a starbase. Not very exciting or dramatic, but it could be a starting point in her story and she could use it to cover up her real reason for leaving the Enterprise, if she had another reason for leaving, which might be revealed later in her story.

Navigator NCC-2120 USS Entente
/\

[Pauln6]

It's never actually stated in canon that she left the ship any more than it's stated that Chekov transferred to security during the 5-year mission - that's an assumption based on his role in TMP. Janice is seen as a CPO assigned to engineering (transporters) in TMP, so a similar assumption can be made that she simply moved departments and treat her as a PO under Scotty's (or Lt Kyle's) command.

In fact, we never see any other yeomen billed as Captain Kirk's personal yeoman rather than the occasional generic yeomen in the later episodes so it's entirely possible that Janice was still on board, just not involved in any of the stories.

Still, a return to the Enterprise following additional training like Ro Laren could be a plot device, and a useful way to establish some skills for the character that give her something more to contribute to the story than making the coffee. Mind you, don't underestimate the importance of preventing the Captain from getting cranky due to caffeine withdrawl!

NB: Her non-canon reason for leaving the ship from the novel the Captain's Daughter (and mentioned again in Ex Machina) was that she was pregnant but her daughter later died from an illness (aged 2 I think)... that's something I've decided to touch on when I do part 2 of my Youtube comic but the timeline also fits in year 5 if you decide to use that! She seems to tell everybody that Annie's father died, although she is vague on the details so there is some speculation on who the father could have been...

[Therin of Andor]

Pauln6 wrote:

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It's never actually stated in canon that she left the ship any more than it's stated that Chekov transferred to security during the 5-year mission - that's an assumption based on his role in TMP.

No, it's because Walter Koenig was actually fitted for a red uniform for "Star Trek: Phase II", a costume which ended up doing double duty in some episodes of "Mork and Mindy". The costume was auctioned off a few years ago.

[Pauln6]

Cool! Although I still say that Chekov makes a terrible security officer.

In the early drafts, I think Janice was meant to be a relief comms officer in a couple of Phase II scripts but it starts to get very crowded for the ladies at that station with M'Ress too. I guess they didn't think women could do much more than answer the phone!

Clearly the episode should be that Janice returns to the ship with a news crew and requires each male human crewmember to take a DNA test following a particularly drunken Christmas Party. And the father is... Helen Noel - the hermaphroditic serial Xmas party molester. Much bleeping and head-bobbing ensues - just like the episode of the Simpsons where Kang (or was it Kodos?) got Marge pregnant.

[Kail]

Page two of the TAS comic strip "Murder On Tuesday" is now available.

The comics main page is here...
http://www.startrekanimated.com/tas_comic10_main.html

Page two is here...
http://www.startrekanimated.com/tas_comic10_02.html

Hope you enjoy it!