More IDW - yes please!

[Therin of Andor]

I picked up "Assignment: Earth" #1 last night and it looks great. Read it on the train home. Some fun 60s stuff; at times it felt like it had been made in the 60s, although I'm so glad the paper quality was better! I assume Teri Garr had to sign off on her likeness? (I still remember her "Starlog" interview; possibly the only ST guest who doesn't have fond memories of her association with Star Trek and its fans - not that ST actors have to have fond memories, but her interview was quite... angry and bizarre when the topic turned to ST, IIRC).

A few months ago (before the bbs upgrades, which wiped out the numerical results of all the old polls), I was asking people what comic stories they'd like to see from IDW. Luckily, I had saved the results to my blog when they hit 96 (and 77) votes:

What should be the Third Stage IDW Trek comic?
Users may choose many (96 total votes)

Alien empire - for Spotlight (ie. mention choice of alien race): 13%

Set between ST:TMP and ST II: 17%

Excelsior: 17%

Corps of Engineers: 15%

Titan: 29%

Write-in choice: 10%.

Also, I wanted to know which past Star Trek comic writers did the fans at TrekBBS want to see a comic mini-series from, keeping in mind that comics is a very different medium to work in (ie. some novelists might not necessarily make great comic writers).

Which past Trek comic Writer would you want to see Trek comics from?
Users may choose 2 (77 total votes)

More KRAD (Keith RA DeCandido): 25%

More PAD (Peter A David): 9%

Howard Weinstein: 4%

Michael Jan Friedman: 5%

Mangels & Martin: 23%

David Mack: 18%

Abnett & Edgington: 9%

Write-in choice (below): 6%.

My personal write-in comments for the poll:

Being biased, of course, I'd love to see more Andorian Empire stuff, especially after the great "The Old Ways" issue of "Alien Spotlight: Andorians".

I'd also like to see:

* more post-TMP stuff, moving the story on from the excellent "Ex Machina"

* Arex and M'Ress getting timeslipped into "New Frontier"

* a resolution to Abnett & Edgington's Pike story (commenced at Marvel/Paramount)

* new ST comics from David Mack (continuing "Titan" or "Destiny" in comic form)

* new ST comics from the team of Mangels & Martin.

IDW editor, Andrew Steven Harris, had said:

"... I read these boards every single day. I don't chime in much because I'm more interested in reading what other people have to say than forcing everyone to read what I have to say...

"I can tell you that Titan and DS9 are the two far-and-away front-runners, and I've tried to put up a pretty good track record of being responsive to fan requests.

"... with the [JJ Abrams] movie coming up, the schedule is already pretty tight, even a year away. So, it may take a little while, but it won't be for lack of trying."

Hope nobody minds me reviving the thread info here for new comments?

 

[Christopher]

I assume Teri Garr had to sign off on her likeness?

Byrne doesn't do likenesses, does he? His Gary and Roberta don't look especially like Robert Lansing and Teri Garr to me, just like John Byrne-style characters of similar physical types to those performers. Much like the Harry Mudd in DC's comics wasn't modelled directly on Roger C. Carmel but was just a similar type.

 

[KRAD]

Me, I'm just waiting for them to schedule Alien Spotlight II.

 

[ronny]

so why did the poll say MORE krad and MORE pad but not MORE david mack who has done comics? who are abnet and eddington? and i'm pretty sure mjf has done comics as well but i'm not positive.

 

[Christopher]

so why did the poll say MORE krad and MORE pad but not MORE david mack who has done comics?

Because the David Mack who's done comics is not the same person as the David Mack who writes Trek novels.

who are abnet and eddington?

I don't know, but Dan Abnett and Ian Edgington wrote many of Marvel's Trek comics in the '90s, notably the Pike-era Early Voyages series.

and i'm pretty sure mjf has done comics as well but i'm not positive.

He was the regular writer on DC's TNG comic throughout its entire run. He's probably written more Trek comics than any other individual writer. (I think Howard Weinstein comes in second. And I think it's a pretty long way down to third place.)

 

[ronny]

so why did the poll say MORE krad and MORE pad but not MORE david mack who has done comics?

Because the David Mack who's done comics is not the same person as the David Mack who writes Trek novels.

The David Mack who writes Trek novels has written comics. http://www.infinitydog.com/biblioindex.html

Search for "Divided We Fall"

 

[HIj'Qa]

Besides the fabulosity of Assignment:Earth,
I would really like

* a resolution to Abnett & Edgington's Pike story (commenced at Marvel/Paramount)


What is this thing with the actors signing-off on likenesses? I was under the impression that actors signed away such marketing rights when they agreed to do Trek [or most franchises]. Did comic book characters go on strike some time demanding to look more like their real-life counterparts? Would a guest star from a one off on a 60s show really have a clause in their contract that any future graphic novel endeavors portray them accurately and that they have the final approval of such work? Or is this some blanket clause in a later Actors Guild general contract?

 

[Christopher]

What is this thing with the actors signing-off on likenesses? I was under the impression that actors signed away such marketing rights when they agreed to do Trek [or most franchises].

They don't "sign away" any rights -- on the contrary. They have the right to their own faces; after all, they have unique and inviolable ownership of same (well, unless they have identical twins). Rather, series regulars grant permission for their likenesses to be used in merchandise and adaptations. There's a big difference between licensing the use of something and signing away your rights to it.

For that matter, certain actors such as Patrick Stewart have likeness-approval rights written into their contracts. That means they have to approve every book cover, every comic book, every video game, every action figure, every lunchbox, every t-shirt, every Pez dispenser that features their likeness.

But one-time guest stars don't have such likeness-approval clauses in place, which is why (as I mentioned above) returning guests in Trek comics such as Harry Mudd often don't use the actual faces of the actors who portrayed them. You can't use a real person's face without their permission.

Would a guest star from a one off on a 60s show really have a clause in their contract that any future graphic novel endeavors portray them accurately and that they have the final approval of such work?

No, and that's exactly the point. Unless IDW were to obtain Teri Garr's permission to use her likeness, they couldn't.

 

[JD]

I just wanted to say that I'm on the fourth issue of Intelligence Gathering, and so far the series has been great. This, current X-Men arc, and Serenity: Better Days will actually be the first comic story arcs I've actually read all the way through in the original format. Usually if I want to check out a comic series I'll wait till it comes out in TPB, but now that I've actually done issue by issue releases I think I'll try to keep doing it this way, because it's more fun for me when I can get the full impact of the cliffhanger endings.

 

[Therin of Andor]

so why did the poll say MORE krad and MORE pad but not MORE david mack who has done comics? who are abnet and eddington? and i'm pretty sure mjf has done comics as well but i'm not positive.

All of those you mention (not counting your spelling errors) have done ST comics - that's why they're listed - and they did receive votes. I don't understand your questions.

 

[Therin of Andor]

What is this thing with the actors signing-off on likenesses? I was under the impression that actors signed away such marketing rights when they agreed to do Trek [or most franchises].

Contracts of the 80s and 90s (and beyond) have very different wording to those of the 60s. Recently it was mentioned here that the original cover of the forthcoming Kevin Ryan "Errand of Fury" novel was to have featured the TOS Organians, but that there was no permission for one of the deceased actors so the cover would be changing.

DC Comics had to draw a bald Garth of Izar, a ST III Captain Styles with no mustache, and a fat guy who vaguely-resembled Harry Mudd's physique for various issues. Due to likeness permissions not being on record. When DC wanted to bring back Saavik in Series II, she had to resemble Robin Curtis, not Kirstie Alley, even though Kirstie's Saavik was more popular. And so on.

Sometimes the families of deceased ST guests might be happy to sign off. Others might insist on a royalty. Others might want approval of finished sketches, or they might refuse outright. It may vary from actor to actor, too, depending on their (and their agents') clout when contracts were signed. Welcome to Hollywood: a land of red tape.

 

[ronny]

so why did the poll say MORE krad and MORE pad but not MORE david mack who has done comics? who are abnet and eddington? and i'm pretty sure mjf has done comics as well but i'm not positive.

All of those you mention (not counting your spelling errors) have done ST comics - that's why they're listed - and they did receive votes. I don't understand your questions.

because the poll you listed looks like this:

More KRAD (Keith RA DeCandido): 25%

More PAD (Peter A David): 9%

Howard Weinstein: 4%

Michael Jan Friedman: 5%

i just think it's weird that the poll was phrased it was. MORE krad, MORE PAD but it doesn't say MORE MJF even though he's written comics. as you say, all those people in the list have written comics but the way the poll is worded it makes it sound like two people have written comics and the others have not.

and i'm not quite sure why you felt the need to be the 2nd person to point out in a snide way i misspelled a couple names when asking a question. i expect that kind of thing from christopher but i held you in a higher regard.

All of those you mention (not counting your spelling errors)

i mean, what was the point in that?

 

[Defcon]

so why did the poll say MORE krad and MORE pad but not MORE david mack who has done comics? who are abnet and eddington? and i'm pretty sure mjf has done comics as well but i'm not positive.

All of those you mention (not counting your spelling errors) have done ST comics - that's why they're listed - and they did receive votes. I don't understand your questions.

I think his question was why you put a "more" in front of KRAD and PAD, and not in front of the other names, although the others have written comics in the past, too.

 

[Andrew Harris]

so why did the poll say MORE krad and MORE pad but not MORE david mack who has done comics? who are abnet and eddington? and i'm pretty sure mjf has done comics as well but i'm not positive.

All of those you mention (not counting your spelling errors) have done ST comics - that's why they're listed - and they did receive votes. I don't understand your questions.

I think his question was why you put a "more" in front of KRAD and PAD, and not in front of the other names, although the others have written comics in the past, too.

I think that's because KRAD and PAD have already been hired by IDW to write ST issues--and, hence, "more" of them.

 

[Defcon]

All of those you mention (not counting your spelling errors) have done ST comics - that's why they're listed - and they did receive votes. I don't understand your questions.

I think his question was why you put a "more" in front of KRAD and PAD, and not in front of the other names, although the others have written comics in the past, too.

I think that's because KRAD and PAD have already been hired by IDW to write ST issues--and, hence, "more" of them.

Oh, I know that. I was just pointing this out, since Therin didn't understand ronny's question.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

* a resolution to Abnett & Edginton's Pike story (commenced at Marvel/Paramount)

Ian, that iron is so hot I'd get freezer burn.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I think that's because KRAD and PAD have already been hired by IDW to write ST issues--and, hence, "more" of them.

That was exactly it. In fact, I think I posted the poll a day or so after PAD and KRAD were first announced as future IDW writers.

IIRC, I planned not to even include PAD and KRAD but the day I made my poll, people were already demanding to know if they'd be writing more than one mini-series each.So it became "more" KRAD and PAD.

 

[Therin of Andor]

i'm not quite sure why you felt the need to be the 2nd person to point out in a snide way i misspelled a couple names when asking a question. i expect that kind of thing from christopher but i held you in a higher regard.

Well, I intended no malice to anyone. I was trying to acknowledge the fact that I had seen KRAD's correction - otherwise someone would have undoubtedly said to me "How can you discuss 'abnet and eddington' with ronny when they don't even exist"?

And you know that some wiseguy would have done so. Around here if one tries to give a brief answer, it's never long enough, and if one gives a long answer you're accused of being loquacious.

that iron is so hot I'd get freezer burn

So sue me. DC Fontana was recently discussing her plans to finally write an adaptation of her long-shelved "The Secret of Vulcan Fury".

I'd also love to see a certain unfinished Pike comic finished.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Ian, Fontana's been saying for ten years that she'd like to write a novelization of Vulcan's Fury. What makes taking about it now any different?

 

[Therin of Andor]

Ian, Fontana's been saying for ten years that she'd like to write a novelization of Vulcan's Fury. What makes taking about it now any different?

Because she also said it very recently, and she said she'd now be working with her new IDW writing partner, Derek Chester?