Gold Key comic art

[F. King Daniel]

I’m not sure if this goes here or in the art section.

I’ve never been into comics much (release the damn ST comics DVD in England and I’ll change my mind!), but probably because they’re “all wrong”, and remind me of TAS (which I love), I am a big fan of old Gold Key Star Trek ones, of which I’ve gotten hold of many collections and old UK annuals over the years.

I’ve always wondered what on earth were they using as a reference to draw the Enterprise interiors? The early ones in no way resembled the Enterprise (although some bits kinda resemble the STXI space brewery!). Occasionally the familiar captain’s chair would sit in what looked like a submarine control room.

The ‘teleportation chamber’ actually looked much more impressive than the TV version – a huge round chamber, a glass-encased transporter platform (they actually open a little glass door in the side of it to step inside in one issue) and two big emitter things on either side. What on earth was it based on? The design remained consistent for the first few editions (and is used in some of the old UK comic strips, too), before switching, no doubt after torrents of complaints from first-generation proto-nerds, to the one from the TV show.

 

[JD]

If you are basing your opinion of Trek comics on the Gold Key series, you should know that as time went on they got alot better.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I’ve always wondered what on earth were they using as a reference to draw the Enterprise interiors? The early ones in no way resembled the Enterprise.

If I recall, the early Gold Key creative team lived in Spain(?) and had never seen the series, just a few random stills. Pulp science fiction novel covers, and early SF movies and serials, would have provided inspiration. But neither did anyone think that comics "based on 'Star Trek'" would continue to be held up to such scrutiny over 40 years later. Look at Gold Key's "Space Family Robinson", which acted as a quasi-"Lost in Space" tie-in. Comics were thought of as a disposable item, and esp. newspaper strips which would end up wrapping potato peelings only a day after publication. Many media tie-ins of the 50s and 60s were tie-ins in name only.

It's interesting to examine the Gold Key comics' evolution across the 61 issues.

As for the recent CD collection, I got mine via an international Internet penpal. Good ol' Internet! I would think that the CD would now be a regular item appearing on eBay, where foreign bids are often readily accepted.

 

[Dayton Ward]

While the stories could sometimes be a bit....odd...I look at the Gold Key art the same way I do the Lou Fleck covers for the Blish adaptations - while not always the most accurate, there's a style to it that just tickles me to this day. One of the trading card sets several years ago had a 9-card subset featuring GK art, which I bought from a con vendor because it was just too cool to pass up.

 

[seigezunt]

I love the style -- and some of the stories, especially the "file" on Kirk that was done for one of the collections. I always thought they had a little bit of that Forbidden Planet/retro future look that I'd wished had been an aesthetic the producers of Enterprise had gone for.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I had no idea the people behind it (or at least the early ones) hadn't seen the show. It does explain a lot!

But not why Gold Key Sarek looks like the STXI version. Freaky.

And I think that Gold Key transporter room would be right at home on the USS Kelvin.

I guess I'll just have to give up and order the comics DVD online. It's about time I found out what the middle of the DC Mirror Universe story was about. And found out how the Day of Farf ended for the Ajir and the Grond.

 

[Therin of Andor]

And found out how the Day of Farf ended for the Ajir and the Grond.

Hilariously. That two-parter gave me some unexpected belly laughs, which was behaviour hard to explain in a crowded train.

 

[JD]

Yeah, I just read that arc on the DVD, it was of fun. It was also my first exposure to Diane Duane.

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, I just read that arc on the DVD, it was of fun. It was also my first exposure to Diane Duane.

Whereas for me, it was my first exposure to Trek comics. I'd seen some of DC's earlier Trek comics but I was a victim of the societal prejudice that comics were kid stuff, so I didn't bother reading them. But when I saw Diane Duane's name on a Trek comic, I had to buy it. And it made me realize I'd been wrong to dismiss the comics.