Gold Key Star Trek comics free at Wowio.com!

[Robert Burke Richardson]

I've got a couple of these tucked away, and am pretty fond of them despite the uneven quality. Looks like the whole series is available at Wowio.com -- http://www.wowio.com/users/product.asp?BookId=1622 -- (though not for me, alas -- Wowio is currently only open to folks who live in the United States).

Someone gave me an old, beat-up copy of The Brain Shockers! when I was a kid, and I do believe it gave me nightmares.

Hope no one will mind my mentioning another comic series available on Wowio as well: Swords of the Swashbucklers -- http://www.wowio.com/users/searchresults.asp?txtSearch="swords+of+the+swashbucklers" -- created by Bill Mantlo and Jackson Guice, with art contributions from Geof Isherwood and Colleen Doran. Bill Mantlo (writer of Marvel comics like Rom, Micronauts, Cloak & Dagger, and The Incredible Hulk) was in an accident in 1992 and will never fully recover; Swashbucklers was put online to try and get a little extra money for the live-in care he requires. I've got a book on Wowio with Smashout Comics, and have been able to take a peek at the numbers, and right now Swords of the Swashbucklers is making almost $95 a day! (More on Swashbucklers at Newsarama -- http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=139862 -- if you're interested.)

 

[Robert Burke Richardson]

^Sorry 'bout the long url's -- for some reason I can't get the links to format.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Cool. Thanks for posting this. I'll check these out tomorrow.

 

[Trekzilla3k]

I used to have actual copies of those comics. They were a lotta fun

 

[VanCardboardbox]

I still have two Gold Key collections (vol 1 and 2) sitting on my book shelf. I can clearly recall my mom buying these for me at a Winnipeg K-Mart in 1977 after much haranguing. I read and re-read them over and over. Even at a tender age I remember thinking "I don't think the people who drew these have ever seen Star Trek." Didn't seem to keep the nine-year-old me from enjoying them though.

 

[Robert Burke Richardson]

VanCardboardbox said:
Even at a tender age I remember thinking "I don't think the people who drew these have ever seen Star Trek."

I think I had a similar feeling. While not always true to what Star Trek had become by the time I was alive, I think those old Trek comics helped build my love of science fiction in general.

 

[Steve Roby]

VanCardboardbox said:
I can clearly recall my mom buying these for me at a Winnipeg K-Mart in 1977 after much haranguing. Even at a tender age I remember thinking "I don't think the people who drew these have ever seen Star Trek." Didn't seem to keep the nine-year-old me from enjoying them though.

I still remember buying the first one at a K-Mart in Edmonton in 1976. I was 13 and already had a few random issues of the comic, but I liked the idea of getting the whole series in a more lasting form, complete with special features. But they only did four volumes, and Checker seems to have stalled after doing five. I may be in my forties now but I'd still like to get a full set in a decent format.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

VanCardboardbox said:
I still have two Gold Key collections (vol 1 and 2) sitting on my book shelf. I can clearly recall my mom buying these for me at a Winnipeg K-Mart in 1977 after much haranguing. I read and re-read them over and over. Even at a tender age I remember thinking "I don't think the people who drew these have ever seen Star Trek." Didn't seem to keep the nine-year-old me from enjoying them though.

I had those, as well as a few Whitman reprints that were sold at K-Mart and Gemco (a forerunner of the big box stores). I was four at it was the end of the 70s. TMP was in the theaters and the Mego figures were still available at Sears and Gemco. Oh, what the kids of this day and age will never get to enjoy!

 

[seigezunt]

I loved these. Especially liked the one which made up Kirk's back story. Had a look unfettered by canon concerns, giving some of it a Forbidden Planet looks that this fanboy wishes could be used in the upcoming film prequel...