IDW Alien Spotlight: Cardassians

[Nerys Ghemor]

I can't believe it. I'm actually posting a thread about a comic book.

Then again, look at the subject matter!

The release date is showing up as January 2010, and I'm wondering if this might be any good. My question is, how many pages do these comic books actually run, and how much of a story (i.e. with actual character development--some real depth, not just action) do you actually get? I've been very turned off by comic books in the past because they seem very shallow and that you don't get a lot of bang for your buck (it costs half the price of a novel but you can whip through it in a matter of a few minutes), so I do not want to waste money here.

Put bluntly, would I actually get my money's worth out of this?

 

[Therin of Andor]

My question is, how many pages do these comic books actually run, and how much of a story (i.e. with actual character development--some real depth, not just action) do you actually get? I've been very turned off by comic books in the past because they seem very shallow and that you don't get a lot of bang for your buck

The IDW "Spotlight on..." series are all self-contained stories focusing on one particular race, and set in whatever time period the writer felt best reflected his story. For example, "... Andorians" focused on an Andorian Starfleet officer travelling back to his homeworld on the USS Enterprise-D - ie. not a regular crewmember - giving him the chance to chat with Counselor Troi about what he might find when he arrived. The story probably could have been set anywhere along the continuum.

Cardassians' publicity blub says, "Set just after the Dominion War, a black-ops band of Cardassian fundamentalists infiltrate a Starfleet Prison to assassinate the leader of the Dominion ... the founder responsible for 800 million Cardassian deaths. But if justice is done, will the fallout with Starfleet plunge the Cardassians back into war? Guest-starring classic DS9 characters Kira and Garak!"

Typically, IDW comics feature 22 pages of art followed by 10 pages of ads and/or promotional material. This means that you don't have your attention broken by the off-topic pages.

I've found the "Spotlight on..." mini-series of single issues to be very satisfying. Esp. for one-offs.

(it costs half the price of a novel but you can whip through it in a matter of a few minutes), so I do not want to waste money here.

Well, with novels you have to create the pretty pictures in your own head. Consider that there's more to just a few pieces of text in word balloons here. Artwork that took months to draw and colour.

But it sounds you simply don't like comics. Please don't expect a novel-length story.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Do IDW's comics sell in brick-and-mortar stores, then, or can they only be ordered off the Internet? How would I know who sells them and who doesn't? I'm getting a very strong feeling that this is something I'd want to sample before spending the money, rather than just ordering it.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Do IDW's comics sell in brick-and-mortar stores, then, or can they only be ordered off the Internet? How would I know who sells them and who doesn't? I'm getting a very strong feeling that this is something I'd want to sample before spending the money, rather than just ordering it.

IDW is a smaller publisher than Marvel and DC, so many comic shops order in IDW titles very sparingly. Sometimes they order very few shelf copies, just sufficient numbers for regular special orders.

Visit a comic shop and chat to someone! Tell them you're wanting only that single issue. By now they should know if their copies are on order, if they'll have shelf copies, and they might agree to saving one for you. They may also have past back issues of ST titles so you can gauge monetary value.

Maybe just wait a few months and try for one on eBay? Really, if you're quibbling over spending a few dollars (they are twice the price Down Under, but I still think they're worth the money), I doubt whether you'll be happy with the product.

 

[Daddy Todd]

Do IDW's comics sell in brick-and-mortar stores, then, or can they only be ordered off the Internet? How would I know who sells them and who doesn't? I'm getting a very strong feeling that this is something I'd want to sample before spending the money, rather than just ordering it.

You can order comics online from Things From Another world (tfaw.com). Shipping could be spendy, especially if you're outside the USA. As Therin suggests, a better bet would be to find a local comic book store and get it from them.

 

[Steve Roby]

A lot of IDW's past comics are available in bookstores as trade paperback collections, if you for some reason don't want to go to the obvious place for comic books (i.e., a comic book shop). You could get a sense of what they're like that way.

Or click here to see if there are any comic shops near you.

 

[JD]

While it doesn't apply to the stand alones like the Alien spotlights, I still think it is worth pointing out that the majority of comics are done in multi-issue arcs. So while many of the issues are only about 20 pages or so, by the time you've gotten through the entire arc you have gotten pretty close to having a novel length story.

 

[Captain Randy Hall]

Just want to mention that this issue of Star Trek: Alien Spotlight is slated to hit comic book stores this Wednesday, according to Diamond Comics, the bigtime distributor (and the only one, I think) on its website.

 

[Daddy Todd]

Just want to mention that this issue of Star Trek: Alien Spotlight is slated to hit comic book stores this Wednesday, according to Diamond Comics, the bigtime distributor (and the only one, I think) on its website.

According to publisher Chris Ryall's blog, this week's IDW shipment for the "west coast" is held up in customs, so those of us in "the west" (however that's defined) won't see this issue until the 16th.

 

[Captain Randy Hall]

Just want to mention that this issue of Star Trek: Alien Spotlight is slated to hit comic book stores this Wednesday, according to Diamond Comics, the bigtime distributor (and the only one, I think) on its website.

According to publisher Chris Ryall's blog, this week's IDW shipment for the "west coast" is held up in customs, so those of us in "the west" (however that's defined) won't see this issue until the 16th.

Well, TrekMovie.com is reporting that you'll get a double dose of DS9 at that point, since the first issue of the Fool's Gold mini-series is scheduled to come out then, too.

 

[Captain Randy Hall]

I just wanted to let you folks know that the Cardassians Alien Spotlight issue came out today as scheduled. It features lots of Cardies and is set after the DS9 TV series. Garak and Kira are featured in the story, and some other folks I don't recognize are there as well.

 

[ToddKent]

I picked it up yesterday and really liked it. IDW's Alien Spotlight series has consistently been the best Trek they publish in my opinion.

 

[Daddy Todd]

It didn't come out yesterday in Utah, so I assume I'm in that part of the country served by the "west coast" shipment delayed by customs.

Anyone west of the Rockies see it at their local comic shop?

 

[DarKush]

I liked the artwork. I thought the story was okay, though I didn't care for the cliffhanger ending. I thought this story was going to be self-contained. But the idea was very cool, and I'm looking forward to seeing what IDW can do with DS9.

 

[JD]

I just read the 5 page preview on Trekmovie.com and I was wondering, did Ananke Alpha come from the show, or is that a reference to the books?

 

[Christopher]

^Ananke Alpha was an invention of DRGIII in Worlds of DS9: Olympus Descending.

 

[JD]

Cool. Is the story at all consistent with the books, or is it just that one little Easter egg?

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I liked the artwork. I thought the story was okay, though I didn't care for the cliffhanger ending. I thought this story was going to be self-contained. But the idea was very cool, and I'm looking forward to seeing what IDW can do with DS9.

Cliffhanger? That sucks. I think I'm going to pass, then. No sense ending up having to get a whole bunch just to finish the damn story, and take 50 comic books and 10 years just to do what a novel can do in one shot and a whole lot cheaper. And WITHOUT twenty pages of ads.

A shame, too, because I was really starting to think about it even just for the artwork, if it would've been a self-contained story.

 

[Captain Randy Hall]

I liked the artwork. I thought the story was okay, though I didn't care for the cliffhanger ending. I thought this story was going to be self-contained. But the idea was very cool, and I'm looking forward to seeing what IDW can do with DS9.

Cliffhanger? That sucks. I think I'm going to pass, then. No sense ending up having to get a whole bunch just to finish the damn story, and take 50 comic books and 10 years just to do what a novel can do in one shot and a whole lot cheaper. And WITHOUT twenty pages of ads.

A shame, too, because I was really starting to think about it even just for the artwork, if it would've been a self-contained story.

My understanding of the ending was that we were to determine which way we thought it would go, so I doubt the story will necessarily be followed up with 50 comic books and 10 years. I didn't mind that at all, actually. I've read comics for more than 50 years and I'm glad to see Trek getting good titles. I don't know what goes haywire when IDW does Next Gen titles, though. All but one have been awful, IMHO.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Ahh...OK, I was thinking they were trying to use it as a marketing hook for another series. MIGHT reconsider then, but we'll see.