James Bama's cover to "Star Trek 1" was paid homage by the covers to the Marvel Super Special comic adaptation of ST:TMP, and Christopher L Bennett's novel, "Ex Machina".
Star Trek - Forbidden Planet Crossover Novel https://pre00.deviantart.net/9120/t...__forbidden_planet_by_abacreative-d68frjs.jpg
Now that you mention it, these connections are quite evident, indeed ... http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/..._(comic_magazine)?file=Tmp_comic_magazine.jpg
I'm curious, now: What's the difference betwixt the Super Special and regular TMP comic book adaptation? Is it just "name" Artists, or it probably just came with posters, or something else like that?
The Marvel adaptation of TMP exists in three versions: 1) The Marvel Super Special is a magazine containing the complete adaptation, on slick paper. 2) Marvel split the adaptation into three parts, and published them as issues 1-3 of the monthly comics series, in normal comic book size on pulp paper. They did new splash pages for issues 2 & 3 that weren’t in the Super Special version. 3) Pocket Books published a mmpb version, which reformatted the frames to fit paperback-sized pages. I haven’t done a frame-by-frame comparison, but I don’t think anything was left out. Oh, and it was reprinted by IDW in their Movie Classics omnibus. I think they used version 2 for that.
That's pretty interesting, actually! Thanks. I've seen some pages of the TMP comic book online, and it was pretty neat as another way of displaying the film, but what it ended up looking like storyboards, actually. I don't know ... it was like it harkened back to TOS a little bit more than its source did, just on the fact that it's so colourful and presented in a "fun" format. There's definitely a retro feel to it, which adds to the charm, it seems like.
Some of the internal colouring is quite different. One of the issues has an alternate cover at the end, used as a "pin-up". The Super-Special, the MMPB and the UK hardcover annual, all feature text "concordance" pages, but these aren't in the three single issues.
It also has the original version of the trip through Vejur, with Spock AND Kirk, including the "Memory Wall" sequence that was never finished, where Kirk is attacked by a swarm of memory crystals.
The UK Annual is essentially the Marvel Super Special, between hard covers, right? I'd forgotten all about that one -- version 4.
I must admit, I'm actually kinda glad that The Memory Wall Sequence was never completed. Those spacesuits really looked cheesy! The ones that were reused again for TWoK looked much better and I'm glad someone involved in production recognised this. In comicbook form, though, there's a lot more fiddly bits to render ... more edges and angles to catch they eye ...
And also the cover of DC's first Star Trek Annual, telling the story of Kirk's first mission on the Enterprise: http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Trek_Annual_Vol_1_1 I've never taken the cover of Ex Machina as a Bama homage, personally. It's vaguely reminiscent at best.