NEW ONGOING STAR TREK SERIES FROM IDW!!!

[Therin of Andor]

Just bought the movie adaptation. Six issues long

But that was spinning out the adaptation (with bonus scenes) to maximise a guaranteed best seller, cashing in on the successes of "Countdown", "Nero" and "Spock Reflections".

which re-enforces my view that 3 issues per story would be the right length.

Not too sure if these figures tally with IDW sales, but I have been doing a course in Creative Writing and the lecturer mentioned the rule-of-thumb financial realities behind the current trend with trilogies to tell a story arc. A best selling trilogy can certainly hold (or increase) its audience, but a regular or mediocre trilogy will probably sell just two-thirds of Volume 1's sales for Volume 2, and two-thirds of Volume 2's sales for Volume 3.

If IDW stays with duologies, chances are the sales will reset every second issue instead of following the law of diminishing returns.

 

[Pauln6]

Yes, I think balancing storytelling against marketing common sense is an issue. I enjoyed the movie adaptation. The pace was good, although the fight scenes were a bit bland, and it evoked the characters really well. Scotty came across as less of a buffoon but that might be my brain subconsciously editing him to be more like I want him to be - lol.

I also read the first four stores again and, while I'd prefer a bit more depth, they do flow very well, get to the heart of the (basic) stories, and entertain. Overall, there's a lot to enjoy here and they series is shaping up quite well.

 

[Nightowl1701]

What, no one has "The Redshirt's Tale" yet?

 

[Fer]

What, no one has "The Redshirt's Tale" yet?

I just got it and read it, but I didn't have much to say besides "I liked it!" and other obvious AOL-worthy comments. But what the heck...

Spoiler: The Redshirt's Tale

I was surprised to find out this was the adaptation for "The Apple." This was more of what I was hoping for when Pocket announced the "Lower Decks" TOS relaunch years ago; learning about the background characters' personal lives and then getting to see the events that lead to their deaths through their eyes.

And the fact that all four survived in this universe where they didn't in the Prime universe is a very interesting twist!

Being an old-school comic book reader (I started reading when Marvel was touting "Still only 35¢!") I'm still very fond of done-in-one stories, and this one did not disappoint.

 

[Brikar99]

Being an old-school comic book reader (I started reading when Marvel was touting "Still only 35¢!") I'm still very fond of done-in-one stories, and this one did not disappoint.

A longer story with lots of fun action or a complex plot is great, but if someone can tell a good story in one issue, I say bring that on too.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I'm still very fond of done-in-one stories, and this one did not disappoint.

Agreed. It had lots of little surprises, and some may end up being more easter eggs for the next movie. All those critics saying the regular two-parters need to be three-parters instead might be surprised that this one-shot is quite fulfilling.

 

[Christopher]

All those critics saying the regular two-parters need to be three-parters instead might be surprised that this one-shot is quite fulfilling.

I don't think that's a fair comparison. Arguments about optimal story length aren't some universal rule, they're about each individual story and what pacing works best for it. I don't think anyone's saying every story needs to be longer by some constant ratio, just that the particular 2-parters they've read in this series don't feel like they've fleshed out their material fully enough, that it's not enough length to really do a full adaptation/reworking of what was originally a 50-plus-minute story. Whereas a story designed to be a one-parter would tend to be conceptually tighter and more focused and could well work better at that length, since it's not intended to be a full episode adaptation.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I don't think anyone's saying every story needs to be longer by some constant ratio...

Well, I didn't form the impression out of thin air. It has been a constant whinge from some camps that the two-parters should be three-parters.

Good stories can be long and good, or short and good. This one happens to be short and good.

 

[Fer]

I've been content with the two-parters, but I do hope that since they're trying out some one-parters that this means they're willing to be a little more flexible with the format. I wouldn't mind the occasional three-parter.

And I know it will never happen, but I'd love it if the comic adaptation of Trek Into Darkness would just be done as issues 23 through 28 of the regular Star Trek comic, like Marvel did with Star Wars when they adapted The Empire Strikes Back. Most likely it will be its own separate mini-series, though.

 

[Drago-Kazov]

I really liked the Cupcake story. Nice character piece.

 

[Christopher]

Well, I didn't form the impression out of thin air. It has been a constant whinge from some camps that the two-parters should be three-parters.

Yes, they're saying these particular 2-parters would work better as 3-parters. Because these particular 2-parters are meant to be adaptations of longer stories, i.e. the original TOS episodes, and they feel that the 2-issue versions of them are more cursory than the original episodes were. It's a complaint about those specific storylines, not a claim that shorter stories are always bad as a universal rule.

 

[Pauln6]

I haven't had the chance to buy this comic yet so I can't start whining but I agree that the optimum length of a story depends on what elements there are to the plot. One-shot stories, particularly character pieces, can work very well and I'm especially interested in seeing a story focusing on one of the supporting cast. In fact, one of the reasons why I'd like to see longer stories is to give the supporting characters a chance to be more than just ciphers delivering technobabble and plot points. I'm hopeful that I'm going to enjoy this story.

 

[Therin of Andor]

not a claim that shorter stories are always bad as a universal rule.

When did I ever say that?

I was talking about the IDW "ST Ongoing" two-parters. I said absolutely nothing about "universal rules".

 

[Nightowl1701]

One observation, on page 9: Unless McCoy's got two blond nurses, we may have just gotten our first glimpse of Ultimate* Christine Chapel - and she's not Alice Eve.

* More and more, I'm thinking of the Abramsverse as "Ultimate Star Trek," like the Ultimate Marvel Comics.

 

[Christopher]

When did I ever say that?

I was talking about the IDW "ST Ongoing" two-parters. I said absolutely nothing about "universal rules".

What you said was, "All those critics saying the regular two-parters need to be three-parters instead might be surprised that this one-shot is quite fulfilling." So you were definitely implying that those critics were applying a simplistic universal rule about story length, that they were incapable of believing that a short story could ever be fulfilling. Which I don't consider to be a fair interpretation of their critiques.

 

[Therin of Andor]

So you were definitely implying that those critics were applying a simplistic universal rule....

Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!!!

Some of them WERE saying they needed to be three-parters. Or did I just dream it?

But I never said anything about it being a "simplistic rule". You put that term into the discussion, not me. Of course there's no such rule; I'm not arguing so. If anything, some of the best writing is when a writer tweaks or even breaks supposed accepted rules.

There were people on this bbs speculating that the redshirt and Keenser one-shots weren't even going to be worth buying. They said that if the two-parters needed more issues to tell a decent story, they doubted IDW could do it in a one-shot.

This is doing my head in. Forget I ever spoke.

 

[Agent Richard07]

What, no one has "The Redshirt's Tale" yet?

Just read it last night and what a fantastic read it was. I think it was the best issue so far. Nice little lower decks story. Very well written. Nice how they made "Cupcake" into one of the TOS redshirts.

Yeah, he was revealed to be named "Hendorff" a few issues ago, but I never made the connection.

One little nitpick though... McCoy looked to be holding a hypospray with Spock's blood, but it was red.

 

[F. King Daniel]

So... what universe-splitting temporal wizardry expains Hendorff's hairline?

 

[Caretaker]

So... what universe-splitting temporal wizardry expains Hendorff's hairline?

The same unknown one that explains why alternate reality Christopher Pike appears to be significantly older than Jim Kirk.

 

[Christopher]

So you were definitely implying that those critics were applying a simplistic universal rule....

Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!!!

Some of them WERE saying they needed to be three-parters. Or did I just dream it?

My point is that just because they said that about those particular stories, that doesn't automatically mean they'd feel the same about every story.

But I never said anything about it being a "simplistic rule". You put that term into the discussion, not me. Of course there's no such rule; I'm not arguing so. If anything, some of the best writing is when a writer tweaks or even breaks supposed accepted rules.

I'm not saying you believe that, I'm saying you implied that they believed it.

There were people on this bbs speculating that the redshirt and Keenser one-shots weren't even going to be worth buying. They said that if the two-parters needed more issues to tell a decent story, they doubted IDW could do it in a one-shot.

Okay, that clarifies things. You could've just said so in the first place and saved us both some trouble.