Star Trek Books/Comics in the "Canon" timeline?

[Muldwych]

I am a massive comic book fan and have been reading all teh IDW titles as well as getting the old Gold Key books to read some rtro stories but i have a question regarding books and comics and where they fit in the canon timeline.

So, i am aware that for decades it was deemed that nothing outwith the TV/Film's were canon but recently to me it just feels different and feels like they are.

Has this been discussed before, do we know where they are placed or where the publishers and Rodenberry entertainment place them etc?

 

[HellRod]

Nothing beyond what has been seen on-screen is considered canon.

 

[Shawnster]

Even when the powers that be make statements to the effect that this book or that comic is considered canon, it ultimately isn't. Someone will come along later and contradict said book, or say it never happened, or claim it should be stricken from the record. Just look at what Star Wars did with the old EU or how Star Trek TAS was viewed and spoken about in the 70s and 80s.

Don't let this ruin your enjoyment of all these ancillary publications though. A good story is a good story and some of these publications would have made better movies than we actually have.

Plus it only makes sense. There is no physical way every novel, comic, etc... could possibly fit in the gaps between the episodes and movies. There are only so many days in a year or a life.

Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

 

[Muldwych]

Thank you for the replies, will keep reading the comics and the odd novel :-)

 

[fireproof78]

Thank you for the replies, will keep reading the comics and the odd novel :-)

Don't forget the even novel.

 

[Muldwych]

Don't forget the even novel.

I see what you done there

 

[1001001]

Moved to Trek Lit

 

[Muldwych]

Moved to Trek Lit

Thank you.

 

[CaptChris42]

Thank you.

Yeah, pretty much all comics deemed 'official' tie ins, are only so temporarily, generally.
Like the 'Countdown' series (all three of them - the most recent overwriting the earlier ones)

And even the first Discovery novel got overwritten partly, by season 2.

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, pretty much all comics deemed 'official' tie ins, are only so temporarily, generally.

Calling a tie-in official has nothing whatsoever to do with canonicity, continuity, or story content. It simply means that the creators have legal permission from the property owner to produce and market it for profit. It's about business and legality, not narrative. A t-shirt, a LEGO set, or a breakfast cereal can be an official tie-in. The only thing "official" means is that it isn't bootleg merchandise.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Kind of amazed people who watch any modern Trek care for canonicity. Like, what does the original 1701 look like? Does Pike like women on his bridge? Has Nurse Chapel got tattoos? Is M'Benga Star Trek's John Wick? If those details don't matter, why should a few lines from some book?

 

[ryan123450]

I personally still think all those details matter, and don’t watch Strange New Worlds.

 

[CaptChris42]

I'm maybe a bit more annoyed with adjustments to people like Robert April, in some regards (both for the character, and DC Fontana, and other associated minds - duck...)

 

[Christopher]

I'm maybe a bit more annoyed with adjustments to people like Robert April, in some regards

Yeah, April in SNW looks too young for a guy who's supposedly mid-60s.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Yeah, April in SNW looks too young for a guy who's supposedly mid-60s.

I don't know. People can age at different rates due to mental, physical, emotional and environmental factors.
I'm fifty four and have been told that I look like someone who is in their late thirties/early forties.
My co worker is two years younger than me, yet looks like he should be in his mid to late sixties.
Who knows what a person in the 23rd century should look like in their sixties.

 

[Christopher]

I don't know. People can age at different rates due to mental, physical, emotional and environmental factors.
I'm fifty four and have been told that I look like someone who is in their late thirties/early forties.
My co worker is two years younger than me, yet looks like he should be in his mid to late sixties.
Who knows what a person in the 23rd century should look like in their sixties.

Fair point. People in my family also tend to look young for our age, aside from the salt-and-pepper hair. But it's still weird that Christopher Pike's predecessor is played by someone a year younger than Anson Mount.

 

[KRAD]

We have five adults going for their black belts in our dojo. The person who looks like she's in her 20s is 40. The person who looks like she's in her 30s is 60. Meanwhile, the one who's 55 looks like she's in her 60s.

For that matter, nobody believes me when I tell them I'm about to turn 55, assuming I'm younger (though I'm starting to get more gray in my beard and hair, so people are guessing closer to my age than they used to).

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Has Nurse Chapel got tattoos?

When did SNW establish that Chapel has tattoos?

 

[David cgc]

When did SNW establish that Chapel has tattoos?

They don't do anything to hide Jess Bush's tattoos. I remember in the scene where she's caught by one of the pirates in "The Serene Squall" and puts her hands up, you can see she has ones on her wrist and fingers.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

They don't do anything to hide Jess Bush's tattoos. I remember in the scene where she's caught by one of the pirates in "The Serene Squall" and puts her hands up, you can see she has ones on her wrist and fingers.

Eh, that's just something showing up on camera that they didn't expect to. As far as I'm concerned, that's no different than Dr. Crusher wearing Gates McFadden's wristwatch in episodes of TNG: