The Return of Starfleet Academy (sorta)

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

In December, IDW will launch a Starfleet Academy mini-series that will feature both the nuTrek cast in their Academy days and brand-new Starfleet cadets in "present" day (presumably, "present" = post STiD).

Judging by the cover image, the new cast includes three female characters, an Andorian, and I believe an alien cadet from one of the unnamed species in the background of the '09 film. One of the female cadets appears to be Vulcan.

The cover shows some much needed additional diversity for the Trek comics, both in terms of gender and species representation. A Vulcan (that isn't Spock) should provide an interesting POV for a Trek galaxy in which their home world no longer exists. Always cool to see an Andorian character and I'm excited to learn more about at least one of the new species from the nuTrekverse.

Finally, above all else, we're given Trek comics original characters that could possibly lead to their own title (if the mini is successful enough) set in the JJverse. I find this idea very appealing.

The nuTrek ongoing is okay but far too shackled by the constraints of featuring the movie cast, limiting what stories they can tell and any character development that may be achieved. A comics-only cast would be much more free to tell far-ranging stories and develop characters more fully, while only beholden to the new canon of the movies in broad stroke ways.

The miniseries looks promising and I hope it leads to more comics-only characters and series.

 

[Stevil2001]

A link with more information: http://comicsalliance.com/idw-star-trek-starfleet-academy/

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

Fresh from the IDW panel at Comicon, via Bleedingcool.com...

The "present day*" cast

+a Vulcan, T’Laan, who joined Starfleet Academy the very day that her home planet died

+a Latina human, Lucia Dominguez

+an Andorian male, Shev

+an Asian human with prosthetic legs

+a (probably male) member of an alien race, Vel K’Bentayr.

Also, the co-writer on the series, Ryan Parrot, was formerly JJ Abrams assistant and previously wrote two issues of the ongoing Trek comic.

*They did clarify that "present day" here refers to the current movie timeframe of post-STiD and pre-STB.

 

[Christopher]

+a (probably male) member of an alien race, Vel K’Bentayr.

That's the same second name given in various sources for the alien of that species who was part of the Kelvin crew, Alnschloss K'Bentayr. So either they're family, or it's some kind of general designator used by all members of the species or a particular caste or subdivision thereof. (The species is from the planet Monchezke according to the same promotional website that named the character, although the species name per se is not known.)

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

^Interesting connection. Thanks, Christopher.

Idle speculation: I wonder if the human with the prosthetic legs lost her original limbs as a result of the events in STiD (the London bombing, the Vengeance crash).

I googled "T'Laan" and a Memory Beta hit came up saying that the name belongs to Vulcan doctor from the sixteenth century.

 

[Therin of Andor]

That's the same second name given in various sources for the alien of that species who was part of the Kelvin crew, Alnschloss K'Bentayr. So either they're family, or it's some kind of general designator used by all members of the species or a particular caste or subdivision thereof. (The species is from the planet Monchezke according to the same promotional website that named the character, although the species name per se is not known.)

Yes indeed!

https://flic.kr/p/5FQdGi
Monchezkean by Ian McLean, on Flickr

 

[BritishSeaPower]

Wonder if we'll see any nods to the Academy Books in terms of teachers or such. Though, come to think of it a lot of them turned out to be evil.

 

[Avro Arrow]

^ Well, you have to teach those kids how to grow up to become evil admirals *somehow*...

 

[The Wormhole]

Wonder if we'll see any nods to the Academy Books in terms of teachers or such. Though, come to think of it a lot of them turned out to be evil.

Sounds like my school years...

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

First issue of this mini-series comes out today.

 

[Bibliomike]

First issue of this mini-series comes out today.

Thanks for alerting us to this. I had noted it back in the summer but completely forgot - will definitely want to check it out.

 

[Malaika]

I read the first one and loved it! Love the humor and it kind of has a different tone compared to the regular ongoing series. The art is good and more old-fashioned comics in a way I love. Though, the artist maybe should improve the way Spock looks

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

I really enjoyed this first issue.

[Possible spoilers to follow]




The two storylines -- one set in 2258 while the nuTrek crew is still at the Academy, the other set three years later with a original-to-comics cast -- volley back and forth through the issue. Both are equally engaging and seem to hint at a possible connection/dove-tailing by the end of the five-issue series.

The nuTrek crew's story is reminiscent of one of the Starfleet Academy YA novels from several years ago (I think it was the Delta Anomaly).

The other story does a fine job of introducing us to the new characters while also developing the idea of a New Vulcan colony and what that means to the remnants of the Vulcan people. Introductions are brief, but I expect to learn more about these five as the series continues. As is, my curiosity is piqued by what we do learn.

The issue itself feels more substantial than the standard ongoing issue, with the storytelling much more compressed and richer in content. A lot of that is due to the artist for this series, Derek Charm.

His panel layouts are elegant and appealing to the eye and the panels themselves are loaded with characters and background details (something the ongoing series' artists rarely bother adding). His clean lines don't favor actor likenesses too well, but they make up for this deficiency by giving his characters more energy and dynamic expressions.

One of the great treats of this issue are the sheer number of background extras played by familiar and obscure alien races from the long history of Trek. I noticed many TMP aliens strolling around the Academy campus, including an Arkenite (the first glimpse of a young Mr. Hesh from the Seekers series in the Abramsverse, maybe?).

Tellarites, Bolians, Andorians (sporting TOS antennae), Benzites, TNG one-off aliens, DS9 Promenade dwellers... It would take a better Trek fan than me to name all of the races on display and that just makes their inclusion all the more impressive. Bravura detail work by Mr. Charm.

Great art and a fun story; I can't recommend this book enough. Finally a Trek comic well worth the cover price.

 

[DarKush]

I thought it was a good first issue. Looking forward to more. I thought it was interesting how there are parallel stories, with Uhura discovering a mystery and then jumping forward several years to introduce the series new cadet characters. I thought all the introductions were handled well. I used to read some of Marvel's 24th century-based Starfleet Academy comics and it looks like this new Academy book will be as fun.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Three covers!


New Trek stuff by Ian McLean, on Flickr

 

[Bibliomike]

I found the character of the Tellarite instructor especially entertaining. Far more likeable than I expect Tellarites to be (is that Trek prejudice showing? Probably). I wonder, if the mini does well, if this could become an ongoing monthly?

 

[Therin of Andor]

Loved the use of background aliens from TMP, ST III, ST IV, TNG, DS9, and "Enterprise".

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

Issue 5 came out today.

For an artist that leans in a more cartoon-y style, I was struck by how evocative Derek Charm's likenesses are to the live-action actors, particularly Spock and Admiral Marcus.

I'm still greatly enjoying this comic and I'm glad they're dipping their toes now into the era of the ENT series with the Slayton storyline.

 

[Malaika]

Admiral Marcus looks so creepy! perfect use of colors and shadows on him
I love when Spock totally owned him, lol