Trek Comics & Graphic Novels

[Boomstick]

Apologies if this is in the wrong place, new here and Trek Literature was the most appropriate place I could find.

Any recommendations of Trek comics to read?
I've only just started looking through them, I've read a few of the Marvel Star Trek Unlimited comics and, while they are not without their charm, I've found them to be a bit lightweight in the story department.

 

[JD]

It's hard to just blindly recommend comics without a bit more information about your preferences. Do you have a favorite type of story, favorite series, character, writer, era?

 

[David cgc]

Is that DVD still around that had every Star Trek comic ever made at press time on it?

Huh, sure is. If you still have an optical drive, it's an economical way to catch up on the classics (up to 2002 or so, at least).

 

[Jinn]

I loved Early Voyages, but then again I'm a fan of Pike and Dan Abnett, so yeah, I was biased.

 

[Boomstick]

It's hard to just blindly recommend comics without a bit more information about your preferences. Do you have a favorite type of story, favorite series, character, writer, era?

That's a legit post, but I'm kind of completely ignorant to the comics and comics in general so I'm trying to be as open to any suggestions as I can.
I was trying to solicit people's opinions on any Trek comic series they've enjoyed and why but I didn't make that as clear as I wanted by phrasing the question around myself.

 

[JD]

Sorry, I should have been clearer there, I meant what are your favorite Star Trek characters, series, styles of story ect. To get an idea of what Trek comics might interest you, it helps to know what kind of Star Trek you like.
They've done comics of all of the Trek series (Ent finally got it's first comic story earlier this year, and the first issue in a Discovery miniseries comes out later this month), and in tons of different styles, and so it's hard to just randomly pick one.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I've been enjoying John Byrne's current series of New Visions photocomics. I wrote about the series in more detail here:

http://atomicjunkshop.com/john-byrne-new-vision-star-trek/

I'd also recommend his Romulans: Pawns of War storyline from IDW.

 

[Oz Trekkie]

Is that DVD still around that had every Star Trek comic ever made at press time on it?

Huh, sure is. If you still have an optical drive, it's an economical way to catch up on the classics (up to 2002 or so, at least).

Thats what I did

 

[Oz Trekkie]

I personally like all the current IDW series set in the Kelvin timeline. I have gone back and read a few of the TNG series and I'm not sure that the authors of some of those comics ever watched TNG. Q's powers, Riker looks like an adonis, warp engines with smoke coming out of them, Picard yelling at the crew to name just a few.

The later IDW ones stay true to how they are depicted in the movies.

 

[F. King Daniel]

DC comics post-Wrath of Khan series, which runs through Search For Spock and The Voyage Home. It starts off with Saavik replacing Spock and continues on, adapting to the huge status quo changes each movie brings, while telling awesome stories and introducing loads of new ongoing characters at the same time.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I have gone back and read a few of the TNG series and I'm not sure that the authors of some of those comics ever watched TNG. Q's powers, Riker looks like an adonis, warp engines with smoke coming out of them, Picard yelling at the crew to name just a few.

That's the original DC TNG miniseries, which was written prior to "Encounter at Farpoint" airing, if I recall correctly.

Of course, I love it for it's batshit craziness, like a Next Gen version of Gold Key (whose writers mostly hadn't seen TOS). For similar early Next Gen weirdness, I recommend the novel Ghost Ship which was also written prior to the "Farpoint" premiere.

 

[Boomstick]

I personally like all the current IDW series set in the Kelvin timeline. I have gone back and read a few of the TNG series and I'm not sure that the authors of some of those comics ever watched TNG. Q's powers, Riker looks like an adonis, warp engines with smoke coming out of them, Picard yelling at the crew to name just a few.

The later IDW ones stay true to how they are depicted in the movies.

Picked up some Kelvin IDW stuff, it's pretty entertaining, and it's novel seeing Picard interact with Spock Prime

 

[Boomstick]

DC comics post-Wrath of Khan series, which runs through Search For Spock and The Voyage Home. It starts off with Saavik replacing Spock and continues on, adapting to the huge status quo changes each movie brings, while telling awesome stories and introducing loads of new ongoing characters at the same time.

Ah cool, I'll check this out when I can, might have to rewatch the films too as it's been years

 

[JD]

Picked up some Kelvin IDW stuff, it's pretty entertaining, and it's novel seeing Picard interact with Spock Prime

I take it you haven't read many of the books either?

 

[Desert Kris]

I'm going to double down on the recommendations to look up the ST Comics CD, it's easy to find on amazon. Then you can pick and choose based on era preference and curiosity. And you can flip through and sample decades of comics in mere minutes.

Marvel's The Early Voyages is about Pike's crew, and often gets cited as a comic of great potential. And although I've only read the first 3 issues of that one, I agree that it's well conceived from the get-go. I'll also second King Daniels recommendation for ST TOS Volume 1, the post-Wrath of Khan series...but to be fair it's only because it's the one I'm currently making my gradual way through and holds the most interest for me personally, being of the TOS movie era.

 

[Boomstick]

I take it you haven't read many of the books either?

I've only read two of the books, Star Trek: The New Voyages and The Lost Years by JM Dillard.

 

[JD]

I've never read either of those.
I'll put in another recommendation for Early Voyages, and DC TOS Vol. 1.
I haven't read a ton of Trek comics, but here are the ones I've rated at least 4/5 on Goodreads.
Everything from DC, Marvel and Wildstorm are on the DVD, IDW's stuff is not.
Early Voyages - This was originally published by Marvel, and was republished in one volume by IDW a few years ago.
TOS: Burden of Knowledge - IDW TOS miniseries, available both digitally and in print.
TOS/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive - 5YM era miniseries crossover with the original POTA movie. Available digitally and in print.
TOS: The Mirror Universe Saga - Part of DC's first TOS movie era series.
TOS: Enter The Wolves - TOS movie era one off from Wildstorm, prequel to TNG episode Sarek, and sequel to the novel Sarek. Written by Trek novelist AC Crispin.
Alien Spotlight - IDW miniseries with each issue set in a different era and focused on a different alien race. Available digitally.
TNG: Intelligence Gathering - IDW TNG series era miniseries. Available digitally.
TNG: Hive - IDW Post-Nemesis miniseries, not connected to the post-Nem novels. It was co-written by TNG, VOY, and ENT writer/producer Brannon Braga. Available in print and digitally.
DS9: Fools Gold- Early series era miniseries from IDW. Available digitally and in print.
Countdown - '09 movie prequel set post-Nem, not consistent with the novels or Hive. Available digitally and in print.
Captain's Log - IDW miniseries, each issue focuses on a different Captain who was not a series lead. Available digitally.
Deviations- Part of a series of one offs set in new alternate realities released by IDW. (Other issues in the series were released for The X-Files twice, My Little Pony, Judge Dredd, Ghostbusters, Transformers, Teengage Mutant Ninja Turtles, GI Joe and they are going to be doing an Orphan Black miniseries) Available in print and digitally.
VOY: False Colors - VOY series era miniseries released by Wildstorm.
TNG: Enemy Unseen - Collects the Wildstorm TNG miniseries, Perchance to Dream and The Killing Shadows, and the one off Embrace The Wolf. Perchance to dream was written by novelist Keith R.A. DeCandido
New Frontier: Double Time - Part of the New Frontier novel series, graphic novel from Wildstorm.
NF: Turn Around - NF miniseries from IDW, availble digitally. This is kind of a weird one because it is consistent with the NF novels, but there are Mirror Universe elements that are contradicted by a later story featuring the MU versions of the NF characters.

 

[Boomstick]

I've never read either of those.
I'll put in another recommendation for Early Voyages, and DC TOS Vol. 1.
I haven't read a ton of Trek comics, but here are the ones I've rated at least 4/5 on Goodreads.
Everything from DC, Marvel and Wildstorm are on the DVD, IDW's stuff is not.
Early Voyages - This was originally published by Marvel, and was republished in one volume by IDW a few years ago.
TOS: Burden of Knowledge - IDW TOS miniseries, available both digitally and in print.
TOS/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive - 5YM era miniseries crossover with the original POTA movie. Available digitally and in print.
TOS: The Mirror Universe Saga - Part of DC's first TOS movie era series.
TOS: Enter The Wolves - TOS movie era one off from Wildstorm, prequel to TNG episode Sarek, and sequel to the novel Sarek. Written by Trek novelist AC Crispin.
Alien Spotlight - IDW miniseries with each issue set in a different era and focused on a different alien race. Available digitally.
TNG: Intelligence Gathering - IDW TNG series era miniseries. Available digitally.
TNG: Hive - IDW Post-Nemesis miniseries, not connected to the post-Nem novels. It was co-written by TNG, VOY, and ENT writer/producer Brannon Braga. Available in print and digitally.
DS9: Fools Gold- Early series era miniseries from IDW. Available digitally and in print.
Countdown - '09 movie prequel set post-Nem, not consistent with the novels or Hive. Available digitally and in print.
Captain's Log - IDW miniseries, each issue focuses on a different Captain who was not a series lead. Available digitally.
Deviations- Part of a series of one offs set in new alternate realities released by IDW. (Other issues in the series were released for The X-Files twice, My Little Pony, Judge Dredd, Ghostbusters, Transformers, Teengage Mutant Ninja Turtles, GI Joe and they are going to be doing an Orphan Black miniseries) Available in print and digitally.
VOY: False Colors - VOY series era miniseries released by Wildstorm.
TNG: Enemy Unseen - Collects the Wildstorm TNG miniseries, Perchance to Dream and The Killing Shadows, and the one off Embrace The Wolf. Perchance to dream was written by novelist Keith R.A. DeCandido
New Frontier: Double Time - Part of the New Frontier novel series, graphic novel from Wildstorm.
NF: Turn Around - NF miniseries from IDW, availble digitally. This is kind of a weird one because it is consistent with the NF novels, but there are Mirror Universe elements that are contradicted by a later story featuring the MU versions of the NF characters.

Cheers man, that's a glut of stuff!
Think I probably will pick up that disc and jump in.

I've not even really considered looking into the novels yet as there are so many of them and loads of the reviews for them online are wildly inconsistent (a book having multiple 1* and 5* reviews with not much in between etc).

 

[JD]

I forgot to mention in my list that Captain's Log has an issue written by Keith R.A. DeCandido, and one by Marc Guggenheim, the co-creator of Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow.