Happy 51st Anniversary Star Trek

51 years ago, Star Trek began its life on NBC, with a little episode called "The Man Trap".

Since then, Star Trek has continued on, with multiple movies and spin offs....as well as a few comic books.

DC had two comic book series about the original cast and crew that lasted past 50 issues, so here's a quick look at them.

1980s DC

This Star Trek #51 (June, 1988) has the title of "Haunted Honeymoon", and is by Peter David, Tom Sutton and Ricardo Villagran, with a cover by Mike O'Connell.



The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-A faces off against a telepath who has fallen ill...


...projecting nightmarish visions for the crew, including Captain Kirk, who sees visions of the good ship Enterpoop, crewed by the characters of Bloom County.


This story does continue into the next issue of this series...

1990s DC

DC's other Star Trek #51 (August, 1993) features the story "Renegade" by Dan Mishkin, Deryl Skelton, Steve Carr and Arne Starr, with a cover by Rod Whigham and Carlos Garzon.

This issue focuses on Saavik, with her tracking down a Federation scientist, Professor Erickson, on a Romulan Outpost, as the scientist was planning to share a major breakthrough of his with the Romulans!


Two very different issues, showing some of the infinite diversity of Star Trek!

Covering Star Trek's Captain Kirk

Captain James T. Kirk had a long history.....and quite a bit of it was covered in comic books!

Here's a look back at the various looks (and comic book incarnations) of James T. Kirk over the decades, celebrating the long life of William Shatner...


....one of the best covers is the cover for Star Trek Annual #2 (1991) by Jerome K. Moore, for an issue that focused on Kirk's time at Starfleet Academy (but also showed his evolution over the decades).


Let's cover a few more....

Gold Key

Gold Key had the license from the time of the original series, and it lasted for 61 issues, from October, 1967 to March, 1979, with a couple of Captain Kirk covers like #33 (September, 1975) by George Wilson, and #38 (July, 1976) also painted by George Wilson.

Marvel 1

Marvel was next to have the Star Trek series, based on Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and since it only lasted for 18 issues from April, 1980 to February, 1982, it didn't have as much time to cover then Admiral James T. Kirk, with covers here from #4 (July, 1980) by Dave Cockrum and Klaus Janson and #14 (June, 1981) by Ed Hannigan and James Sherman.

DC 1

DC Comics got the Enterprise crew next, with their first series running for 56 issues from February, 1984 to November, 1988; it had many covers with Admiral Kirk, including #6 (July, 1984) by Tom Sutton and Sal Amendola, and #54 (September, 1988) by Jerome K. Moore and Keith Wilson.

DC 2

DC ran a second series based on the original Star Trek characters, running from October, 1989 to February, 1996, with stories of Kirk from all over his career, including #10 (July, 1980) by Mark Bright and Keith Wilson, and #73 (July, 1995) by Jason Palmer, for what ended up being Star Trek's longest running series, lasting 80 issues from October, 1989 to February, 1996, by which time the original Star Trek cast had moved on from Star Trek, leaving the movies and television shows to new generations....

Marvel 2

That didn't stop addition adventures with the original crew from happening....Marvel had multiple Star Trek series during the 1990s under the Paramount Comics imprint, and Kirk was featured in more than a few of the issues, such as Star Trek: Early Voyages #14 (March, 1998) and Star Trek Unlimited #8 (March, 1998), but sadly, neither issue credits their cover artists. 

IDW

The Star Trek characters have ended up at IDW Publishing, with Captain Kirk being the feature of many covers and stories, including Star Trek: Year Four Enterprise Experiment #3 (June, 2008) cover by the Sharp Brothers...


....and even Star Trek #59 and #60 (covers by Tony Shasteen in 2016), where William Shatner's Kirk met Chris Pine's....

....proving Captain Kirk will indeed live long and prosper (more of Captain Kirk's individual history is in Who's Who In Star Trek #1 from 1987; and a story co-written by William Shatner in 1995 called Star Trek: the Ashes Of Eden with cover by Nicholas Jainschigg) and for more Star Trek covers, for one's featuring Spock, and more here for Star Trek's 50th Anniversary).

Star Trek Origins And Endings

Amazing that in all the years, it wasn't until DC Comics had the Star Trek property that the beginnings of Captain James T. Kirk's five-year mission were explored....and that DC also explored the end of the five year mission as well, and DC did it in their first two annuals for Star Trek (and had something special for the third Annual as well....).


Let's take a look back at those future events, that haven't happened yet.....

Star Trek: First Mission

Star Trek Annual #1 (1985) features the story "All Those Years Ago..." had a plot by Marv Wolfman and Dave Cockrum, was written by Mike W. Barr, and drawn by David Ross and Bob Smith, who also drew the cover.

This issue dealt with Kirk's first mission on the Enterprise in 2264, taking over from Christopher Pike.  The issue also bid farewell to Pike's first officer, only referred to as Number One and Doctor, Phillip Boyce, eventually allowing Spock (who had served with the ship under Captain Pike) to become Kirk's first officer.  Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy does serve as the Enterprise's medical officer, but he would have to leave for his daughter's graduation, allowing Dr. Mark Piper to be the medical officer of "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (Kirk's Star Trek pilot episode, that introduces ). 

This issue also allows the reader to see Lee Kelso and Gary Mitchell in action for a bit, two characters introduced in Star Trek's second pilot, that do not survive to the series.  It's also a great establishing story for the rest of the five year mission...though it doesn't quite match up with the Enterprise: The First Adventure novel of 1986.

Star Trek: Final Mission

Star Trek Annual #2 (1986) features "The Final Voyage", with the last mission of the five year assignment of Captain James T. Kirk aboard the starship Enterprise in 2270 by writer Mike W. Barr, Dan Jurgens and Bob Smith, under a cover by Denys Cowan and Ricardo Villagran.

The crew thinks it is headed home to Earth, with a refit to be supervised by Commander Will Decker (familiar to those who have seen Star Trek: The Motion Picture, or read the first three issues of Marvel Comics' Star Trek, and the son of Commodore Matt Decker, from "The Doomsday Machine"), but ends up on Talos IV, where the Captain Koloth and the Klingons have taken over, putting Christopher Pike back in his chair, and use the powers of mind over matter on the crew, torturing Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Decker with some of their worst moments, including for Decker encountering the corpses of the crew of the U.S.S. Constellation, Spock dealing with rejection from his human mother, McCoy dealing with the idea of his daughter Joanna dying while he was adventuring in space, and Kirk facing the death of Edith Keeler...until Jim cannot take it anymore, and he breaks free, freeing the Talosians as well, who wipe the Klingons minds of memories of Talos IV, allowing Kirk and crew to leave.

Kirk is shaken by this experience, looking for a quieter desk job as an Admiral, Spock leaves Starfleet for a time to go to Vulcan to purge himself of the emotions he experienced, McCoy also retires the service to reconnect with his daughter, and Decker goes to prepare to take over the Enterprise.


In Between

Star Trek Annual #3 (1988) sets the stages for the Star Trek Annuals that follow in DC's second run of Star Trek books, in that it focuses on one crew member, this time around, on Montgomery Scott, chief engineer of the Enterprise, with the story "Retrospect", by Peter David, Curt Swan and Ricardo Villagran, and a cover by Gray Morrow.

This issue starts in the current time of Scotty, with the man suffering medical problems...which we find out is due to his wife, Glynnis Campbell's, passing.  During the course of the issue, we find out about his wife (introduced in this annual) by looking back at times of Scotty's life, like soon after Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (and his nephew, Peter Preston's funeral in 2285) when Scotty plans to go back into service (but Glynnis wants to remain on Earth, foreshadowing a breakup between the two); years earlier, in 2273, with Montgomery and Glynnis rekindling their relationship after her divorce from Angus while young Peter Preston things of joining Starfleet; Scotty finding Glynnis married to Angus McFarlane in 2267 at an agricultural colony the Enterprise is checking up on; Scotty leaving Glynnis behind in as he goes into Starfleet in 2247; young Montgomery picking a fight with Angus McFarlane over Glynnis in 2237; and Scotty meeting Glynnis for the first time in 2229, where she realizes she will love Scotty forever.

Star Trek Annuals #2 and #3 are reprinted in The Best of Star Trek from 1991.

Star Trek The Motion Picture Comic

Space the Final Frontier....and, in the late 1970s, it was Marvel that got to boldly go where no man has gone before, with an adaptation of Star Trek: The Motion Picture!

It was in Marvel Super Special #15 (December, 1979), with a cover by Bob Larkin, and adaptation by writer Marv Wolfman, pencils by Dave Cockrum and inks by Klaus Janson.

This was the story of Will Decker, Ilia and V'ger, alongside the Enterprise crew of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, Sulu, Uhura and Chekov...

...and this led to Marvel's first run at a Star Trek comic book series.

Space

With Star Trek #1 (April, 1980), Marvel boldly went with their first Star Trek comic, taking the first 17 pages from the Marvel Super Special, with V'Ger attacking a fleet of Klingon ships, Spock trying to achieve kolinar, and Admiral James T. Kirk being called into Starfleet to get reassigned to the Enterprise to deal with that "thing" out there.  Kirk informs Captain Willard Decker that he's taking over, and greets a few additions to his crew, like Lt. Ilia (a Deltan who had served with Decker before), as well as beaming Dr. Leonard McCoy on board.  The Enterprise takes off, has problems in warp drive, with Decker saving the ship, and then, they bring Spock aboard.


Quite a bit for this first issue, adapted by Marv Wolfman, Dave Cockrum and Klaus Janson (and a cover by Steve Leialoha).

 

The Final Frontier

Star Trek #2 (May, 1980) contained the second part of the Motion Picture story, detailing the Enterprise's first encounter with the being known as"V'Ger", with a cover by Dave Cockrum and interiors by Marv Wolfman, Dave Cockrum and Klaus Janson, dealt with the second 17 pages of the Marvel Super Special, dealing with V'Ger and his affect on the crew of the Enterprise, most notably, Ilia and Spock.

A little odd to have this, not starting or ending the story (and a bit of a flash forward to how comics would behave in the future..

....the Enterprise crew hadn't really had continued adventures in comic book form before).

Star Trek #3 (June, 1980), with the title of "Evolutions" and the same writing and artistic crew of Wolfman, Cockrum and Janson (because it was just really a reprint of the Marvel Super Special), with the new addition of Bob Wiacek on the cover, had the last 17 pages of the Enterprise's encounter with V'ger with the alien hovering over Earth, revealing its true intentions (which didn't bode well for the carbon units, that's human beings, living there), and the final fates of Ilia and Decker, with the Enterprise crew carrying on after.
 
Best of all, these three issues are reprinted IDW's Star Trek Movie Omnibus (June, 2011), that contains the adaptations of the first 6 Star Trek movies (with the last four being done by DC Comics, and IDW handling Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan).  

These Are The Voyages

Star Trek #4 (July, 1980) started the first new Star Trek comic story since the days of Gold Key, with "The Haunting Of Thallus" by Marv Wolfman, Dave Cockrum and Klaus Janson, and a cover by Dave Cockrum, with Kirk and crew transporting a new ambassador through space, and encountering a haunted house (as well as Klingons)....and the story continued into Star Trek #5 (August, 1980), and "The Haunting Of The Enterprise", by Mike W. Barr, Dave Cockrum and Klaus Janson, bring the monsters aboard the Enterprise, where the crew finally solve the mystery of where they are from.

Of The Starship Enterprise

The Enterprise crew dealt with another new ambassador in Star Trek #6 (September, 1980) and "The Enterprise Murder Case" by Mike W. Barr, Dave Cockrum and Klaus Janson (cover by Cockrum and Janson), with Spock bluffing out trouble in this one, and Star Trek #7 (October, 1980), with "Tomorrow Or Yesterday" by Tom DeFalco, Mike Nasser and Klaus Janson (and cover by Mike Nasser), with a planet about to be destroyed by a radioactive cloud, and the inhabitants expecting Kirk, Spock and McCoy to help and their arrival was prepared for by "those-who-have-stepped-beyond", as there are ancient statues of the three on the planet!

Its Five Year Mission

Star Trek #8 (November, 1980) deals with "The Expansionist Syndrome" by Martin Pasko, Dave Cockrum and Ricardo Villamonte, and a cover by Dave Cockrum, with the Enterprise crew dealing with Spock being kidnapped by leftover technology from the Eugenics Wars (a sideways reference to Khan, though he and his genetically enhanced humans aren't here; Khan wouldn't return until much later, in the second Star Trek movie)...

...then in Star Trek #9 (December, 1980) by Martin Pasko, Dave Cockrum and Frank Springer, and an "Experiment In Vengeance!", also sounding like a story that should involve Khan (but didn't, Marvel only had the rights to what was seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture).  Instead, the Enterprise has to find out what happened to the crew of the Endeavor, as the lifeless ship attacks the Enterprise, and is pursued by an entity known as the Unity, looking for vengeance, especially on an old friend of Kirk's, Lt. Karen Hester-Jones (yet another old friend that Kirk was involved with...).



All enough to keep a crew busy for a time!  

To Explore Strange New Worlds

Star Trek #10 (January, 1981) sees Spock and McCoy on a survey of a primitive planet, and a hard landing of a shuttle, involving the "Domain Of The Dragon God" by Michael Fleisher, Leo Duranona and Klaus Janson (and a cover by Frank Miller), with Spock and McCoy getting involved with the natives, but more or less following the Prime Directive of non-interference.


Plus, as a bonus, artist Dave Cockrum shows us Files of Starfleet Headquarters, about Starfleet uniforms and rank insignias.

Star Trek #11 (February, 1981) finds dealing with trouble "...Like A Woman Scorned", as the Enterprise crew has to deal with a station being exposed to radiation, which leads to a meeting with an ex-girlfriend of Scotty's (who brings out a witch who attacks Mr. Scott, putting him into a coma, and even having the Loch Ness Monster come to attack the Enterprise).


Wait, the Loch Ness Monster in space? 


The crew has to find where these old Scottish legends are coming from in this odd science fiction mystery tale by Martin Pasko, Joe Brozowski and Tom Palmer, with a cover by Joe Brozowski and Tom Palmer as well.

To Seek Out New Life 

Star Trek #12 (March, 1981) sees the "Eclipse Of Reason" as Janice Rand joins the crew of the Icarus, and heads out of the galaxy, with an alien crew made of beings of light (including Rand's husband, the captain of the Icarus).


The alien crew have life expectancies of thousands of years, and their form should make them immune to passing through the energy surrounding the galaxy...


....but that doesn't seem to be the case as the ship returns, with Rand and the aliens attacking, and only the Enterprise there to stop them, in this story by Allan Brennart and Martin Pasko, with art by Luke McDonnell and Klaus Janson, and a cover by Joe Brozowski and Tom Palmer.

Star Trek #13 (April, 1981) sees an old character return, McCoy's daughter, Joanna McCoy (getting around the ban on series characters as she never appeared in the original series, only making it into notes), with "All The Infinite Ways" by Martin Pasko, Joe Brozowski, Tom Palmer and Marie Severin, and a cover by James Sherman and Larry Hama.


This leads into a battle with the Klingons, as they try to claim mineral rights to the planet she is on (with Bones finding out his daughter is engaged to a Vulcan as well!  This is why this doctor doesn't make house calls).  

And New Civilizations

Star Trek #14 (June, 1981) has the story of "We Are Dying, Egypt, Dying" by Martin Pasko, Luke McDonnell and Gene Day, and a cover by Ed Hannigan and James Sherman....and oh, what a cover!  It almost belongs on a Gold Key comic, if not for the world balloons!


Ancient Egypt...in space?

Kirk and crew beam down to investigate, with Spock remaining on the ship.  Kirk falls prey to the force in the pyramids, changing his personality, and the captain battles with his crew, until they solve the riddle this situation presented.

Star Trek #15 (August, 1981) was written by Martin Pasko, with art by Gil Kane, Dan Adkins and Al Milgrom (and a cover by Dave Cockrum), and the story about "The Quality Of Mercy".



Spock and McCoy go to Kirk's quarters to find an alien there...

....but, it is really just Captain Kirk, preparing for a new mission, and they will have to be disguised as well.  The disguised Enterprise crew go to free a prisoner, and, things go wrong (when don't they?) and the landing party gets captured itself, giving them something to think about, as well as having to get free themselves.

To Boldly Go

Star Trek #16 (October, 1981) finds "There's No Space Like Gnomes'" under a cover by Luke McDonnell and Al Milgrom, and story by Martin Pasko, Luke McDonnell, Gene Day and Sal Trapani.



Exploring a planet, Spock gets a reading on small humanoids, and the landing party goes to investigate.  While on the planet, McCoy gets injured, and a female member of the landing party gets taken by a pair of hairy arms (much to the concern of Chekov).  It seems the Enterprise has wandered into a battle between gnomes and trolls, and have to work their way out of this trouble!

Star Trek #17 (December, 1981) sees the Enterprise crew face "The Long Night's Dawn" in a story by Mike W. Barr, Ed Hannigan, Tom Palmer and Dave Simons, under a stunning cover by Walt Simonson.



The Enterprise crew go to check on a planet where a Federation probe has crashed, and released a toxic gas on the primitive people's of that planet.  Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down in disguise, so as not to expose their advanced nature to the civilization there.  Sadly, they are found out, having their communicators and tricorders broken, Kirk and Spock escape capture, and then must free McCoy before he is executed the next day by these superstitious people.

Where No Man Has Gone Before

Star Trek #18 (February, 1982) is the last issue of the 1980s Marvel Star Trek comic, with the story of "A Thousand Deaths" by J.M. DeMatteis, Joe Brozowski and Sal Trapani, and a cover by Joe Brozowski and Terry Austin.

The Enterprise is confronted by a huge alien ship, that brings Kirk and Spock aboard, while holding the Enterprise captive.  Kirk and Spock are forced to watch each other die in various scenarios while the Enterprise crew are being slowly killed.  Kirk and Spock both prepare to sacrifice themselves for their ship, leaving an impression on their captor....

....and that is Star Trek at it's best.  Striving for more, showing hope for tomorrow, and a loyalty beyond oneself to one's friends.

Even without access to the depth of Star Trek history, these 18 comics at least show the heart of the series.

Better still, Star Trek #4 to #18 from this run have been collected by IDW, who continues the Star Trek franchise in comic for to this day, these in the Star Trek Omnibus Vol. 1, and after a few years (and the movie, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), DC Comics takes a chance to boldly go....