A (Star) Trek Through Comics
Can licensed IP comics enhance their source material? Let's try it with Star Trek.
Beloved franchise Star Trek celebrated its 60th anniversary this week, commemorated on the annual observance of "Star Trek Day" by fans and the corporation that owns the Star Trek IP.
I found myself torn, debating whether to write anything timed to the historic milestone. I really don't want Weird City's comics newsletter to be dictated by the increasingly crowded calendar of corporate "holidays" meant to keep consumers engaged with their brands, which hold so much sway over larger, more mainstream news sites. Though on the other hand, I really like Star Trek.
Ultimately what made my decision was Paramount showing the first four Star Trek movies in theaters, pairing each with an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series that linked, either thematically or plot-wise, to the film. The most obvious example was "Space Seed," which introduced Capt. Kirk's nemesis Khan Noonien Singh, and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It's a fun idea: The audience would get to observe similar themes and characters played across different eras and mediums: 1960s television and 1980s film.
But what about comics? Could these licensed IP comics series, which so often crowd local shops’ shelves, actually enhance the experience of revisiting the source material? I decided to test the theory: To embark on a voyage, if you will, into full franchise immersion across film, television, and comics. For each movie and its associated TOS episodes, I also chose to revisit a comic story that directly or thematically relevant.
The results? Fascinating.
Echoes –– Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the movie that revived Star Trek more than a decade after its cancellation, returns to theaters paired with the TOS episode "The Changeling," which has a similar premise done on a much smaller scale and budget. The Motion Picture even uses some of the exact language from "The Changeling" at points.
The comic I chose to complement this pairing goes in a different direction. IDW published Star Trek: The Motion Picture — Echoes in 2023 (available digitally). It's written by Marc Guggenheim, with art by Oleg Chudakov and colorist DC Alonso, picking up virtually immediately after the end of The Motion Picture.
