Star Trek: The Newspaper Strips, Vol. 2: 1981 - 1983 Preview

7/29/2019 Star Trek: The Newspaper Strips, Vol. 2: 1981 - 1983 Preview

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IDW PUBLISHING

San Diego

The Newspaper Comics

Complete Dailies and Sundays 19811983


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STARTREK: THE NEWSPAPER COMICS

VOLUME TWO: 19811983

STORIES AND ART BYSharman DiVono, Ron Harris, Larry Niven, Padraic Shigetani, Martin Pasko,

Gerry Conway, Bob Myers, Ernie Coln, Alfredo Alcala, and Dick Kulpa

THE LIBRARY OFAMERICAN COMICS

EDITED AND DESIGNED BYDean MullaneyCOLOR RESTORATION BYLorraine Turner, ART DIRECTOR

ASSOCIATE EDITORBruce Canwell MARKETING DIRECTORBeau Smith

LEXICON AND STRIP RESEARCH Rich Handley INTRODUCTIONJeff Vaughn

DAILY STRIP RESTORATIONJoseph Ketels

Special thanks to Ron Harris, Rosemary Ford, Martin Pasko, Padraic Shigetani, Mark Martinez, Allen Lane, and Rick Norwood.Additional thanks to Dick Kulpa, David Seidman, Justin Eisinger, Alonzo Simon, and Chris Ryall.

ISBN: 978-1-61377-776-3 First Printing, September 2013

LibraryofAmericanComics.com

Published by:

IDW Publishing, a Division of Idea and Design Works, LLC5080 Santa Fe Street, San Diego, CA 92109

www.idwpublishing.com

Ted Adams, Chief Executive Officer/Publisher. Greg Goldstein, Chief Operating Officer/President. Robbie Robbins, EVP/Sr. Graphic Artist.Chris Ryall, Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief. Matthew Ruzicka, CPA, Chief Financial Officer. Alan Payne, VP of Sales.

Dirk Wood, VP of Marketing. Lorelei Bunjes, VP of Digital Services.

Distributed by Diamond Book Distributors, 410-560-7100

STAR TREK & 2013 CBS Studios Inc. 2013 Paramount Pictures Corporation. STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc.All Rights Reserved. The Library of American Comics is a trademark of The Library of American Comics LLC. All rights reserved. Introduction 2013 JeffVaughn. Lexicon 2013 Rich Handley. With the exception of artwork used for review purposes, none of the comic strips in this publication may be reprinted

without the permission of CBS Studios Inc. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, includingphotocopying, recording, or by any information and retrieval system, without permission in writing from CBS Studios Inc. Printed in Korea.


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As the first volume of this series showed, theres probably no such thing as forgotten Star Trek, but there is

certainly a category for semi-forgotten Star Trek. The Sunday and daily comic strips collected in this edition and its

predecessor definitely fall into that category, and thats a shamenot only because these are additional chapters in the

history of one of the most enduring media franchises, but because there were some very entertaining stories told over

the strips less-than-five-year mission.

What the series demonstrates, first and most importantly, is that Star Trekcan and does work as a comic strip.

Its not the action-adventure of Russ Manning on Tarzan or Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson on Secret Agent

Corrigan or the science fiction of Alex Raymond on Flash Gordon or Goodwin and Williamson on Star Wars, but these

stories are some very respectable entries in those overlapping genres (as well as in the world of licensed projects). In

fact, some of them are very good.

On the downside, they are not of uniform quality, but in the end and as a whole they constitute must read

material for any serious Trekker or Trekkie, particularly when you get to the Omnimind story by writer Sharman

DiVono and artist Ron Harris. The eleventh arc in the strips run, which appeared from October 26, 1981 to February

28, 1982, has been referred to as the proto-Borg story with good reason.

Persuing the Klingons from the previous story arc, Kirk and the Enterprisecrew are lured by an ancient probe

to the planet Iskonia, on which robotic life has emerged the victor over organic life. Upon their arrival they discover

that the Klingons have been taken over by the machines and made to do their bidding.

In the daily strip from December 3, 1981 (see page 23), Kirk asks one of the machine creatures, Are you the

Omnimind? and it replies, I am a servant. One part of the whole. While that hints broadly at the Borg concept,

it doesnt mean one should go running to ones fellow fans shouting, Look! Look! No, thats reserved for the strip

seventeen days laterthe December 20, 1981 Sunday page, particularly the last two panels (see page 29). The appendages

and prosthetics on the Klingons are as Borg-esque as it gets, and this predates the May 5, 1989 first appearance of the

Borg (Q Who? Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 2, Episode 16) by more than seven years.

To Borg or not to Borgby J. C. VAUGHN


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Just a few days later, in the December 25 and 26 dailies (see

page 31), Kirk is seen exhorting Kolak, his former Klingon rival, tofight off the Omniminds programming, and in turn the Omniminds

programming is increased. This is not a 100% analog to the Borg as

they would be later seen, but its close enough to be highly similar to

the scenes between Captain Picard, Data, and the Borg Queen in

Star Trek: First Contact.

Speaking of the Borg Queen, check out the last panel of the

January 9, 1982 daily (see page 36). The character, Lyra, is one of the

good guys, a humanoid resistance fighter opposed to the Omnimind,

but at first glance the similarity to the queen is striking (and that

doesnt stop Kirk, naturally, from hitting on her).

As the story moves toward its conclusion, Enterprisecrew member

Lt. Marsha Latham has been captured. She is replicated and the replicais turned into a host for the Omnimind. This echoes the Lt. Ilia drone

from Star Trek: The Motion Pictureand gives a foretaste of the Borg

Queen a decade and a half before First Contact.

The final element of this proto-Borg arc is the big reveal of the

Omniminds origin, what would pass for its true identity. Its probably

the weakest element in the story, but its also the one with the richestpossibilities. Fans have long speculated on the origin of the Borg, and

this offers a glimpse of good intentions gone horribly awry, something

thats easy to imagine having happened to the earliest versions of the

Borg as they are later known.

This, of course, is just one of the arcs in this volume. As writer-

producer Mark Haynes (a veteran Star Trekfan, Star Trekstrip art

collector, and my co-writer on IDW Publishings24comics) put it,

The Star Treknewspaper strip is probably as close as were ever going

to get to the real feeling of what the second five-year mission or the ill-

fated Star Trek: Phase IItelevision series would have been like. Like the

original series, there are some genuine clunkers and some average

stories, but there are also some real gems, stories that if given thechance will stand the test of time.

J.C. Vaughn is Vice-President of Publishing for Gemstone Publishing. He was

he reluctantly admits, a pitching writer for the Star Trek: VoyagerTV series.


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OPPOSITE AND ABOVE: Thomas Warkentins 1978 sample strips. (Courtesy his widow, Rosie Ford.)


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STRANGE NEW WORLDSA guide to this volumes strips, to consult as you boldly go where no one has

gone before (or at least not in many years)

byRICH HANDLEY


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Sample Strips (w/a: Thomas Warkentin)1. The Enterpriseintercepts a distress call from Morpheus II and discovers an ancient starship hulk.

Watch for: a technical explanation of what constitutes a Class-M planet.2. The Enterpriseloses two crewmembers aboard a Klingon warship.

Watch for: a visit from Elaan, the Dohlman of Elas, from the episode Elaan of Troyius.3. Kirk and Spock retrieve a meson cylinder from the Suarians, with help from a shady pilot named Grey.

Watch for: an early appearance by Doctor Wu, later featured in Warkentin's sixth storyline.

Audition Strip (w/a: Dick Kulpa) (printed in Volume One)Kirk is intrigued when Spock reports that a new cartoonist is interested in working with the Enterprisecrew.

Watch for: the dropping of the comic strip's fourth wall.

#11: Restructuring Is Futile (w: Sharman DiVono, a: Ron Harris, 10/26/81-2/28/82)Kirk finds a Klingon crew cyborged by a machine intelligence called the Omnimind.

Watch for: assimilated biological lifeformsyears before The Next Generation's introduction of the Borg.

#12: The Wristwatch Plantation (w: DiVono and Larry Niven, a: Harris, 3/1/82-7/17/82)Investigating the fate of a Bebebebeque colony on Mimit, the Enterprisefaces Kzinti invaders.

Watch for: a Surak-class shuttlecraft and a rare look at drug smuggling in Star Trek.

#13: The Nogura Regatta (w: DiVono, a: Harris and Warkentin, 7/18/82-9/4/82)Kyoshi Nogura plans a starship race to honor his grandfather, Admiral Nogura, but pirates abduct several entrants.

Watch for: a starship captain with more than a passing resemblance to Santa Claus.

#14: A Merchants Loyalty (w: Padraic Shigetani, a: Shigetani, 9/5/82-10/30/82)Merchant fleets from the Deltan 330 Graveyard Sector stage a deadly rivalry to lure the Enterpriseinto their grasp.

Watch for: the transition from The Motion Picture-era uniforms to those from The Wrath of Khan.NOTE:Martin Pasko has sometimes been erroneously cited as the writer of this storyline. However,Shigetani provided both the script and artwork for this tale, with Pasko writing only a single tale, #15.

#15: Taking Shape(w: Martin Pasko, a: Shigetani, 11/1/82-2/12/83)The Enterprisecrew is replaced by shape-shifters from Manark V, resulting in a showdown with Romulans.

Watch for: Lieutenant T'Yee, a blonde Vulcan conceived after Paramount nixed plans to use Savvik.

#16: Send in the Clones (w: Gerry Conway, a: Bob Myers, 2/14/83-5/7/83)To end a war with the Sangdor, Kirk receives help from Courier Clonesone of whom Scotty is accused of murdering.

Watch for: an Engineering crewman in sunglasses, as well as plot similarities to Wolf in the Fold.

#17: Goodbye to Spock (w: Conway, a: Ernie Coln, Alfredo Alcala and Serc Soc, 5/9/83-7/2/83)Stranded in the Fortenue System, Spock suffers amnesia and falls in love with a woman from a feudal society.

Watch for: plot elements from the episodes All Our Yesterdays and This Side of Paradise.

#18: Terminally Yours(w: Conway, a: Kulpa, 7/4/83-8/13/83)Contracting a plague, McCoy grows paranoid and steals a shuttlecraft so he can die alone.

Watch for: a strong focus on friendship, as well as plot similarities to story arc #10.

#19: The Retirement of Admiral Kirk (w: Conway, a: Kulpa, 8/15/83-10/15/83)Assigned to a desk job, Kirk resigns to pursue privateer work, but discovers he has signed aboard a slave ship.

Watch for: the return of Admiral Yaramoto from arc #16, plus an alien engineer with a Scottish brogue.

#20: Getting Real (w: Conway, a: Kulpa, 10/17/83-12/3/83)Kirk and company enter a parallel universe in which they are characters on a TV show called Star Trek. Watch for: references to the TV series, including posters, Trekkies and a Star Trek Lives t-shirt.


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10 October 26-29, 1981


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11October 30 - November 1, 1981


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12 November 2-3, 1981


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13November 4-7, 1981


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14 November 8, 1981


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15November 9-12, 1981


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16 November 13-15, 1981

Star Trek: The Newspaper Strips, Vol. 2: 1981 - 1983 Preview

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