DS9 comics! DS9 comics! DS9 comics!

At last, as our friend Nero likes to say "the wait is over", or nearly over at least: Comics Continuum have posted IDW's solicitations for December which include three Star Trek titles, comprised of the second issue of TNG's Ghosts, the Cardassian focused post-Dominion war final Alien Spotlight and the first issue of a new DS9 series, by the Tiptons no less!

Alien Spotlight: Cardassians
Written by Andy Schmidt, art and cover by Augustin Padilla.
Set just after the Dominion War, a black-ops band of Cardassian fundamentalists infiltrate a Starfleet Prison to assassinate the leader of the Dominion ... the founder responsible for 800 million Cardassian deaths. But if justice is done, will the fallout with Starfleet plunge the Cardassians back into war? Guest-starring classic DS9 characters Kira and Garak!
Ghosts #2
Written by Zander Cannon, art by Javier Aranda, covers by Joe Corroney.
The negotiations to end the civil war on Allios IV continue while Worf investigates the history of the less advanced of the two civilizations. Meanwhile, Picard is rattled by being identified as one of the phantoms that haunts a seriously wounded researcher they rescued from a marooned orbiter, and Troi, Geordi, and Dr. Crusher investigate the mysteries of what caused the accident. Fool's Gold #1
Written by Scott and David Tipton, art by Fabio Mantovani, covers by The Sharp Brothers.
Captain Sisko and the crew of Deep Space Nine make their triumphant return to comics! When the station begins to be overrun by thieves, treasure-seekers, bounty-hunters and other assorted ne'er-do-wells, Major Kira and Constable Odo must find out why. Can they get to the bottom of it before the station's new visitors bring things to a boiling point?

Book bits

The Simon and Schuster website now has an excerpt from next month's novel, Titan: Synthesis. Which you can read, here.

The website also has a listing up for what appears to be a tie-in novel for Star Trek Online. Called The Needs of the Many it is apparently a mass market paperback out in March and written by Michael A. Martin.

New Kirk and Spock two-pack

Out favourite action figure two-pack combo has returned with the latest variation from Diamond Select Toys, a Where No Man Has Gone Before version of Kirk and Spock:

As annouced by Toy News International.

New prop and ship replicas from eFX

A couple of days ago Toy News International announced a collectables company, eFX have taken on a license to produce items based on prime reality Trek series and films, starting with the Mark IX Tricorder from First Contact, which will be limited to 1000 pieces and come with a signature from Brent Spinner.

TrekMovie have followed up on this news and got a bit more information out of eFX: They plan to release four items a year, and are currently developing a Wrath of Khan phaser, a TOS Phaser, and a 28 inch Vor’cha class.

They are apparently also working on smaller more "affordable" ($250ish) ships at a 10-12 inch scale, starting with the TOS Enterprise.

Coming soon from the Star Trek Magazine

The latest issue is out in the US and on its way elsewhere, TrekMovie have an extract from an article on their site, the magazine's facebook group has some more previews.

Beyond that, a recent interview with the Star Trek Magazine's editor Paul Simpson on Unreality SF gives us some hints at the content for future issues: "2010 kicks off with a Klingon focused issue, and we'll be celebrating fifteen years of Titan's Star Trek publishing as well as fifteen years of Voyager. We also have plans for tie-ins to the launch of Star Trek Online, which I hope will excite readers and maybe get some people looking at STO who wouldn't normally." Which is of course just a hint of the information from that article (read on).

Comics stuff

Various comics bits: Chris Ryall posted a showy page from last week's Romulans: Schism premier issue, well worth checking out:This week's Spock: Reflections got a whole six-page preview on Comic Continuum, here's one of them, featuring a familiar starbase design:Additionally David Messina has posted the same page on his blog without the text, as well as a page from Nero issue two.

Finally Comic Books Resources published an interview with Zander Cannon, the writer of the forthcoming new TNG series Ghosts, which he decribed as follows: "Ghosts' starts out as a routine rescue mission above a planet on which there are two feuding nations, one of which is a Federation ally. After rescuing the lone survivor of the disaster, the crew of the Enterprise finds that he seems to be haunted by phantoms, one of which he says is Captain Picard. While they unravel that mystery, the tensions heat up between the two nations, and the crew has to investigate claims of espionage, kidnapping, and murder while keeping themselves out of harm's way."

...and one more think, on the TrekBSS Keith R.A. DeCandido sneakily slipped out he has just handed a new comic script in to IDW (presumably for a Star Trek one...)

TOS season 3 on bluray

TVShowsonDVD have announced the details of the TOS third season bluray set, due in December. Notable extra features include several panels from this years comic con, and a newly released original alternate edit of the second pilot, Where No Man Has Gone Before! Full list of features, here.

Star Trek Online update

Lots of updates from the world of Star Trek Online lately; MMORPG have posted an article on the game explaining some of the features in it, and coming with four new screencaps, including these two:

The Star Trek Online website has also been updated, with a new ship; the Discovery class, a next generation Intrepid class with big tail fins...

The Path to 2409 has progressed, with a supplemental log implying Sela's gang of Romulans have made an alliance with the Hirogen. And the next year, 2392, featuring a Federation presidential election, more on the Gorn-Klingon War, and developments with the Cardassians and Romulan colonies.

And the Star Trek Online website also has a couple of new screencaps, like this one:

Schism #1 preview

TrekMovie have posted a five-page preview of next weeks first issue in the Romulans: Schism series, here's one page:

See the rest, at TrekMovie.

New ships in DAC for PC and PS3

Aaaaages after its initial release on X-Box 360 the new movie tie in Star Trek DAC is finally being released for PC and PS3 in November. Helping to compensate for the delay the new release features four new ships classes, with both sides now having "missile corvettes" and "support frigates" (which appears to be of the Kelvin-type for the Starfleet side) in addition to the original fighters, bombers, and flagships. Further additions include a new game play mode, new pick-ups and a new map!

Read the full press release at TrekMovie.

Final DVD/bluray art for new movie

TrekMovie have released the final artwork for the DVD and bluray releases of the new movie, which look like this:

Bluray:DVD, 2 disc:DVD, single disc:In the UK Amazon are offering the bluray and two disc DVD sets with a free copy of the Countdown comic. Plus you can get several variants as previously reported; Play.com's "steelbook", Amazon.com's set with a metal model of the Enterprise, and Best Buy's set with little badges.

Nero #2 preview

TrekMovie have posted a five-page-preview of next week's second issue in the Nero miniseries. Here's one page:
See the rest, here, along with covers for the issue and this omnibus cover:

The new animated series that never was

Zero Room Productions (the company behind the proposal for a new online animated Star Trek series a few years back) have but together a website detailing that animated series that never was, which was apparently to be titled "Final Frontier". The website goes into some detail on the production history, the in-universe background and designs for characters and ships: In a dark future following a major war, a rather less sleek than usual starship Enterprise patrols the borders of a Federation that has lost its way.

The series sounds fascinating, as is some of the design work, especially the new Enterprise, which works in a similar fashion to the idea of the original trilogy Star Wars designs being a step in a harder direction following the fall of a golden age.

I think the biggest loss here may not be so much the lack of a small animated series, but the loss of a quite interesting sounding future history for Star Trek, a little more involving that Star Trek Online's "EVRYONE IS AT WAR" set up... Anyway, you should check out the website for all sorts of interesting information on this Star Trek that never happened.

Ships?... update

Couple of random starship updates. The Round 2 blog has been updated with a post annoucing Andy Probert has done a new painting of the Vulcan shuttle from The Motion Picture for the re-release of the model kit. The art looks like this:
And Mark Rademaker has released a wallpaper of his USS Spirit starship from the Ships of the Line calendar:

Star Trek Online update

Cryptic seem to be busy pushing Star Trek Online recently, they've been showing off footage from the game at the GamesCom event in Germany, with some familiar ships (including the Scimitar-type, *gulp*) and a few interesting new ones:
They've also been showing off a demo, which Anthony Pascale of TrekMovie has reviewed, here.

And finally, a couple of screenshots from the Star Trek Online website:

Comics update: IDW in November and Crew omnibus

Comics Continuum have released IDW's solicitations for November, which feature three Star Trek comics and two omnibuses, including the first issue of the new TNG series, Ghosts.

Nero #4
Written by Mike Johnson and Tim Jones, art by David Messina.

From Star Trek writer/producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and the creative team behind the best-selling Star Trek: Countdown. The final issue contains the climactic confrontation between Nero and the elder Spock -- leading up to the cataclysmic destruction of Vulcan!

Romulans: Schism #3
Written and illustrated by John Byrne.

When the edges begin to fray, can the center hold for long? The alliance between the Klingons and the Romulans begins to collapse -- with the Federation squarely in the middle! John Byrne's Romulan Saga comes to a literally shattering conclusion!

Ghosts #1
Written by Zander Cannon, art by Javier Aranda.

Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise respond to a distress call and find a terribly wounded scientist aboard a marooned ship. While evaluating the planet below (and its two warring nations) for possible Federation membership, Picard discovers to his horror that the survivor of the disaster is foreseeing his death.

Archives #7: Best of Klingons

In stories like "The Wormhole Connection," "The Only Good Klingon...," "Errand of War," "Deadly Allies," "Maggie's World," and "Judgment Day," get a close look at the relationship between the Federation and Klingon Empire. These fierce, warring people present unique challenges to the Federation, and in these classic stories give a glimpse of what the future holds for Federation-Klingon relations.

Movie Omnibus

Star Trek's many movie adaptations are collected together for the first time in this Star Trek Movie Omnibus from IDW. Included are the three-part Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the one-shots Star Trek: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek: The Final Frontier, Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, and finally the newly created, three-part Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan from IDW.

Finally, in a post on his forums, John Byrne has revealed the omnibus book of his Crew series will include a pre-colored version of the third issue of the series, to show-off the pencil shading technique he began to use in that issue.

DVD update: limited editions, best ofs, and covers

Lots of new DVD news too. Amazon is now listing a new limited edition version of the bluray of the new Star Trek film, which for a bargain $90 ($130 rrp) you get an 8.5 inch solid metal model of the Enterprise, limited to 5000 copies. Fancy.

TrekMovie and TVShowsonDVD also report on two new Best of Collections for TOS and TNG episodes. Each release includes four episodes:

Best of TOS II
-Where No Man Has Gone Before
-Space Seed
-A Piece of the Action
-Journey to Babel

Best of TNG II
-Relics
-The Inner Light
-Cause and Effect
-Tapestry

They also report new details on the TOS Season 2 bluray, with updated box art featuring accurate science insignia and news on the special tribble disc: The TAS episode is HD from the original negatives (TAS bluray set on the way?), while the DS9 episode is upscaled because the episode was edited on tape. Ah well.

Finally Play.com are listing a box-set of the first ten Star Trek movies, with some very early box art, with some sort of 3D-looking TV era Enterprise on it...

Prose update: covers from a catalogue, blurbs and excerpts, and farewell Clark

*Gasp* So, mere months after Simon and Schuster ejected Marco Palmieri in cost cutting layoffs, Margaret Clark, who took on Palmieri's workload on top of the portion of Trek-lit. she was already responsible for has now been laid off as well in another round Pocket Books penny pinching! Which leaves Star Trek prose floating without an editor at the moment! According to TrekMovie everything so far announced will still be going ahead under different editors, who are as yet unannounced. Authors speculating on the TrekBSS have suggested Ed Schlesinger and Jennifer Heddle, from Pocket’s tie-in division, who have previously worked on Trek projects, might be candidates to take over.

Whoever takes over, experienced with Trek or not, I find this concerning, several ongoing series (DS9-relaunch, Vanguard, Titan, Project Full Circle Voyager books and indeed the whole post-Destiny era) surely need the guiding hand of an editor specifically familiar with those series, indeed editors who have crafted those series. They've already undoubtedly stumbled somewhat by the loss of Marco, and now face more hurdles with the loss of Margaret. Likewise Marco’s loss forced books to be pushed back and/or cancelled, can we expect to see more delays? I hope who ever takes over will have the time to make sue nothing is lost in transition!

Anyway, in other novel news; the next Pocket catalogue has been released; with some new blurbs and cover art for some of next years books:

Seven Deadly Sins
An all-new collection of engaging novellas showcasing the seven archetypal adversaries of the Star Trek universe.

Lust. Gluttony. Greed. Sloth. Wrath. Envy. Pride. These are the seven deadly sins of humanity...but humans are not the only creatures in the universe to surrender to their baser instincts. In the world of Star Trek, entire civilizations are driven by avarice, or anger, or insatiable hunger, or one of the other fundamental urges that have come to define these fascinating species.

Now, this edgy collection of original novellas explores these empires from the inside, delving into the qualities that shape their cultures and their worldviews, through characters as compelling
as they are provocative. These surprising and engaging tales feature all of Star Trek’s most prominent adversaries, including the Borg (gluttony), the Klingons (wrath), the Romulans (pride), the Cardassians (envy), the Ferengi (greed), the Pakleds (sloth), and the Mirror Universe (lust), and their adventures on the dark side of the Star Trek universe.

Inception
Blending the best of both the Star Trek television show and the movie, the story of a younger less experienced Kirk and Spock—and the two great loves of their lives, Carol Marcus and Leila Kalomi.

As man expands beyond explored space, the need to find a way to make inhospitable planets habitable grows greater. One young biologist, Carol Marcus, has a project that she believes can reshape planets. A young committed scientist, she dares to dream of a Federation where there is never any hunger and every world is a paradise. Her dream is shared by James Kirk, a young Starfleet officer and her lover. One of Carol’s more enthusiastic team members is botanist Leila Kalomi. Leila finds Carol’s passion contagious, and sparks the interest of the Enterprise’s science officer, Spock, who convinces her to join Project: Inception.

To Thine Own Self (previously annouced as The Children of Kings)
When the Orion syndicate holds the Enterprise’s doctor for ransom, Captain Pike must discover why the Orions no longer fear Starfleet in this new novel set in the classic Star Trek era.

A thorn in the side of civilized space travel for more than a hundred years, the Orion syndicate has gotten bolder. They are harassing more ships and daring to even tangle with smaller Starfleet vessels. When one of the leading members begs Captain Christopher Pike to let his doctor treat one of their own, Pike agrees. But it’s a trap, and the Orions take the doctor hostage. Captain Pike is left to wonder why, since the Orions know that Starfleet does not negotiate. Spock thinks perhaps they no longer fear the consequences, and if so, they must discover what has changed the Orions’ instinctual nature.

Unspoken Truth
Lieutenant Saavik—the compelling female Starfleet officer who is half-Vulcan, half-Romulan—struggles to discover where her loyalties lie.

A wild child, Saavik was left to die in a world so horrifying that it was dubbed Hellguard by those who dared to cling to life there. She was rescued by Spock who took the half-Vulcan half-Romulan child home to his parents, knowing only they could care for the troubled child. As an adult, Saavik followed Spock into Starfleet, but recent events have shaken her. When she comes home to Vulcan to find that other Hellguard survivors are being killed, she wonders if she can dare to call Vulcan home. And when forced to choose, can she embrace the pacifism of Vulcan or is the violence of Romulus her true nature?


In other cover news, the Drex Files has recently been updated with an entry on the cover for Vanguard: Precipice, with the final cover-art without titles, and several early concepts for the cover. Check it out, here.

And finally on the books front, TrekMovie have released an excerpt from the impressively long titled: Star Trek: Enterprise – The Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor’s Wings, which you can read, here.