IDW April solicitations, plus more omnibuses on the way

TrekMovie have posted details of IDW's Star Trek comics coming in April, and it's a bumper month, with extra re-releases timed to ride the publicity wave as the release of Star Trek Into Darkness approaches. Read down for news of other omnibuses releases coming later in the year as well. But first, coming in April:

The Star Trek ongoing series hits it's twentieth issue in April, which means it has surpassed all but one of Marvel's Star Trek comic series in length now, having just pushed the 19-issue Starfleet Academy series down to being the seventh longest running Star Trek series. To get the number five slot it will need beat Marvel's 32-issue DS9 series. Then it's in for a really long wait, to get to the first DC TOS series' 56 issues, Gold Key's 61, and the second DC TOS and DC TNG series' equal 80 issue records!

Star Trek (ongoing) #20
Written by Mike Johnson, art by Claudia Balboni, cover art by Tim Bradstreet, plus sketch and photo covers.

The all-new origin stories of the Enterprise crew conclude with this special issue that focuses on TWO Trek Stalwarts: Sulu and Chekov! Witness their first meeting at Starfleet Academy, and learn how their paths intertwined all the way to the bridge of the Enterprise! Overseen by Trek writer/producer Roberto Orci, this issue sets the stage for Sulu and Chekov’s new adventures in the blockbuster film sequel!

Also out in April is a Star Trek ongoing Treasury Edition large-format omnibus. This is the second Star Trek Treasury Edition from IDW, the previous included the first half of John Byrne's Romulan saga. I wonder if the choice of issues here is significant; we're told the ongoing comic series has been laying out hints towards Star Trek Into Darkness, and this collection does include the most obvious could-be-hint of the series so far, at the end of the new The Return of the Archons.

Star Trek Space-Spanning Treasury Edition
Written by Mike Johnson, art by Stephen Molnar, cover art by Tim Bradstreet

IDW continues to boldly go where no comic book company has gone before—producing beautiful treasury editions of comics deserving of a BIG format! Collecting three issues that tell two complete stories, featuring one story inspired from the original series as well as one completely new tale! Great stories by ace Trek scribe Mike Johnson and stupendous art by Stephen Molnar featuring THE RETURN OF THE ARCHONS and THE REDSHIRTS STORY!

Elsewhere in the nuTrek world, Countdown to Darkness finishes in April, and gets a prompt omnibus release:

Countdown to Darkness #4
Written by Mike Johnson, art and cover by David Messina, plus 1/5 photo-covers, and a CGC graded cover.

This is it! Don’t miss the shocking conclusion of this official prequel to next spring’s STAR TREK film sequel! Overseen by STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci, this climactic issue leads directly into the upcoming blockbuster as Kirk, Spock and the rest of the Enterprise crew fight for fate of the Galaxy!

Countdown to Darkness omnibus
Written by Mike Johnson, art and cover by David Messina.

The countdown to the motion picture event of 2013 begins here, in this blockbuster 4-issue prequel mini-series that sets the stage for the upcoming STAR TREK film! Like the best-selling STAR TREK: COUNTDOWN in 2009, this all-new series leads directly into the next movie, with a story by STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci and Mike Johnson (STAR TREK ongoing series), and drawn by the original STAR TREK: COUNTDOWN artist, David Messina! STAR TREK: COUNTDOWN TO DARKNESS is the can’t-miss lead-in to the new adventures of the Enterprise crew!

Here's the first look at the combined Countdown to Darkness cover quartet:

Pre-order: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.co.jp.

Also out in April is the new John Byrne mega-omnibus, including all his IDW Star Trek work:

John Byrne Collection omnibus

Comics legend John Byrne has taken on four Star Trek titles, all collected in this oversized hardcover collection. Assignment Earth recounts the adventures of interstellar agent Gary Seven, Crew recounts a tale from the very beginnings of the United Federation of Planets, Leonard McCoy: Frontier Doctor is a collection of tales from this famous member of the Frontier Medics Program, and mystery, intrigue, and war abound in Romulans: Pawns of War.

Awesome new cover by John Byrne for this:

Pre-order: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.co.jp.

A couple of new Star Trek omnibuses coming later in the year from IDW have also appeared on Amazon recently:

The DC release of Beginnings

June will see Star Trek Classics Volume 4: Beginnings, the fourth book in IDW's Classics omnibus collection. Like all the books in the series so far is repeat of a Star Trek comic omnibus previously released - In this case DC Comics' Beginnings, which collects the first ever six-issue TNG comic miniseries. Here is the blurb from Amazon:

Reprints the very first comics adventures from The Next Generation and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Set during their earliest voyages, join Picard, Riker, Data, Worf, Troi, Yar, and Laforge as they learn about eachother and encounter: A de-powered Q who seeks refuge aboard the Enterprise as he attempts to learn what it means to be mortal; A world where warriors see battle as a child's game; A world with dark secrets that threaten both the ship and crew, and more.

Pre-order: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca.

Shortly after, in July, is another omnibus re-issue, this time it's IDW's own Star Trek/Legions of Super-Heroes crossover series. This was released as a hardcover omnibus last summer, so if you prefer your books a bit floppier (but not as floppy as the individual issue releases) then this is your chance to get the paperback version of the very enjoyable series.

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