IDW's December Star Trek comics

IDW have released their December solicitations, which include three new Star Trek comics, plus an omnibus book. Those include the start of the new Starfleet Academy series, and the final issues in the Green Lantern crossover, and mirror universe arc in the ongoing series! Continue below for all the details those, and other Star Trek comics news.

Starfleet Academy #1
Written by Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott, with art by Derek Charm.

A bold new chapter for STAR TREK begins here, in an all-new series that shows you what life is like for cadets at the galaxy's greatest school! Witness the student days of the iconic cast before they joined the Enterprise, immediately before the blockbuster 2009 film! Plus, meet an all-new group of students as they embark on bold new adventures of their own! The first new characters in the STAR TREK movie universe make their mark here, as we lead up to next summer's blockbuster movie!

This is the first of what will be a five-part series, although Mike Johnson has suggested there is the potential for it to continue if it goes well. There will be three covers, the main one by Derek Charm, a subscription variant by Jen Bartel, and further variant by Elsa Charretier. The first two of those have been released so far (and a tease of the third was shared recently). Note the A cover has been substantially reworked from the previously released artwork.

On Twitter, Jen Bartel, the artist of the second cover here, has shared some of development work for the design, including the layout sketches below, and some character profiles. Check out Twitter to see everything.

Star Trek (nuTrek ongoing) #52 - 5 Year Mission: Mirror universe arc, part 3
Written by Mike Johnson, with art by Tony Shasteen.

It's the explosive conclusion to the Mirror Universe epic, as Kirk and Spock face off against their evil doppelgangers with the fate of two realities at stake! Who will live, who will die, and what role will the Mirror Universe Khan play in the endgame? Don't miss this all-new adventure starring the cast of the new STAR TREK movies!

This issue will have two covers, the main is by Tony Shasteen, featuring female Khan/Jesus:

The second, subscription cover, is one of a series IDW are doing in December: Variants inspired by Archie Comics, to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of that series. The Star Trek cover is by Dan Parent. You can see the other Archie-covers, including Back to the Future, The X-Files, and several others, on IDW's Tumblr.

Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War #6
Written by Mike Johnson, with art by Angel Hernandez

It's the final chapter of the crossover event of 2015! The dead have risen. Heroes have fallen. The last survivors of Starfleet and the Lantern Corps join together to fight the greatest threat the galaxy has ever known. Who will be left standing? Don't miss the shocking events that will change the future of both franchises forever!

You can hear Mike Johnson discussing the crossover series on The Podcast of Oa, which comes at the series mainly from a Green Lantern fan point-of-view, but also explores how Johnson approached the crossover, and some of his decisions in which characters and species have appeared, from both realities. One thing of note is that Johnson seems keen to continue the story in a sequel series, with a door being left open in this final issue to let that happen, if all goes well.

There will by three covers for this final issue in the crossover series, although IDW only released one in their solicitations, the A cover by Stephen Mooney:

You can see this cover without the titles on colourist Tamra Bonvillain's Twitter. A variant cover for this issue comes from Cat Staggs, who has also shared the artwork pre-titles being added, on her blog; it's a lovely homage to Bob Peak's The Motion Picture poster:

Continuing his series of subscription covers for the whole series will by Garry Brown. There is no preview of his cover for this issue yet, but he has previewed his artwork for the fifth issue on his DeviantART, shown her at the inked stage:

Star Trek: The John Byrne Collection
Written and illustrated by John Byrne.

Comics legend John Byrne brings new form to the Star Trek universe in this collection of tales from the final frontier. Includes Alien Spotlight: Romulans, Assignment: Earth, Romulans: Balance of Terror, Romulans: The Hollow Crown, Crew, Romulans: Schism, and Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor.

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

This is a paperback edition of the John Byrne omnibus released in 2013 in hardcover. Another Byrne omnibus is on the way in February next year, according to the latest Amazon listings, that is the third in the New Visions photocomic series. They have a blurb noting the issues included, while Byrne shared his cover concept for a the book a little while back.

John Byrne presents all-new, feature-length tales set in the Star Trek: The Original Series universe, done in a unique, one-of-a-kind photomontage style. Collects the stories "Resistance," featuring The Borg; "1971" where Captain Kirk is sent 200 years into the past to meet Gary Seven; and in "The Survival Equation" killer androids start showing up by the dozen!

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

For full listings of all the upcoming Star Trek comic releases, and links to my previous coverage, hit the comics button on my 2015 schedule page. You can also find further comics series reading lists on Trek Collective Lists.