In addition to the final issue of "Star Trek: Countdown (see review), IDW also released the second issue of John Byrne’s pre-TOS series "Crew" focusing on the enigmatic "The Cage" character ‘Number One.’ We have a review of that plus a preview of next week’s IDW Trek comic and details on the first comic set after the JJ Abrams Star Trek movie.
CREW #2 REVIEW
This is the second issue of John Byrne’s "Crew" miniseries. Coming a mere two weeks after the first issue, "Shakedown". Last time, Number One (not yet called that) was on the initial cruise of the Enterprise. This week, she finds herself on the USS Fortune (NCC-805) in orbit around Tau Alpha III, from where they’ve recently received a distress call. That distress call turns out to have been the lure to a trap, and the Fortune is attacked by unnamed aliens.
Our heroine, an Ensign still, finds herself alongside Breen and Griggs, trapped in a badly damaged portion of the ship, trying to get back to safety. The story begins with Breen and our heroine outside the ship before jumping back fifty-eight minutes for a flashback. Byrne then plays out the story, sometimes page by page, in both time streams, moving forward until the whole story is told. Comparisons to "Pulp Fiction" and other similar movies have been drawn, but they tend to jump around, whereas this is a case of telling the story from two time perspectives straight through. Confusing at first, but elegant in it style.
Use #37 for a mass of holograms… filling out crowds in sparsely filled arenas? (click to enlarge)
Byrne, as per usual, provides the art for his own work, filling backgrounds of the space panels with thousands of stars and showing the wreckage inside the vessel later in the issue in great detail. Heck, he even manages to find a reason to show off Number One (still unnamed as of the end of this second issue) out of her uniform and jumpsuit. The equipment used looks older than that seen in the Original Series era, which fits the story’s timeline. There is, however, an interesting moment later on, when we see an alien ship that looks suspiciously like something from the Next Generation era, something a bit unusual for Byrne, who tends to concentrate in the Original Series era, as evidenced by his past stories and releases.
Byrne provides both covers for this issue and, like the first issue, the cover has a silhouette of the starship in the story itself filled with an image from within the book. One is colored by Tom Smith, who appears to be one of Byrne’ favorite colorists at IDW (the other being Len O’Grady), while the other, the retail incentive version, is a sketch version of the same drawing.
Number One in her underwear… very utilitarian… (click to enlarge)
No matter how you look at it, this series is John Byrne’s love letter to Majel Barrett and her Number One character, even to the point where each issue is dedicated to her. The character is growing each issue, and hints as to why she is in the position during Pike’s tenure on the Enterprise in "The Cage" can be seen in each of the first two issues of this story. Well worth the read.
Regular and dealer incentive cover for "Crew" #2
(click to enlarge)
Star Trek Crew #2 is available in comic stores now. You can order both covers from TFAW. You can also order issue 1 and pre-order #3 & #4.
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COMICS NEWS
"Missions End" #2 preview
Coming up next week from IDW is the second issue of "Star Trek Mission’s End". IDW have sent us a preview of the first five pages, check it out.
(Star Trek Mission’s End #2 cover & first five pages – click to enlarge)
Mission’s End #1 (of 5) is available in comic stores now (see our review) and Issue #2-4 can be pre-ordered at TFAW.
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"Spock’s Reflections" – first post-ST09 comic
Lastly today, former IDW editor Andrew Steven Harris reported on his blog that IDW will be releasing a book in July set after the events of the new JJ Abrams Star Trek movie. As the "Star Trek Countdown" prequel was set entirely in the TNG universe, this new book titled "Spock: Reflections" will be the first comic tie-in set in the universe of the new movie. According to Harris, "It looks to be set in the new, post-film timeline established by the rebooted continuity. It should hit shelves sometime around July, just in time for the San Diego Comic-Con." Reflections will feature art by David Messina and will be written by the Tipton brothers (Klingons: Blood Will Tell and Mirror Images). An image from this series was teased by IDW Editor-in-chief Chris Ryall’s blog last week.
"Spock: Reflections" tease
Oh dear. They got Enterprise in my Star Trek with that male Orion cover!
i think these look radd
The Mission’s End artwork is great! Especially the cover of issue #1! Looks like Kirk’s face in on cover of issue #2 is drawn from reference material that’s a reverse photo image. Note Kirk’s hair parted the wrong way and facial features also are indicative of a reverse image. Nice, though!
These Star Trek comics are looking pretty neat, well worth a read to get my mind off the wait for ST : TFB
If I have any quibbles at all, it’s that these new comics are coming out way too fast…one issue quickly follows another. I’m running out of quatloos.
And I passed entirely on buying any of the new movie toys cuz of cost. Of course my excuse is, “it’s not my daddy’s Star Trek.” Or my hopes exactly for a new re-inventing or vision for Star Trek.
Although I look forward to the new movie, I would prefer designs closer to the original series, especially exterior of ship and interior bridge. Altered timeline won’t explain why Prime Spock doesn’t think young Kirk or Spock look different!!
I don’t think it would have destroyed the creditiblity of the film if Chris Pine did a few Shatnerisms.
And I think I’ll feel the same way after I see the film.
That’s why Borders is sucha nice place. At least in my local one, they have the funny books situated conveniently next to the cafe. Dishonest? Perhaps. But Boarders has NEVER asked me to stop reading and go get a life.
I’ve been out of the comics loop for so long…
…what the heck is a “dealer incentive” cover, and why is it black & white?
#7
“Retailer Incentive” covers are special limited editions in far fewer numbers than regular covers, so they become collector’s items. Usually, they’re given to retailers based on the number of regular copies they order (for example, one RI cover for every 10 regular copies ordered, or (more rarely) one for every 25, etc). Retailers can then sell these at a premium, because they’re harder to find, and thus an “incentive” to order more copies.
The RI covers sometimes use rare, unusual artwork (for example, the X-Men #141 homage that we did for Last Generation #1, or the “Captain Peter David” cover that I commissioned for New Frontier #1), but sometimes they’re what are called “sketch editions”, which is just the line art without any color.
These are popular with retailers because, with bright white covers, they stand out on the back wall behind the register, where comics shops usually display their limited editions; but they’re also really popular with publishers, because it means they don’t have to pay to commission an extra cover. (Which, yeah, they actually really like a lot. :) )
I absolutely LOVE IDW’s Trek comics!
It’s Tom Hanks in “Missions End” #2 :P
Cool! I like what IDW and Byrne are doing. I’ve always thought there was so much to mine from TOS. Stuff that seemed to be perfectly set up for someone – the blueprint already there – hings I just waited week after week for them to do on TNG. Look forward to seeing what he’s done.
off topic. I just seen a new Trailer for Trek. Realy kool. Has anyone else seen it. It had more of the bar fight scene. It starts where a guy says to Kirk. There are 4 of us and one of you and Kirk says. Well then gets some more guys and then it will be even!. Loved that line by Capt Kirk. it then shows a bit of Him kicking there arse!!!!.
ABOUT “NUMBER ONE” ……..
I just KNOW I read, in a novel somewhere a few years ago, a segment of the book where the author actually gave her NAME. Yes, that’s right: somewhere I read her NAME, instead of just Capt. Pike calling her “Number One” all the time. And I think, if I recall correctly, it was someone below-decks, and not Chris Pike. (??) Does ANYone know what the name of that novel might be, and also the name the author chose to give her — and [from where] the character’s “actual” name was inspired? Thanks. (Sometimes I think my memory is as long as a tick.)
13. Could that be the book that Dorothy Fontana wrote about Captain Pike? Can’t think of the title…but do a name search on novels by Fontana. It featured Pike and crew, including Number One.
#13
I’ve read some threads about Number One’s name on other boards, and apparently, several different novels have given the character several different names.
Might do a wiki search on the character. Byrne says that while he will not give the character a name in his mini, he thinks of her as “Majel” when writing.
I myself, along with a certain segment of fandom, always thought of Number One as the characters name. Mainly because I was a kid, and as a kid, even in the early 70’s….a fair amount of futuristic characters had names with numbers on them. Like Charlie-27 or Logan-3, etc. So it wasn’t a real stretch to think she just came from some other planet where people had funny number names.
Even tho I found out that that was a nick name for first officers much much later, I still think of Number One as her name. One of the few illogical holdover’s from my childhood years.
13. “Vulcan’s Glory” is the book I’m thinking of.
“the rebooted continuity”
I guess that means JJ’s trek is erasing TOS.
damn it!
I’ve always thought that maybe Number One’s last name might be Chapel, as in big sister of a certain nurse who for some reason chose Starfleet as a means of searching for Roger Korby. Maybe Commander Chapel recommended Nurse Chapel or a posting on Enterprise. This wasn’t my original idea I got it from one of those “Best of Trek” books way back in the day. By the way, these comics all look great.
John Byrne used to be the best there was in comic book art and now he draws like a hack. He doesn’t even pencil anymore. Now he blue-lines and ink right over it, and puts speech bubbles down first so he has less to draw on a page. The art looks like he was in a hurry to finish. Trek deserves better.
17. “I guess that means JJ’s trek is erasing TOS”
Nope, my TOS DVDs are still here in my TV cabinet and they don’t seem to vanish into thin air… I guess they will be also there in 2010.
#19: Far be it from me to really have to defend John Byrne, but you don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. If he’s doing what you say, then he’s doing it the traditional way, the way it was done for decades until about five years ago when DC finally stop using hand-letterers: Pencils, then lettering right on the boards, then inks over the pencils. Digital lettering is a fairly recent development.
And lots of comic book artists use blue pencil– including myself– because you don’t have to erase it as much. Erasing over India ink can sometimes make it come off the paper a little.
As far as your opinion of how it looks, it’s entirely subjective, and you’re entitled to it. But with regard to technique, you don’t know the man, you don’t know what he does for sure, and it’s pretty obvious you don’t know how comics are made.
Which, of course, doesn’t stop you from acting as if you do.
Number One’s name in the comics series “Star Trek: Early Voyages”, circa 1997, was Robbins. No first name was given.
The Enterprise goes to… Apokalips?
So, the only thing we know about this new Spock book is that Spock is in it, and there’s a cool design of the IDIC pin he wore in that episode with Pulaski playing the (spoiler) blind woman.
Am I right, that is the IDIC symbol?
22-
I just discovered Early Voyages.
Just read #4-5 story arc explaining the change in Spock between the Cage and TOS.
I loved it.
I’m beginning to think Early Voyages is the best Trek Comic there ever was (hurray Marvel). To bad it was cut short in the middle of a cliff hanger…typical.
24. SpocksinnerConflict:
You are discovering what I hope other folks will also see as a great fleshing-out of the Pike era. The Early Voyages comic books do just enough to show what an episodic TV version of Pike’s Star Trek would be, without spoiling all the mysteries (like Number One’s full name).
#24–
Yep, that’s the IDIC.