IDW Publishing presents a one-shot issue of their ongoing Star Trek series this week. Star Trek #13 features Cupcake in a poignant tale of what it really means to wear a red shirt in service to Starfleet. Spoilers and more after the break.
Star Trek #13
written by Mike Johnson, art by Stephen Molnar, colors by John Rauch, lettering by Neil Uyetake, creative consultant Roberto Orci, edited by Scott Dunbier
Story
Hendorff records a message for transmission to his parents, telling them about his life and work aboard the Enterprise. His story is woven with recollections of his first meeting with Kirk, the tragic encounter with Nero, his observations about friends like Uhura, and other crewmates, a difficult away mission where he was seriously injured protecting Commander Spock, and more. Most of all, Hendorff wants to reassure his parents. The stories they’ve heard about what it means to wear red, are just stories. When he and his colleagues in security put on the uniform, it isn’t fear they feel, it’s pride, and he’ll be fine.
Never trust a purple alien flower!
Review
Writer Mike Johnson presents a bottle episode in this one-shot story featuring Hendorff, dubbed Cupcake by Kirk, a security officer we first met in Star Trek (2009) as a cadet, who has also appeared in several previous issues of this series. At this stage, the meme of the redshirt has embedded itself in our brains, but Johnson’s story hits its target with ease, with compassion, and with some insight into the characters of Star Trek. No matter what we may think, redshirts are not the walking dead. Hendorff has chosen to serve and wear the red shirt. I’m all too certain that nearly everyone knows someone like him. Johnson’s point is well taken. Stephen Molnar’s art is terrific in this issue. He captures the spirit of every familiar character aboard the Enterprise. John Rauch does an equally good job with colors. The landing party scenes are particularly good. There are three covers for Star Trek #13. The retailer incentive photo cover features Chekov. Tim Bradstreet’s regular cover for issue #13 is all about the red shirt, rendered without faces, which, in a way, places Hendorff’s role on the ship in sharp relief. We’re getting to know him much better than your average security officer. If you recall, in the original series episode, The Apple, Ensign Hendorff dies quickly and without fanfare on Gamma Trianguli VI, from a plant that shoots thorns. You should pick up a copy of Star Trek #13, read it, then tell me, what do you think the future holds for alt-Hendorff?
Cover: Art by Tim Bradstreet
Cover RI A: Art by Tim Bradstreet, Cover RI B: Photo cover
Star Trek: Romulans Treasury Edition
story and art by John Byrne, colors by Leonard O’Grady, lettering by Neil Uyetake and Robbie Robbins, edited by Chris Ryall
Also available this week is a collection of John Byrnes’ Romulan tales. This 72-page, 9.25-inch x 14.25-inch oversize edition reprints Alien Spotlight: Romulans and Romulans: The Hollow Crown. If you missed out on Byrnes’ work the first or second time around, third time’s the charm. Like the DC and Marvel Treasury Editions of the 1970s and 1980s, this large format reprint shows off the artist’s work very nicely. If this is the start of a new format for IDW reprints, I think we’re in for a treat.
Cover: Art by John Byrne
These comics are available at your local comic shop this week along the with the first issue of Star Trek: The Next Generation – Hive, a four-issue mini-series. Keep an eye out for TrekMovie’s review of Hive #1. IDW Star Trek comics can also be purchased online. Preview PDFs are available for TrekMovie readers.
Star Trek #13
Star Trek: The Next Generation – Hive #1
Star Trek: Romulans Treasury Edition
| Star Trek #13 | Star Trek: The Next Generation – Hive #1 of 4 | Star Trek: Romulans Treasury Edition |
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| $3.59 September |
$3.59 September |
$8.99 September |
Mark Martinez is an obsessive-compulsive Star Trek comics reader and collector. You can visit his website, the Star Trek Comics Checklist for more than you ever needed to know about Star Trek comics.
Looking forward to reading it!
Third!
Ten days of absolutely NO news, and all we get is a review of a lousy 7 page comic book, that very few will buy and read. Yawn. Didn’t I hear they are going to make another Star Trek movie?… I seem to remember some sort of rumor along those lines… oh, right.. It’s a freaking secret.. god forbid, we actually get news about that.
I LOVES me some Star Trek Comics .
This news is much appreaciated .
Thanks Mark !
Love the art work. I think these are a good way to appeal to a certain demographic.
Yes, I’d like some movie news. Ah well. Still, good comic.
3 – ok this site is now blocked from you and your account deleted so you don’t need to be upset any longer. It’s ok, go about your normal life, without posting here again.
Will the Abramsverse comics ever have original art on the covers?
Star Trek ongoing 13 was a great read. I liked their take on redshirts and that they didn’t follow the cliches. I’m anjoying the comics more and more and can’t wait for the movie.
i’m assuming they are setting us up for a death of the character…
Hendorff Into Darkness
@6 o.O i think humor* was involved in @3’s posting but he does have a slight point. Its been very quiet around here lately though it’s not TM’s fault. you can just as an example of fail in getting -too- much information in the movie Prometheus…
as for the comics, didn’t someone mention that the comics from this particular arc/brand was given a lite tap oaf cannonisity? And does anyone know what the actor who plays ‘cupcake’ think about all this?
*The PW kneels and bows to the great and ethical TM enities. Please don’t punch me in the face…
Wow. These really look good.
IDW’s Star Trek is on my pick list at my local shop. Read this issue Wednesday afternoon and seriously got a little misty eyed at the end. So used to the two-parters of the series, I was caught off guard not just because it was a “bottle” issue but because it was so good! Just one minor illustration faux pax – incorrectly showing the black ringer color as part of the tunic rather than correctly as part of the black undershirt – but otherwise, a perfect story.
13- i was bothered by the same thing! maybe they were trying to make it seem like he was lazy and just had the 2 shirts together- i do that sometimes. But yes, it was a very good issue and really makes you love Hendorrf.
This is probably one of my favorite of the ongoing comics, I liked the fact the Uhura has maintained her friendship with Hendorff and that she is portrayed with a slightly sunnier temperament like original Uhura.
I wonder why Starfleet wanted Kirk to contact the natives in this, perhaps a hint at something bigger going on in Starfleet like in the new return of the archons one (with the Starfleet computer). I think these hints will be important in the next movie with something like section 31.
Also, the biggest coloring goof that I saw was when Kirk is supposed to be reasoning with the natives in the recap at the end, he is wearing a red shirt and his hair is colored wrong! You can tell its supposed to be Kirk by the stripes on his sleeve.
#3 – You seem to feel a sense of entitlement or something. The people in charge of this site do this for fun, and don’t owe you anything.
16 – This.
What is a ‘local comic shop?’ Is that like a ‘record store?’
Yeah, reading the comic books it does seem that the Starfleet of the “abramsverse” have some alterior motives. If Khan is indeed the main baddie in “Star Trek Into Darkness”, here’s my guess how the story will pan out:
Starfleet (an unknown ship, not The Enterprise) locates The Bottany Bay adrift in space with a frozen Khan (and entourage) on board. Following the attack of the Narada on Earth (and its attack on The Kelvin several years earlier), Starfleet’s gotten paranoid and fearful of being technologically inferior. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and recognizing that Khan is an amazing intellect, he’s secretly given an influential post in Starfleet, where he’s helping to make key strategic decisions while secretly plotting his own schemes.
This is the reason why Khan’s wearing a Starfleet emblem in the pictures from the set, and this also explains why Pike is being ordered to get Kirk in line in the comic book series leading up to “Star Trek Into Darkness”. Khan is, amazingly, calling the shots, and so the movie will not only feature a showdown between Kirk and Khan, but also between The Enterprise and Starfleet itself.
PS. By making the events of the first film influence Khan’s introduction to the 23rd century, it’ll be easier to give the story a whole new spin.
WE WANT THE TRAILER NOW!
I grew up with the Gold key comics (printed here in my hometown).. they went from beyond bad to ummmmm…. ok…they were cool to look at to a 12 yearold boy…most of the art was snagged from publicity stills ( a process IDW continuesto this day esp, in the ng-who crossover). Then onto Marvels and Didnt DC have the licsense for abit?
Trek and comics have never really geled. I thinks the fotonovels worked well. And (showing my age).. james van hise’s photo stories in Enterprise Incidents were always strong.
The idw books are they canon ? We were told that hintswere being .dropped.
one of my favorite issues so far. The part between Kirk and Cupcake is great and addressed some things that you’d think the characters would, realistically, think after he got promoted as Captain so young.
///spoiler
I like that Cupcake and Uhura are friends.His behavior with Kirk in the bar scene makes a bit more sense now but his reaction in the movie still is out of proportion and I feel like this portrayal of him kind of contradicts his portrayal in the movie. The “Cupcake”/Spock bit was good. My favorite line is when he commented that Uhura is the only one that makes Spock smile (and that “spock smile” there is perfect! he really does “smile” like that when he’s amused) that was sweet especially because the reader, unlike him, knows that they have a relationship. I think that he, along with all the other crew members but Kirk, Scotty and Bones, doesn’t know it since Spock and Uhura are keeping their interactions professional while at work (plus they have pre-conceptions about the vulcan commander). I like that, it’s challenging.
I agree. It was a great issue. Highly recommended.
#19 – I’m intrigued by your musings. I think your interpretation of the change to Starfleet’s “outlook” given recent history is bang on. Can’t wait for this movie. I think we are in for a real treat!
I wait a month for the price to come down to 1.99. But I have loved every issue, especially as we see a bigger divergence from the Prime Universe with each issue.
I hope we see more interiors of the Enterprise. Also, last issue had Rand in it. I wonder if that who Alice Eve plays in the new movie? Possibly one of th clues?
Keep em coming boys! The first comic series I have followed since the 1960’s!
“I’m all too certain that nearly everyone knows someone like him.”
Americans, with their militarised empire, might. Those of us in the rest of the world probably won’t since only a minority join the military now, thank heavens. I therefore doubt this comic will sell well internationally.
#22: There have been many great Trek comics over the years. DC had the license for 12 years and produced hundreds of comics, most of which were stellar. Paramount Comics, Wildstorm and IDW have since published other great stories, and the L.A. Times’ four years worth of daily strips were great fun. You’re basing your opinion of Star Trek comics on Gold Key and Marvel, which were basically the low point of Trek comics history, and only a small percentage of the total number of comics published over the years–there have been close to 900 to date.
Oh, and Malibu also did a very good job–I forgot to mention them.
#22 … Yes, they are supposed to be canon in the new universe per BOB. They will lead directly to the rumored next movie. ;)
#26. .. I just deleted what I was going to say. This forum is not the place.
#26. I certainly hope there aren’t that many tanks on the road today in militant America. Pesky armored convoys and war games and strafing runs often keeps one from getting to the local comic shop. It really is vexing, I must say.
Nevertheless, long live the empire!
I really hope that Star Trek does not become more militarized than it has done. It may have won a few more fans, but people like my father-in-law don’t want to know about these later iterations because they appear too flashy, fast paced and more militaristic in tone. Apart from his eye problems, we can’t get him to watch the latest Star Trek movie DVD. It is the militaristic nature of Stargate, for instance, that has not made want to watch any of that series, even though most episodes (especially at the beginning) were really good.
Then again, he *lived* through the Depression, WW2, America’s military involvement in other countries since then. His brothers fought in WW2. Maybe he just feels a bit overloaded because if we don’t hear/see/read about America’s military activities and roamings in real life, we are sure to get militaristic stuff within the realm of television and movies, especially in those coming from the US.
When Star Trek first came to our TV screens in b/w, this man was working fulltime, studying Anthropology part time at Auckland University and had a wife and two sons, one of them my better half. He was a busy man. However, come Thursday night 8.00pm, he would stop everything, sit down and watch TOS Star Trek. Apart from the nightly news, this was the only TV programme he would watch – without fail! The kids could stay up to watch as well and as they were doing that, I was doing the very same in another part of Auckland.
I hope the real Roberto Orci reads this. I am just giving a perspective from a different viewpoint/place.
#24, agreed – can’t wait!
#32 fully agree. Well said.
I loved issue 13, one of the best Trek comics in a while & the best of this series yet. Only 1 complaint about the new monthly: no scantily clad alien babes! Come on get with it already! And can we please have more Molnar or Corroney artwork? Their art is awesome!
What about the alien nurse Cupcake wakes up next to?
It is curious. At the top of the site, there is no tab for “Star Trek 2 — 2013 movie” but there is one for the 2009 movie.
Nice to see Mike Johnson getting some well deserved praise–of course, I read a (glowing) review on another site, first.
Way to go, Mike! The Tribble tribute and the Red shirt salute are trumping my initial low expectations, and I couldn’t be more thrilled or appreciative.
Not ready to write off TM, yet, but it’s not my first stop for Trek news, anymore, and other site administrators seem more deserving of fan loyalty. The only reason to keep coming back here is to see who has what to say, and by that, of course, I mean fellow, often belligerent, fans. Granted, there may be no big news, but other sites are still doing the work of reporting what is out there.
@19
So…… Star Trek Insurrection II? That actually sounds eerily similar to the Babylon 5 Earth Alliance Civil War Storyline. You have the Earth Alliance government scheming with some beings, all along slowly creating a totalitarian dictatorship. I wonder if this universe is going down that route… THAT would be most interesting to see.
beginning to wonder if this sight wasup anymore…Needs me some TREK!
what’s going on with that MOVIE?!
I’ll wait until it comes out in a 2 volume set, but yes, I’ll definitely buy this. I enjoyed the previous IDW new ST books. They were better than I thought they would be.
I particularly enjoyed the “Where No Man Has Gone Before” and “Operation Annihilate” adaptations; liked how they used the Abramsverse Trek to further enhance the character aspects of these familiar stories and make them not quite what we expect (ditto the ending of “Galileo Seven”).
The IDW special photo covers are just getting more and more mysterious. Here’s an issue about Redshirts, and the photo cover is of … Chekov? Then there’s the recent “Tribbles” issue that had a special photo cover of Sulu … who doesn’t appear in the story.
#32
I’m always a bit puzzled by this observation. What makes the new movie more ‘militaristic’ than TOS?
Oh! This is fantastic!
I was hoping they would do something with the minor characters introduced in the film. :)
The only thing that would make this better is if he shows up on the sequel, right along the Maddie (the silver-eyed alien) and Gaila (if she somehow, survived ).
…Or if they expand the official movie website with some world and minor character bios.
I live for minutia like that! :D
“Ten days of absolutely NO news, and all we get is a review of a lousy 7 page comic book, that very few will buy and read. Yawn. Didn’t I hear they are going to make another Star Trek movie?… I seem to remember some sort of rumor along those lines… oh, right.. It’s a freaking secret.. god forbid, we actually get news about that.”
AGREED !!!!!
#32 and #44-
Well said, Rose! (as in Keachick). That was a moving story about your father and his love of Star Trek and it’s non-militaristic tone. I too hope Mr. Orci reads it.
#44-
I can’t tell you why others think the new movie is more militaristic that TOS, but I can say why I think it is more militaristic. The new movie’s story, and I think its message, is very different from TOS. In Roddenberry’s TOS, many stories were about how potential enemies and conflicts could be addressed through understanding the other side’s POV and not demonizing “the Other.” Examples of this are with the Horta, or with what happened in the ending of “The Corbomite Maneuver.” In the new movie, Nero is just bent on revenge, and he is blowing up planets, and we have to kill him before he blows up Earth. It’s a simple, non-philosophical, militaristic message (“Kill them before they kill you”) that is typical of any ephemeral, easily forgotten action movie. It’s very militaristic. It is not at all like the best of TOS in that regard.
@3. it’s a comic that ties into the next movie and the series will lead into it… and you’re complaining about this?
What do you want, exactly? If we had new news of the movie every three days, we’d know everything about the darned thing by about, say, October?
#47
” It’s a simple, non-philosophical, militaristic message (“Kill them before they kill you”) that is typical of any ephemeral, easily forgotten action movie. It’s very militaristic.”
GarySeven, as someone currently serving in the military (25 years), I can’t help but be a bit offended in how you use the term “militaristic”. Military force is not exclusive offensive, it’s primarily defensive.
I’m not sure why you would object to the military attempting to kill Nero since it would clearly be DEFENSE rather than OFFENSE. After all, Nero had already killed billions and aspired to kill trillions.
Attempting to “Kill them before they kill you” would never seem more appropriate.
Would you prefer the miltiary not do anything while Earth was destroyed (Nero’s intent)?
Sorry, but people automatically assuming anything “militaristic” is a bad thing is getting old. Like me.
Regards.
@3. Bored, Bored, Bored with Star Trek. – September 21, 2012:
“Ten days of absolutely NO news, and all we get is a review of a lousy 7 page comic book, that very few will buy and read. Yawn”
Sure, TM’s failed to report minor news (disappointing), but what’s happened in the world of Trek in the last 10 days that has warranted more attention than this review? You may not be interested, but others look forward to the comic reviews. The comics, are, after all, one of the view things “Ongoing” (or going on) in Trek, now, besides super secretive editing/finishing.