Exclusive: IDW To Do Star Trek Movie Adaptation + Details On Comic-Con Countdown Exclusive

TrekMovie has just learned that IDW is preparing a comic book adaptation for the new JJ Abrams Star Trek movie, which will be their third comic series tied into the hit movie. We have more info on that below, plus details an the cover on a special Comic Con exclusive version of "Countdown".       

 
Star Trek: The comic book – to include cut scenes
From January to April of this year, IDW scored big with the four-issue "Star Trek Countdown" prequel to the Star Trek movie. That series was overseen by director JJ Abrams along with screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, with scripting by Tim Jones and Mike Johnson, and art by David Messina. Recently IDW announced that the same line-up will be doing a new "Nero" series, covering the Nero’s ‘lost years’ during the Star Trek movie. That series kicks off in August (see previous TrekMovie article).

Today TrekMovie learned that IDW will follow-up the "Nero" with comic book adaptation of the Star Trek movie, again put together by the same team (Orci, Kurtzman & Abrams overseeing, with scripting by Johnson & Jones, and art by Messina). The series will kick off in January 2010. Although the adaptation is coming months after the movie’s release, it looks like it will be worth the wait. IDW’s Transformers Revenge of the Fallen and GI Joe, adaptations are only four issues long (and their recent Wrath of Khan was only three issues), but the Star Trek film adaptation will be six issues long. According to IDW, they need the extra length so that they can include material that was cut from the final film. So the comics will actually be an adaptation of an extended cut of the movie.  

TrekMovie will have more details on this and the upcoming Nero series next week with an exclusive interview with Tim Jones and Mike Johnson. Look for that Comic Con weekend.

Comic Con exclusive Countdown #1
Speaking of Comic Con, IDW will be selling a special edition of Countdown #1, exclusively at Comic Con. Each issue features a new cover signed by Jones and Johnson, as well as a preview of the "Nero" series. The Comic-Con exclusive Countdown #1 costs $10 and IDW has 1,000 of the books to sell, starting on Wednesday at booth 1705 (they will be staggering availability over the weekend to make sure issues are available each day). Mike and Tim will be at the booth on Saturday from 10-11am Saturday doing live signing.


Cover for Countdown #1 Comic Con Exclusive

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I hope I can get them all here in Germany.

Hmmmm. Since Star Trek and Transformers comics are all under one roof… and since both big movies had the same writers, who have worked for that same comics company… You don’t think they might…

Nah.

Had tha’ first issue and thought it incuded bubble-gum.
No such luck. But that last page tasted mighty fine ne’er-tha’-less.

Awwwwwwk! Why does Pick-hard look like tha’ Reaper? I mean, we English do have some emotions, ye’ know… like stoic indignation, stoic pomposity, stoic rebuking a lower officer, stoic Borg slayin’, and stoic paintin’ o’ nude fairies…

Anyways, I’ll stick wit’ tha’ D-VD movie release fur’ me unfilled story- see Nero drop tha’ soap at that Klingon prison…

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…

Wow, awesome news.

After the incredibly abbreviated version of TWOK they did, it’ll be nice to see them do a fully fleshed out story this time.

Bold statement – you ready?

IDW has done almost as much to revitalize Trek to hardcore fans as Abrams and co.

No comics company has ever done so much this this license.

There – it had to be said.

How about:

Nero – The early childhood
Nero – Puberty is tough
Nero – The lost years
Nero….

I mean, who cares !#@$!

Nero fiddles wit’ his bowstring…

Uh, oh… I think Phoebe Cates saw him do it… Cinematic history!

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…

#5. Jordan from UGO…

I’ve gotta completely agree with what you wrote. IDW’s STAR TREK comics have been absolutely brilliant.

Anthony, any idea if they’ll issue a trade paperback compiling all six issues on the Trek movie?

Nice that the comic will have additional scenes, unlike the novelization, which only had the Spock birth scene. I also hope the comic is better written than the turgid novelization.

I wonder if Romulans suffer from pon farr?

Good news!

Being a huge fan of both Trek and TF I have to say I enjoyed Trek much more.

Maybe I just dont like Bay?

I await the comic with baited breathe and the certainty of enjoyment

So, waitaminute, we can get an extended cut of the comic book adaptation, but we can’t get an extended cut of the dang movie on DVD?

Fail!

(Oh, and I loved “Countdown”; I’ll probably get this….)

Anybody know why Countdown was offered as a digital download but none of their other Trek comics seem to be?

Just don’t care too much for the art, sorry.

Maybe I’m just too thick-headed, but I don’t get it.

The prequel I could see. I bought it and LOVED the backstory. The lost years is cool because it’s also new material. But a comic of the movie itself? Except for a few cut scenes, I’m no sure what the allure is…especially if the DVD comes out and has the cut scenes. That seems like a better buy–the movie itself–rather than a comic of it.

Enlighten me…this could be me just not getting the coolness of comics…

Hope we get a new comic series that starts after the new movie

Would be especially nice if the comic book adaptation’s deleted scenes can include the never-filmed Shatner Kirk hologram scene that would’ve been at the end of the movie. Turning the page to that would be just like the first time of seeing the DeForest Kelley cameo on the “ST:TNG” premiere episode.

Wouldnt this be IDWs 4th comic series tied to the movie? spock reflections?

#19 – agreed…lets see Kirk prime in this!!!

#7. British Naval Dude

God Man You are just Slaying Me Right now BND, HilARrrrrrious. Keep it up.

Oh Hey, That’s where the Story for The Movie is it’s in the comics…..why did I think It’d would be in the Movie!??

#20 Spock Reflections was kinda short, plus was contained inside a WIRED magazine. Not sure if you can count that independently. Although the artwork was, erm, bizarre (Vulcans looking more like jackrabbits, Uhura looking like neither Nichelle or Zoe, etc.) the story itself was superb and fit in well with the movie.

Did IDW release it separately and I missed that?

#5 and #8

I don’t know if I can agree with that. D.C. comics did some great things with the original cast. Between Star Trek 3 and 4, D.C. did what paramount didn’t have the balls to do…they put the crew on Excelsior and it was great. Although I wouldn’t have expected them to go that far, it would have been nice if they had of re-christened the Excelsior as Enterprise A. Kirk’s line of “my friends, we’ve come home” would have carried just as much weight. The spirit of what the enterprise stood for is what I felt they should have delivered, not an exact replica of the ship.

StevenPDX – July 15, 2009 – #17 –

Well put. I just don’t see the need for it.

24 – i always thought the Ent A shouldve looked a little different to the one from I-III….just a few extra bits added here and there…a pimped Enterprise like the Ent B was to the Excelsior…or even what the Abraprise is to TOS one. it felt a little bit of a cheat to get both Spock AND the Ent back looking exactly the same

23 – that wasnt Spock Reflections in the Wired mag.

#4 – agreed i was hoping to see some extra scenes in TWOK comics. like Khan torturing the scientists, Khan taking Reliant, maybe even a brief prologue showing Khans time on Ceti Aplha V (an ultra abriviated version of the Greg Cox novel) ….. I thought that was why it was gonna be in 3 issues not just one…but then i didnt figure on the issues being just a few pages long.

Any idea when the DVD release of the movie is due?

Will they be using latest star trek movie logo or continue using the tv version.

The bast news is that IDW didn’t tap Chee Ong to do the art for the film adaptation. He really stunk up the joint on TWOK.

best – d’oh!

I really liked the Countdown series. I have the TPB. IDW did a fantastic job. I can’t wait to read the ST 09 movie adaptation. I will interested in seeing which deleted scenes will be included in the comic.

I want the movie adaptation, as well as Spock Reflections (which sounds like the title of a cheesy album Nimoy might’ve released in the 70’s!) and Nero. What a great time to be a Trekkie who’s also a comics fan!

And I agree, putting in the Shatner scene would be the ULTIMATE easter egg, IDW!

I really look forward to the Nero series, but I’ll probably skip the movie adaption.

How about releasing comic book adaption the same time as the movie?

DURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR………..

Does anyone know if IDW plans to release the “Star Trek Crew” series as a graphic novel?

How about all three comics into one gignormous saga?

If The Original series Star Trek is the prime universe.

Does any one know what we are calling this awesome alternate time line?

Trekmove.com is my favorite star trek site.

I am glad someone is doing a comic book adaptation of the new movie it is a tradition that should be continued

#- indeed. its only insurrection and nemesis that havnt got any adaptations (and i cant see anyone bothering to do them..)

Daoud, re #23:

“Spock Reflections” is another forthcoming IDW project, a tie-in to the movie and featuring Ambassador Spock. The short comic you were describing, ie. from the issue of WIRED magazine (May 2009), was called “When Worlds Collide” by Paul Pope and Orci & Kurtzman.

#39 – Nemesis could actually be improved by a comic adaptation. But nothing could save insurrection. I just saw it on cable for the first time since I saw it in the theatre … and good god, that film is horrible. Well not horrible for a two-part episode of TNG, but pretty bad for a feature. Even the set dressing, make-up and cinematography looked like TV. Having seen Nemesis on cable several times, I am now convinced it is Insurrection that killed the franchise and not Nemesis. Had they appeared at the box office in reverse order, I’m certain Insurrection would have done better than Nemesis did following its disappointing predecessor.

6> After the incredibly abbreviated version of TWOK they did, it’ll be nice to see them do a fully fleshed out story this time.

With six issues, I would still rather have seen them strictly limit themselves to the movie itself, rather than adding in extra bits – a comics page is, unless you effectively go into a montage or have sixteen-panel grids, significantly less than a page-a-minute, and six issues is still only ~132 pages. There are still going to be heavy cuts to make it work (probably by way of trimming scenes down to the bare bones, especially in terms of dialogue, rather than by losing scenes entirely).

(Sorry, quoted 4, not 6 in post 42. Typo)

Insurrection was limited in it’s scale hence the obvious comparisons to a two part TNG episode but at least it was enjoyable. Nemesis on the other hand was ambitious in scope but the execution was horrible.

On a kind of related note…I just got IDW’s Star Trek Crew that John Byrne did. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend it. Byrne is really plugged into the details and nuances of the old show…even the show before that obviously never was. I can really appreciate that. And he reminds me it’s good to dream and be idealistic once again.

#44, hence the need for a better executed comic ;-)

“Insurrection” would be the most boring comic ever.