New York Comic Con kicked off today, and IDW Publishing made some news by announcing a series of one-shot issues celebrating their 20th anniversary, including a special Star Trek comic featuring Jean-Luc Picard, decades before his time on the USS Enterprise.
Star Trek: IDW 20/20
In January 2019, IDW will celebrate 20 years of publishing comic books with a weekly series of five “20/20” one-shot comics from some of their key franchises, including Star Trek. Each 20/20 title will tell a story set 20 years in the past or 20 years in the future. The Star Trek: IDW 20/20 dips into the time before Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Here is the official synopsis of Star Trek: IDW 20/20
“Twenty years before he took command of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D, Jean-Luc Picard sat in the captain’s chair of the U.S.S. Stargazer. Picard served with distinction aboard the Stargazer for many years on his way to becoming the most respected captain in Starfleet. But in this early mission, Picard shows us a vulnerable side as well as glimpses of the brilliant tactician he would become.”
The cover for Star Trek: IDW 20/20 features a younger Jean-Luc Picard (with hair) in command of the USS Stargazer, flanked by Jack Crusher and Beverly Crusher, née Beverly Howard.
The special issue is being penned by author Peter David, known for writing over two dozen Star Trek novels and novellas, including his own New Frontiers series and the best-selling Imzadi. David has also written a number of Trek comic books over the decades, but this is his first collaboration with IDW since the Star Trek: New Frontier: Turnaround series in 2008. Art for Star Trek: IDW 20/20 is being done by fan-favorite J.K. Woodward, who worked with David on the Turnaround series as well as IDW’s recent Star Trek: The Next Generation Mirror Universe comics.
One nice detail on the cover of Star Trek: IDW 20/20 is the use of the uniform from Cadet Beverly Howard Crusher action figure from Playmates in the 90s.
Playmates Beverly Howard Crusher figure
Comic goes 20 years into Picard’s past as new show is set to go 20 years into his future
This new series was actually first teased two months ago at the IDW panel at Star Trek Las Vegas. At the panel, IDW’s new group editor Denton Tipton told the Vegas crowd, “We may be doing something in the near future that’s set in the past of the future…so we may be getting Picard with some hair.” He also showed an image of Patrick Stewart’s screen test with a wig to tease this more coiffed Picard.
Slide shown at STLV teasing early Picard comic
The Star Trek: IDW 20/20 one-shot may not be official canon, but could be seen as a bookend for the upcoming CBS All Access series featuring Sir Patrick Stewart returning to the role of Jean Luc-Picard. The unnamed Picard series is set 20 years after Star Trek: Nemesis, and is in development now, with a writers room currently at work.
One of the members of the Picard show writers’ room is Kirsten Beyer, who is also a Star Trek author and works closely with IDW on their Star Trek: Discovery tie-ins, so it is not impossible to imagine there could be some synergy between this comic and the new Picard series. And if the new Picard series ever needs someone to play young Picard, actor James McAvoy has already put his name forward.
Patrick Stewart and the Picard show writers room in September (Photo: Twitter/Patrick Stewart)
More from NYCC and IDW to come
New York Comic Con has just kicked off. TrekMovie is there, and we will be bringing you more news on everything related to Star Trek, including anything else IDW has up their sleeve, and of course the big Star Trek: Discovery panel on Saturday.
Fascinating.
Still an ensign in that artwork… Wonder why an ensign is in center seat…
Yeah! Could be an interesting story behind that…
Picard had hair!?!?
“One of the members of the Picard show writers’ room is Kirsten Beyer, who is also a Star Trek author and works closely with IDW on their Star Trek: Discovery tie-ins, so it is not impossible to imagine there could be some synergy between this comic and the new Picard series.”
Make it so please! :)
I said this before but it would be great to do a comic to fill in the background a bit of what’s been happening post-Nemesis! Fans would grab up those books in a heartbeat. I have a filling they are going to go big with the Picard show and have quite a few tie ins.
Agreed, Tiger. This is very exciting stuff.
Is it odd the first thing I thought of when I saw the image was the action figure?
Kinda wondering at what age Sir Pat lost most of his hair…it’s almost inconceivable to think of him not bald lol maybe I have a small imagination
In 1981’s ‘Excalibur’ he barely had any hair, just like it looked in TNG. So, seems he hasn’t had it in a while.
I was going to point out that he didn’t have hair in 1981. 6 years before TNG. Wondering when he actually did lose it.
Looking at old pictures of him on Google (yes, I’m very bored at work). Looks like he started losing it in his 20’s.
Patrick Stewart says he lost his hair at 19. Must have hit him hard at the time.
Hey, just to say that’s not an image of Patrick Stewarts audition, but from season 5s episode Violations. Its from the nightmare of Beverly Crusher going to see Jack’s body and Jean-Luc is with her. Obviously this was taken during a break in filming. You can clearly see on his right temple the markings of the Ullian (the telepathic historians) from that episode.
Not sure what’s the point of a Picard show without the TNG crew. The way CBS are messing with fans by getting rid of Stage 9 and leaving us with garbage like Discovery no wonder people are turning off Star Trek.
The point is to take a known character that can still be played by the same actor at a “workable” rate and use it to create a vehicle that has the potential to get CBSAA more subscribers. It is a show about Picard. Not the continuing voyages of the Enterprise. That bridge crew wasn’t going to stay together doing the same job forever. How many people do you work with who have moved on to other jobs or retired? Quite a few.
I’m pretty sure we will see some other TNG characters show up. It would seem almost bizarre not to see any of them outside of Picard.
That said ML31 is right, they don’t want this to be a case of TOS where you still have the same crew serving together 25 years later, it’s just unrealistic and we did see many of them move on after Nemesis. And I suspect they want it with mostly new characters because it may spin off to something else if its successful enough and Stewart only wants to do it for a season or two. There is absolutely nothing to suggest that so far but I have a feeling CBS is playing the long game with a lot of these projects and want to set up multiple shows and eras and Stewart could be a way to set up 25th century future shows kind of like what TNG did before with DS9 and Voyager.
So try and keep an open mind at least. Things may open up in a big way none of us saw coming. I didn’t think we would get a 24th century show so soon and with an iconic TNG character so I’m giving CBS benefit of the doubt in this case they are trying to placate fans and not upset them. And I think this show is only coming because they know a lot of fans hate Discovery and this is a way to win them over.
Why was there an action figure of Beverly as a cadet??
I mean, don’t get me wrong, that’s quite cool and all. But given that there is e.g. no episode that shows her at that time of her career, that’s a kinda… random choice for an action figure…
You have to remember this was back in the 90s when Star Trek was HUGE and companies were profiting left and right from it, especially TNG. The toy manufacturers would find any excuse to make another figure to sell because they didn’t care. If it had Star Trek on the front cover that alone convinced them someone would buy it regardless. In an odd way I kind of miss those days lol.
IDW has been killing it with Star Trek for a long time. I just wish they’d drop the ridiculous crossover cash-grabs and go back to telling stories that are strictly about Star Trek. All those crossovers cheapen the franchise.
You mean like the Transformers thing. I liked both comic series by IDW but the mash up is junk. More or less the same as Star trek meets X-men.