IDW December Star Trek Comics

IDW Publishing has released their publishing plans for December that continues the adventures of the Enterprise 2.0 crew while the Prime crew meet DC's Legion. Two comics and one trade are being released that month. If you are interested in the books, just let your local comic book store know. For the full details of IDW's other books including GI Joe, Transformers, and more click here.

Star Trek #4
Mike Johnson (w) • Stephen Molnar (a) • Tim Bradstreet, Joe Corroney (c)
Mr. Spock faces a deadly choice as he tries to save the crew of a stranded shuttle! Featuring the likenesses of the new STAR TREK cast, this story boldly re-imagines a classic episode, Galileo 7, but in the new timeline of the hit movie!
• 2 regular covers will be shipped in a 4-to-1 ratio (4 Tim Bradstreet, 1 Joe Corroney)
• FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Read more »

Orci and Johson Talk Star Trek 2.0 Comics

Starting this month, Star Trek has returned to comic book racks with its first ongoing series in more than a decade. Unlike before, this series focuses on the JJ Abrams' 2.0 Enterprise crew as they encounter the same adventures as the Prime universe crew but different universe means different experiences. The initial story arc is "Where No Man Has Gone Before" based on the first aired episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. The masterminds behind the series are co-writer for the movies and consultant on the comics Roberto Orci and Mike Johnson who is the actual writer of the comics. StarTrek.com spoke with the pair about this newest extension of the Trek universe. Below are some segments of the interview, the rest can be found here.

This new comic book series sets in motion the countdown to the next film. So, give us a preview. What can readers expect to see?
Johnson: The first few issues of the series are adaptations of TOS episodes, as the “new” crew encounters some of the same threats the original crew did, but with differences that reflect things like Kirk being a younger captain and Spock losing his homeworld. As we get closer to the next movie, the stories will begin to foreshadow the events of the movie, such as possibly introducing new characters we will see onscreen... pun very much intended.

Read more »

Star Trek at AMC IMAX for One Week

Starting tomorrow, Star Trek will be shown at AMC IMAX theatres for the bargain price of $7 per ticket. The event runs from September 30th to October 6th. They will also be presenting Inception and Fast Five so show times will be limited. (via TrekMovie)

Star Trek: The Next Generation Blu-Ray Officially Coming

StarTrek.com has officially confirmed that Star Trek: The Next Generation is getting the HD treatment starting with "The Next Level" release. The Blu-ray release for January 31, 2012 is three episodes of TNG that acts a prelude to the planned release of all seven season sets on Blu-ray in 1080p.

“Fans have been clamoring for a high-definition release of Star Trek: The Next Generation," Ken Ross, Executive Vice President and General Manager of CBS Entertainment, said in a statement. “Transferring the series to high-definition presented difficult technical challenges, but our team has come up with a process to create true 1080p HD masters with true HD visual effects. We can’t wait to show fans how pristine the series looks and sounds with our upcoming Blu-ray releases.”

CBS is, in fact, returning to the original film negatives, a mother lode of material encompassing 25,000-plus reels of footage, and editing the episodes together precisely as they were when they originally aired between 1987 and 1994. Visual effects will not be upconverted from videotape, but instead will be recompositioned. The freshly cut film will ultimately be transferred to high definition with 7.1 DTS Master Audio. And all of the work is being done in conjunction with respected, longtime Star Trek figures Denise and Michael Okuda, who are on board as consultants.

As for that sampler, it will be called Star Trek: The Next Generation -- The Next Level. CBS Home Entertainment has set a January 31, 2012, release date for the single disc, which will include the feature-length version of the series pilot, "Encounter at Farpoint," as well the fan-favorite episodes "Sins of the Father" and "The Inner Light," the former from season three and the latter from season five. The Next Level will sell for the suggested retail price of $21.99.

Considering I am the proud owner of the very expensive DVD sets for TNG, I have to admit I am ambivalent about the news. It will be interesting to see what price point the season sets land on as The Original Series sets didn't exactly come cheap.

Star Trek Ongoing #1 Preview

Tomorrow's New Comic Book Wednesday brings IDW's first ongoing Star Trek series to comic books stores. The series also marks the first time that the new 2.0 universe has enjoyed its first ongoing series (before it was movie centric mini-series). This new ongoing series will take place post the first movie but after that its focus is on the "safe" ground of "re-imagining" the adventures of Star Trek: The Original Series episodes within the new context of this new universe. I call it safe because chances are they do not have to worry about stepping on whatever plans Abrams and crew have for the sequel. The first issue starts with the first "official" pilot episode for TOS - "Where No Man Has Gone Before" when Kirk's friend Gary Mitchell is slowly turned into a god with the abuse of power that could come with such a transformation. Click here to view the covers and first eight pages of the series.

Read more »

Abrams Commits to Directing Star Trek 2 (Updated)

Vulture is reporting that J.J. Abrams has decided to direct Star Trek 2. Their sources indicate that pre-production has started and the script is expected by the end of the month. Star Trek 2's extended delay due to various film projects from Abrams (Super 8), Roberto Orci (Cowboys vs. Aliens) and Alex Kurtzman (Welcome to People) is the primary reasons why the film was forced to abandon its intended June 2012 release date. A new date has not been scheduled but I would not be surprised if it’s not bumped to May 2013 even though I think Thanksgiving 2012 is a better release time. Keep in mind that Abrams choosing the direct the film and Paramount agreeing to meet his price are two separate things but I would be surprised if things don't get worked out after the studio delayed the film in hopes of getting him back as director. (via TrekMovie)

Update: Entertainment Weekly has independently confirmed Vulture's story saying "EW has confirmed that the insatiable media multi-hyphenate has signed on to direct the sequel to his 2009 hit Star Trek."

Star Trek Online Go Free By End of Year

Perfect World, new owners of Cryptic Studios, has announced that Star Trek Online will go to the free-to-play model by the end of the year. Cryptic's other title Champions Online has already been free for a while.

"Cryptic is working on the free-to-play model for Star Trek Online," said Perfect World CFO Kelvin Lau during an investors call. "This is going to be launched by the end of this year. So I think free-to-play model we have a bigger potential in US market and also in China market."

The model counts on micro transactions to achieve profitability by letting players join the game but charging to reach certain levels, areas, achievements, and items. For example a new ship might cost $5. This doesn't mean everything will cost, just some probably tempting aspects of the game will have a cost associated to it. Unless go crazy, in the long term it is probably a savings and at the very least a good way to try the game out.