Star Trek had a major presence at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, including looks at Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. It’s only right that the con closed out with Trek, which is where the Star Trek: The Next Frontier panel comes in.
IDW Publishing is utilizing The Next Frontier to promote its new line of Star Trek books, featuring a diverse array of creators. Those creators are Christopher Cantwell, Susan & Tilly Bridges, Tim Sheridan, Robbie Thompson, Travis Mercer, Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing. Moderating the panel was Trek editor Heather Antos.
First up was Star Trek: Red Shirts, written by Cantwell and illustrated by Megan Levens. “I wanted to focus a series entirely on red shirts,” Cantwell said. Set in the era of Star Trek: The Original Series, it follows twelve Starfleet security officers trapped on a lone planet. “You’ll see many of them gloriously die,” Cantwell quipped, also revealing that it will connect with his Star Trek: Defiant run and Lanzing & Kelly’s Star Trek run. He also had nothing but praise for Levens, especially with how she was able to balance horror and humor.
Next was Star Trek: Lower Decks, which Sheridan took over from Ryan North. “What a lot of people don’t know about me is that I wrote comedy!” Sheridan said, revealing his previous career writing episodes of Justice League Action. He boarded Lower Decks after running into Antos at a con, and mentioning it was his favorite Trek. “We get the chance to reference all of Trek canon in all the best ways,” Sheridan added, also saying that future issues will pay homage to past seasons of Lower Decks and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Furthering the Lower Decks connection is Phil Murphy, who worked on the series and is illustrating issues. But the best news is that Lower Decks will continue for six more issues! In addition to telling a singular story, Sheridan will also address a question Trekkies have probably asked: How does Starfleet handle dentistry?
Thompson and Mercer will tackle Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation. Taking place between Seasons 3 and 4 of Strange New Worlds, it thrusts the crew of the Enterprise into a Lovecraftian horror story. “I was told I can’t kill any legacy characters, but I’m trying my best,” Thompson joked. He also said that Christine Chapel will play a major role in The Seeds of Salvation, while Spock gains a new friend in the form of an emotionally stunted robot; Antos nicknamed it the “Brobot.” Mercer said that it was tricky to transition from drawing superheroes to science fiction, yet he admitted he loved drawing Chapel.
The Bridges are tackling Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming, illustrated by Angel Hernandez, it picks up immediately after the Voyager finale and serves as a celebration of Voyager‘s 30th anniversary. “Getting to play in the sandbox with all of these characters has been great.” Seven of Nine will get a major focus as well, exploring what transforms her into the character fans met in Star Trek: Picard. Hernandez received plenty of praise for his ability to convey emotion, and capture the likenesses of the characters.
Finally, Lanzing & Kelly discussed the upcoming Star Trek: The Last Starship. They said that they were inspired by looking at images of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, with Lanzing asking, “How do we do a Star Trek version of that?” Kelly added that The Last Starship will reveal the story of the Burn, the cataclysmic event that was hinted at in Star Trek: Discovery. “It’s a story about how you hold on to hope, to motivation…when you’re completely alone, how do you hold to that core at the end of all things?” The biggest reveal was that James T. Kirk would be resurrected in The Last Starship, but it won’t just be for a shot of nostalgia. “Whatever you think we’re doing with Kirk, it’s not playing a bunch of hits,” Lanzing said. “We looked at Trek history and said “Who would the Burn hurt the most?” Kirk stood out.”
Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #1, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation #1, and Star Trek: The Last Starship #1 are available to pre-order.
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