vermin fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Mar 13, 2017

• Marvel first published Star Trek comics in 1979-1980, and got the rights to publish a comic book re-telling of Star Trek : The Motion Picture. They then published an 18-issue series of TOS-fueled insanity, because Marvel's license from Paramount prohibited them from using concepts introduced in the original series. They were only allowed to use the characters and concepts from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Here's a taste:
  
  
  
  They lost the license after this series. It reminds me very much like the "We are out of superhero ideas" runs that get posted in BSS under the Funny Panels thread every so often.
  
  
• DC picked the TOS ball up in 1984, and ran with it until 1996. They did a few oneshots of the TOS movies, had a first volume with stories based after Wrath of Khan , and a second volume with stories based after The Final Frontier.
  
  
• The first volume ran from 1984 to 1988. It's dated, but fun. They included a bunch of original characters they drafted; this volume also has a 7-issue Mirror Universe arc.
  
  
  
  
• The second volume ran from 1990 to 1996. I remember it very well from growing up, and I remember it being loving awesome. The writing improved, and the art vastly improved to a more modern palette.
  
  I remember this issue very well - it was the first comic my parents ever bought my brother (Logan 5) and I, along with the destruction of Coast City issue of Reign of the Supermen (which we were far, far too young to have read.) You'd never know it from the cover, but this issue starts an arc about Gary Seven.
  
  
  
  
• DC also published a Next Generation series, also in two volumes. The first volume was only during 1988 for a few issues, following after "Encounter at Farpoint." There's nothing much of note here other than it is very, very season 1 and 2-style Next Gen, and that everyone's bodies are a combination of absurdly muscled and imaginatively curvaceous. You've seen this posted in this thread.
  
  
  
  
• The second volume ran from 1990 to 1996 in conjunction with the second volume of TOS, and is similarly awesome.
  The writing and art are much better than the previous volume, although like any of these comic series being reviewed, art can often vary from arc to arc and sometimes mid-arc depending on the pencilers, inkers, and colorists assigned to the book.
  I'm unsure when these issues take place in continuity, but with TNG, does it really matter? The only thing I can make out is because of the Borg issues, they must have started some time after The Best of Both Worlds.
  They weren't allowed to write stories focusing on anyone but the main characters of the series according to the license. This book is so baller that I'm going to post three covers.
  
  
  
  
  This is another comic I remember very well. Showing the crew beam down to a Borg-takeover Earth was a bit nightmarish to my 11-year-old self.
  
  
  
  
• Malibu Comics, which later got bought out by Marvel, did a line of DS9 comics from 1993 to 1996. They also did a DC crossover with Next Gen and DS9 in '94-'95. I don't know much about their DS9 runs other than the artwork inside is pastel-y and pretty janky to look at. You'll recall this #1 issue cover however, which has been posted in this thread .
  
  
  
  
• Marvel came right back in 1996 and 1997 to try to capitalize on Star Trek popularity. They seemed to lose some momentum because their first issue was the infamous Star Trek TNG / X-Men crossover, but went on to publish some decent ongoing issues. However in 1998 they realized that 6 major concurrent Star Trek comic series don't make much money between them all, and abruptly canceled them. All of these books are from 1996 to 1998.
  
  
• Marvel comic #1 - Voyager comic. I have no idea when in the Voyager timeline these take place in and you would have to pay me to read these.
  
  
  
  
• Marvel comic #2 - a Star Trek Unlimited double-size book of stories from both TNG and TOS, with some crossovers. I don't know much about these other than that they look like they're from the EXXXXTREEEEEME Liefeld era, but had to be about Star Trek.
  
  
  
  
• Marvel comic #3 - a Starfleet Academy book, which took place right after DS9's Little Green Men episode, when Nog gets to Earth. He's a main character of course, as Cadet Nog. This series follows the same xxxxxtreme late 90s style.
  
  
  
  
• Marvel comic #4 - a DS9 book. Notable for still being xxxxtreme, but with better art than the Malibu series (Marvel had just bought them out and restarted the DS9 run. These take place during the 5th and 6th seasons.)
  
  
  
  
• Marvel comic #5 - an "Early Voyages" book, based on the pre-Kirk voyages of the Enterprise, starring Captain Christopher Pike and a bunch of mostly new characters, excepting Spock. Because of the abrupt cancellation, it stopped in the middle of a cliffhanger. Still has the xxxxxtreme styling that Marvel was into.
  
  
  
  
• Marvel comic #6 - an "Untold Voyages" book, based on the 5 year mission between TMP and Wrath of Khan. Only lasted for 5 issues before the cancellation, haven't read them.
  
  
  

Nessus fucked around with this message at 04:59 on Mar 14, 2017