What's in the checklist?
What's not in the checklist?
If this is a checklist, where are the checkboxes?
What's better than a checklist?
What Star Trek comics do you recommend reading?
Have characters from the animated series appeared in Star Trek comics?
How many authorized Star Trek comics have been published?
Can I buy Star Trek comics on eBay?
Where can I discuss Star Trek comics online?
What happened to that Star Trek comic?
Didn't I read that in a Star Trek novel?
What Star Trek comics came late to the colonies?
The Star Trek Comics Checklist is a guide to Star Trek comics and graphic novels published in the United States and elsewhere. The names of writers and artists, if known, are included. If a noteworthy character or event from a television episode or movie appears in a comic, the episode or film is identified. Some cover images link to images of original art.
My apologies to colorists, letterers and editors, whose names haven't been added. Updates to correct this omission are in progress.
I don't know. The first list I posted to Usenet in January 1992 was just a list of issue numbers and titles without checkboxes. Things have gotten out of hand since then and still no checkboxes. Get over it!
Well, there's The Complete Star Trek Comics Index compiled by my friend and fellow Star Trek comics collector, Rich Handley. Rich is an accomplished author and publisher. He was editor of Eaglemoss's Star Trek Graphic Novel Collection and has written a weekly column on the history of Star Trek comics. Rich also hosts the Star Trek Comics Weekly Facebook group.
These are some of the notable comics, either for the story (good, bad, or unusual), the writer, the series, or just because. This is a very subjective list. NOTE: I haven't updated this list in a long time. There are many more fine Star Trek comics.
Yes, see Star Trek vs. Transformers from IDW Publishing. Prior to 2018 there had never been a comic book series featuring the crew of the animated Enterprise, but characters from ST:TAS have occasionally appeared in comics from several publishers. A more detailed reference by Ian McLean is available at Toon Trek and Toon Trek Part 2.
Power Records, PR-25 Passage to Moauv
Lt. M'ress is distinctly humanoid rather than felinoid, with black hair
arranged in the traditional TOS beehive, blue skin, and green eye shadow.
DC Comics, Who's Who in Star Trek #1-2
Biographical entries for Lt. Arex and Lt. M'ress appear in this series.
DC Comics, Star Trek #37, 39, 40, 46-53, 55, first series
Lt. Arex (One of Our Planets is Missing)
and Lt. M'ress (The Survivor)
join the crew of the Enterprise NCC-1701A as
navigator and assistant science officer respectively. In ST #49 M'ress
tells Sulu "You're so sexy when you're being efficient" and in ST #51
Sulu is concerned about where their relationship is heading, while
M'ress just wants to fool around.
DC Comics, Star Trek Annual #1, first series
Captain Robert April is mentioned but doesn't make an appearance.
Marvel Comics, Star Trek: The Early Voyages #1, 12, 16, 17
Captain Robert April (The Counter-Clock Incident)
appears in the first issue of this series and again later as an admiral.
LA Times Syndicate, Star Trek comic strip 3/2/1982-7/17/1982
The Kzinti, a race of felines created by science fiction author Larry
Niven are featured adversaries in this story arc and TAS episode
The Slaver Weapon
which is based on Niven's 1967 short story "The Soft Weapon".
The comics count excludes US newspaper comic strips, UK comic strips and annuals, and Happy Meals box and communicator strips. There is a separate count of variants and reprints for the numerically obsessive. Counting reprints is complicated. Some reprints contain more than one story arc. I chose to count each reprint once, not once for each story arc, so the numbers may not look right for some titles. NOTE: I update and timestamp this spreadsheet from time to time. I'm getting lazy in my old age. See below for the UK comic strip count.
Every day, there are hundreds of Star Trek comics auction and Buy It Now items at eBay. You can find single issues and complete runs of a series. If you're patient, you can find every item on this checklist. The comics that routinely fetch uncomfortably high prices are the early Gold Key issues, foreign translations, and some of the variant covers released in recent years by IDW Publishing.
While prices are generally reasonable, don't forget that auction prices can grow quickly. You also have to pay for shipping, handling, and insurance. Purchasing the comics you want is mostly a matter of not thinking with your mouse.
Read the buyer help pages at eBay to learn how to practice safe bidding. First time buyers should spend some time watching auctions. Learn what you can expect to pay for the comics you want. When you register for an account, you can setup watch lists and email alerts. eBay will let you know when something of interest is being auctioned. Read the fine print before you bid. Make sure that the seller accepts a type of payment you're comfortable with and is willing to ship with insurance.
Once you start bidding, keep in mind that you don't have to win every auction. The supply of Star Trek comics is high and demand is low. If you don't win an auction, the comic you want will turn up again. Item descriptions may indicate that a comic is rare. Don't believe everything you read. There are one-of-a-kind items like original comic art, but there aren't any rare Star Trek comics. Good luck bidding.
Star Trek Comics Weekly Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/startrekcomicsweekly
TrekBBS Trek Literature forum
https://www.trekbbs.com/forums/trek-literature.43/
A number of authorized Star Trek comics projects never made it into print. Where possible, references are provided. Some of this information comes from posts to various Star Trek books forums.
Peter David, writer of stuff, intended to keep ST:TAS characters M'Ress and Arex part of the crew, but both characters were renamed and redrawn for the first issue of the second DC Star Trek series.
Peter David wrote a first contact story with an Earth-like planet for DC second series issues #16-17 which was rejected. He recycled the story for Dreadstar #63.
Peter David proposed a time-travel story arc for DC second series issues #18-24 titled "Time and half for overtime", featuring the Guardian of Forever and Zarabeth. The proposal was rejected.
In 1995, a two-issue adaptation of Voyager's pilot episode "Caretaker", written by Mike Barr with artwork by Rob Davis and Terry Pallot was completed for Malibu but never published. Some price guides list both issues.
Editorial commentary in the letters section of Marvel's Voyager mini-series "Splashdown" hinted at a ST:TAS special featuring Arex and M'ress which was never published.
Writers Andy Mangels and Michael Martin had several projects in the works when Marvel gave up the Paramount Comics license: a DS9 mini-series and special, a Voyager fill-in, and a 48-page Star Trek: Realities #1 that was pencilled, to name a few. Some are detailed below. They pitched a tie-in to their novel, Section 31: Rogue, to Wildstorm which was turned down. Mr. Mangels has discussed his comics work on the Trek BBS literature forum and keeps a page of comics information updated at his web site. http://www.andymangels.com/stcomics.html
Mangels and Martin pitched "Phase Three" which predated but had elements of Section 31. A ship considered destroyed by the Borg is secretly use by Starfleet Intelligence for black ops. The crew are considered dead. The captain has ties to Sisko. The authors wrote a DS9 special introducing the Phase Three concept and characters.
Mangels and Martin completed the first issue of a new series, "Star Trek: Realities", titled "What if Gul Dukat had become the Emissary?". The story included the destruction of the Enterprise and ended with the Borg overrunning Earth, leading to a sequel. This 48-page comic was fully pencilled when Marvel cancelled the series.
Mangels and Martin completed a "Voyager" fill-in script which saw Chakotay lured to a snowy planet by an ex-Maquis crewmate nursing a grudge. Chakotay is left to die in the cold with a flashback to his childhood.
Writers Dan Abnett and Ian Edginton also had a Star Trek: Realities story ready to be pencilled by Mike Collins, set in a timeline where Edith Keeler, from TOS episode The City on the Edge of Forever, survives.
The 1997 Collector's Preview from Marvel mentions Star Trek: Phase 3 as a new title "coming soon".
Peter David mentioned in his blog that there was an aborted New Frontier comic with a visit to the Mirror universe.
Ted Adams authored Star Trek: Civil War for Wildstorm but it was never published. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are caught in the middle of a war over natural resources on a non-Federation planet, and the transporter isn't working.
Rich Handley outlined two TNG stories intended for Wildstorm Star Trek Special #1 which was shortened before publication. The stories were "The Barber of Seville", about Mot the Barber and his adventures on the holodeck as the captain of the USS Seville, and "The Needs of the One", about Spock on Romulus between the Trek films and TNG, in which he befriends a Romulan youth and must make a decision whether to let him die or risk the movement's exposure to save his life, as Kirk once risked his career to save Spock's life.
Rich Handley wrote an article about Star Trek comic strips and began work on collecting them for a book.
David DeVries (with Glenn Lumsden) sold a TNG Klingon storyline to Star Trek editor, Kim Yale, but when she passed away, the script was overlooked even though it had been paid for. The script had a tuckerism named for Ian McLean (aka Therin of Andor) who supplied some research.
Veteran Star Trek guest actor and author J.G. Hertzler (Martok in ST:DS9) was in discussion with Paramount about a series of graphic novels featuring the Klingon Empire. Hertzler planned to involve comic book artist David Mack in the project, which never materialized.
Characters and events from Star Trek comics occasionally find their way into Star Trek novels and vice versa. Writers who work in both mediums are usually the perpetrators. Fortunately, readers of Star Trek literature usually catch them in the act and full confessions are routine. Some of this information comes from posts to various Star Trek books forums which don't always have complete references. Additions and corrections are appreciated.
Peter David. Star Trek: The Next Generation - Strike Zone
New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1989. ISBN 0-671-67940-6b
Events occuring in the author's TOS storyline from
DC Comics first series issues #48-55
are explored in this novel. ST:TNG #5.
Michael Jan Friedman. Star Trek: The Next Generation/X-Men - Planet X
New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1998. ISBN 0-671-01916-3
Novel featuring the characters introduced in the Marvel comic, "Second
Contact", and picking up where the comic leaves off. The cover art by an
unnamed artist features Riker, Data, Worf, Wolverine, and Storm.
Peter David. Star Trek: New Frontier - Restoration
New York, NY: Pocket Books, 2000. ISBN 0-671-67940-6
This novel references the author's Wildstorm ST:NF comic, "Double
time". Excaliber Book Three, ST:NF #11.
Bob Greenberger. Star Trek: The Next Generation - Doors into chaos
New York, NY: Pocket Books, 2001. ISBN 0-7434-1856-5
This novel references events which occurred in Wildstorm ST:TNG graphic
novel, "The Gorn Crisis". Star Trek Gateways Book Three.
Mike W. Barr. Star Trek - Gemini
New York, NY: Pocket Books, 2003. ISBN 0-7434-0074-7
ST:TOS novel, part of the five-year mission series, with appearances by
characters originally created by the author for his DC comics.
Peter David (Editor). Star Trek: New Frontier - No Limits
New York, NY: Pocket Books, 2003. ISBN 0-7434-7707-3
"Oil and water" by Robert T. Jeschonek takes place on the planet
Damiano, featured in Wildstorm ST:TNG mini-series "Perchance to dream"
by Keith R. A. DeCandido.
Andy Mangels and Michael Martin. Star Trek: The Next Generation -
Section 31 - Rogue.
The brother of a character in their Marvel comics
has a role in this novel. Is there some relation to Wildstorm Star Trek
Special #1?
Andy Mangels and Michael Martin. Mission: Gamma - Cathedral
Characters from their Marvel ST:DS9 comics have roles in the DS9
relaunch novels, beginning with the Mission: Gamma series. Nog's Starfleet
Accademy days in Omega Squadron are mentioned.
Andy Mangels and Michael Martin. Star Trek: The Lost Era - 2298: The Sundered
References to Sulu's or the Excelsior's comic adventures?
A. C. Crispin. Sarek
Wildstorm comic "Enter the wolves" is a sequel to this novel and a
prequel to TNG episodes "Sarek" and "Unification".
Day of Honor novels
Reference to the crossover series in DS9 comics?
Where Time Stands Still
A character from Early Voyages appears in this SCE novella?
Worlds of ST:DS9 Volume Two: Trill, Bajor
"Unjoined" by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels was preceded by the
events of "Divided we fall", TNG/DSN crossover from Wildstorm. Also
contains a Damiani character from "Perchance to dream".
A time for Tolstoy
Events of the "Gorn crisis" provides background for this tale, which also
references "Perchance to dream".
Avatar
Characters created for the Avatar series appear in Wildstorm's "N-Vector"
and later DS9 relaunch tales.
The Art of the Impossible
Reference events of Wildstorm's "Enter the wolves".
A time for war, a time for peace
A Damiani character plays a role. The Damiani first appeared in "Perchance
to dream".
Stone Cold Truths
References Wildstorm's New Frontier comic "Double time".
Stone and Anvil
A flashback scene in "Double time" is retold as part of the Starfleet
Academy chapters in this novel.
It has been reported that Larry Niven mentions once considering a novelization of the Star Trek comic strip story arc "The wristwatch plantation", created with Sharman DiVono, in his book "Playground of the mind".
It has been reported that Marvel Starfleet Academy writer Chris Cooper once had discussions about using some of his characters in an ebook.
Until 2016, most of the Star Trek comic strips published in UK comics magazines had never been released in the US. More information about the British Star Trek comic strips and British Star Trek comic strips in books and magazines is available.
Nine trade paperback collections of Malibu DS9 comics published in the UK were never published in the US, one from Titan, and eight from Boxtree.
Trade paperback collections of Wildstorm mini-series Star Trek: Divided We Fall were published in Italian, German and Spanish before before being reprinted in the UK in English.
