IDW has announced a new flagship Star Trek series to debut in October, co-written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, and illustrated by Ramon Rosanas. September's Star Trek #400 anthology will feature a prelude to the new ongoing by the same creative team.
Based in stardate 2378, the new Star Trek will follow the omnipotent Benjamin Sisko upon his return from the Bajoran Wormhole. Unfortunately, his own godhood is failing – and the rest of the gods from the Star Trek universe are also at risk.
Sisko is sent on a mission by the Prophets aboard the U.S.S. Theseus, alongside Starfleet members from every Star Trek era to date. Somewhere in deep space, the crew discovers that someone is murdering the gods. And to make matters worse, Sisko and his crewmates have to find and stop the killer before they strike again.
In the announcement, Lanzing describes the new Star Trek series as "an Avengers-style ongoing crossover that treats Gene Roddenberry's creation as a living universe."
IDW intends to launch a new era of Star Trek comics with this new ongoing, so it may be the ideal jumping-on point for readers regardless of their familiarity with the franchise so far.
From the art released by IDW, we know Sisko (Deep Space Nine), Data (Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, Nemesis, The Next Generation, and Picard), and Crusher (Next Generation) will be part of the core cast, alongside seeming newcomers T'Lir (seemingly a Vulcan) and Sato. (The Andorian Sato featured in IDW's preview art curiously shares a name with the human Hoshi Sato who appeared in Star Trek: Enterprise.)
Check out character designs and some art from Star Trek #1 below.
"As a child, I watched reruns of the classic Star Trek series endlessly – until Next Generation, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine came along!" artist Rosanas says. "After that, I didn’t miss a single episode of those three series’ each week. Gene Roddenberry is History with a capital H and his legacy is unstoppable. Having an opportunity to bring my passion and creativity to this franchise is incredibly exciting for me."
Kelly adds, "Dreams of an optimistic, utopian future of cooperation and equality are more important now than ever. We're both excited to continue the stories that have meant so much to us in the past and to welcome new readers to Starfleet. This is a grand adventure, one that weaves together elements from every Star Trek series to tell a new, vital, and forward-thinking sci-fi saga."
Star Trek #1 will be available in October with covers by Rosanas, Declan Shalvey, David Aja, Rachael Stott, and Francesco Francavilla, as well as a blank sketch variant.
Star Trek is getting a new lease at IDW just before Transformers and GI Joe leave the publisher at the end of 2022.
