David R. Deitrick Follow-up

The series is complete!

Here's my rough attempt to assemble the Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan series triptych of the special retailers' incentive version with art by David R. Deitrick, as covered here last month. Issue #3 was released July 1st, so if you want to get them, grab them soon (link to Things from Another World, or click the image above). This series with David's artwork and April's movie prequel Countdown have really made me take a closer look at the Trek comics coming out of IDW Publishing, and the John Byrne TOS April-era tale Crew (featuring "Number One"!) jumped out at me as well. But just as Crew #5 is coming out next week, #2 is already sold out. I tracked it down and paid extra, but that's the lesson for TWOK: if you want the Deitrick covers, best get them while you can.

Speaking of Mr. Deitrick, he came upon my original post and was nice enough to drop me a very gracious thank you note. It turns out that the TWOK covers were an entirely new commission, not an older unseen piece. If, like me, you'd like to see more of these, do what I did: drop IDW a note by snail mail or email and let them know you want more (I even hinted I'd like them to release a poster). In my ideal world, this gives David a chance to build up his Trek portfolio just in time for a new game publisher to come along, snatch up the RPG license, and hire him to do all of the art for the game!

A guy can dream, can't he? While I'm at it, I win the lottery big time, and I'm the one that gets the license and hires the rest of the best and the brightest. We all quit our day jobs and just create the best Trek RPG ever.

But for now, I'll just have to make do with these comics and work on the next best thing...

But wait! There's more.....

Artist David R. Deitrick Returns to Trek

If you stop by the comic book store tomorrow, you might catch a glimpse of something that looks familiar. Familiar, that is, if you were a big fan of FASA's Star Trek The Role Playing Game in the 80s.

On June 10th, IDW Publishing is releasing the first of its 3-part comic book adaptation of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan -- apparently one of the few films that didn't get the comic book treatment -- written by Andy Schmidt, with art by Chee Yang Ong and color by Moose Baumann. Of interest to FASA fans, though, will be the special "retailer incentive cover" version with artwork by none other than David R. Deitrick.

Dave Deitrick's distinctive style graced the covers of so many memorable science fiction games in the 80s, and he practically defined the look of FASA's Trek through most of its adventures and supplements. This cover is apparently the first of three "interlocking" covers and, I'm guessing, a completely new piece.

Mr. Deitrick's work first caught my eye in 1980, with Metagaming's The Fantasy Trip Microquest, Security Station. I was just getting into pen-and-ink drawing at the time, and there was something about the lines and color of that box art that made it look so different than anything else coming out in fantasy role-playing at the time. Despite my love of TFT, it turns out the game itself was a dog and didn't live anywhere near the coolness displayed on the cover. It wasn't Deitrick's fault, of course, but his work really illustrated his talent for making you want to buy.

When I look back at his art that came out over the next few years, I realize that he had this brilliant ability through unusual color combinations and lines to convey motion and the promise of an exciting adventure. I know I'm not the only one who digs Deitrick's contribution to the hobby. Super game blogger Jeff Rients not only posted a David Deitrick Mini-Shrine on his blog in 2005 , but managed to get the the artist to create Jeff's well-known "IG-666 Robot Warlock" illustration.

I miss buying games that had art like this. I loved going into the hobby store and being surprised by a new Trek module on the shelf with Deitrick's art on the cover. It seems that so much art in games these days is so dark, or so Photoshoppy/Painter, or so full of really, really bad 3D models. Deitrick's art was bright and clean and colorful, and hinted that your game could be the same. Plus, he had a rare talent among game artists to portray extremely cool women who appeared to somehow make their way in the universe without giant breasts and very little clothing. I know that there is a huge appreciation for the stark simplicity of Traveller's original LBBs, but I'll admit that nothing made me want to play Traveller more than the beautiful cover Deitrick composed for the Starter Edition (left) in 1983. It looked so... modern! Even though I already had the big black Deluxe Edition from two years earlier, I bought the SE just for the box, and still have it today.

Some may look at the outrageous pinks, yellows and purples in some of his illustrations and think, "Oh, so that's what Limited Express looked like in 1984!" Maybe it's just nostalgia and my memories of all those adventures (some that never were), but I don't think they look dated at all. I still look at them and think, "Man, the future's so bright, I gotta wear shades."

Here's a collection of some of David R. Deitrick's other non-Trek covers (click for larger versions)...





...and, starting with my favorite, a selection of art from adventure modules and supplements for the Reigning King, FASA's Star Trek The Role Playing Game. Enjoy! And be sure to check out Dave's website. He's still a very active artist and has grown into other media including some incredible sculpture work.

But wait! There's more.....

OT: Review of Star Trek Countdown TPB

As I mentioned a few days ago, I managed to hit the lottery and get my copy of the Star Trek: Countdown trade paperback (TPB) very early from Amazon, despite the fact that the final issue of the comic book (Issue #4) won't hit streets until next week, and the TPB won't be out until April 7th (or 29th, depending on who you ask). Personally I would have preferred to win a real lottery, but that's no reflection of my opinion of Countdown itself. I skipped the comics as I always do these days, preferring to wait for the collected versions to be released. It's often less expensive (as it was in this case) and sometimes you get extras (as you do here, I suspect).

This will be a spoiler-light review, as so few have even seen the concluding Issue #4 yet. As quick background to tell you where I'm coming from (I don't think I've ever spelled it out here before), I'm a fan of most things Star Trek. I love the Original Series, but love most of the new shows as well. I thought TNG was great, DS9 was brilliant, and I even enjoyed Enterprise. Voyager? Not so much. I didn't think it was bad, I just never found it engaging. I love most of the films; Wrath of Khan is my favorite, with Undiscovered Country a close second. Nemesis was an unforgiveable mess. As for the upcoming JJ Abrams film, I'm thrilled about it. The casting looks great, what I know of the storyline sounds fun and respectful of Trek, the trailers have made my heart leap, and I even like the new Enterprise design. I have a few concerns, but I'm really open-minded about it. I generally don't read Trek novels or comic books. It's been said I have an interest in Trek RPGs. So, with my creds out of the way, here's my review.

Star Trek: Countdown is a prequel of sorts to the upcoming film, but takes place completely in the post-Nemesis Next Gen timeframe (Stardate 64333.4, or 2387, 8 years after Nemesis). Countdown is really the story of a Romulan named Nero, a hardworking family man who captains a mining vessel. After barely avoiding a stellar catastrophe, he returns to Romulus with a warning of the pending doom that threatens the entire Romulan Empire. When his fears are rejected, he decides to take on a mission to save his world with the help of some unlikely (and familiar) allies from the Federation. But events will not go as planned, great losses will be incurred, and a villain intent on utter vengeance will rise from the ashes.

Short spoiler-free review: STC is a pleasant, fairly compelling story with wonderful art by David Messina. The TPB includes 5 pages of character sketches by the artist (example left) that may not be included in Issue #4, which alone may make it worth picking up the TPB. Despite being intended as a direct prequel to the film, STC stands very well on its own right up to the non-cliffhanger ending. The best aspect of it is the "passing of the torch" feel because of the inclusion of many well-loved characters, undoing some damage inflicted by Nemesis. I found the quality of both the character art and the space battles to be exceptional, the best I've ever seen in a Trek comic. I can't judge how well it succeeds as a prequel at this point, but the story and some specifics in it do raise some questions about some pre-conceptions fans (including myself) have about the movie storyline. The series is let down, however, but some plot-holes and grade school science fiction that I sincerely hope are not going to creep into the film itself.

Some light spoilers follow, so if you want to be surprised, stop reading now.

I've seen some criticisms leveled at Messina's character art, but I found it to be very good. I'd buy more Trek comics if the quality of the art and story were as good as this. His renderings of Spock, in particular, are just excellent. If I have any criticism about the art, it's that the few female characters in the book all seem to suffer from BBS (Big Boob Syndrome). It's bad enough that there is really only one female character of consequence in the story, but the rest are just eye candy for the boys. The character sketch section in the back and Giovanna Niro's cover are wonderful.

As I indicated above, I thought the story was better than average. Despite the number of cameos (Spock, Data, Picard, Geordi, Worf, Remans and even a bit of Kirk), they didn't feel forced. It's good to see how the characters have moved up over the years, though there's really no time for development of anyone except Nero himself and, to some extent, Spock. The quiet moments are the best. Unfortunately, I feel that the story and Nero's progression is really let down by the contrived cataclysm of the Hobus system supernova. It's never explained how the explosion could possibly endanger Romulus so quickly, let alone Vulcan and the Federation, let alone the whole damn galaxy. And when Spock tells the Vulcan council, "It threatens the entire Universe," without any further explanation, it just goes from bad science fiction to stupid. It's like the danger keeps being exaggerated every few pages, to the point where you expect someone to say, "Even God Himself will disappear from Existence." Hopefully this is the conceit of writers Mike Johnson and Tim Jones, because I'd hate to see Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman (who provided the story itself) put this kind of crap science fiction into Star Trek. I also have to wonder about what seemed to me to be a big plot hole, specifically that if the danger to Romulus was so immediate, why in the world would Nero have left his family there?

But those are the only big weaknesses that jumped out at me. The fourth part does contain a (near death?) surprise that is left a bit unresolved, but I was impressed by how self-contained the story was because of the conclusion. Countdown could lead directly into the movie, or standalone on its own. It does seem to raise some questions about what I thought I had gleaned from the trailers and bits of gossip that have been discussed over the past year. For example if, in fact, we did see a glimpse of Nero in chains with Klingon captors in one of the early trailers, it's hard to reconcile that with the events of the comic. It's also difficult for me to guess how some of the background elements (Nero's fall, the destruction of Romulus, the Borgified Nerada, decalithium and red matter) will be incorporated into the movie without depending on the backstory presented in the book. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Taken as a whole, however, and as a way to distract myself from my own personal countdown to the movie (as my mother said today, "May can't come fast enough!"), STC TPB is a great little read, well worth the price. I wouldn't be at all disappointed to see the same team do more projects of this kind, as long as they do a little reading about basic science and astronomy first.

But wait! There's more.....

OT: Star Trek Countdown TPB

Apparently I'm the only person in the world who actually got this today. Through some twist of the space-time continuum, UPS delivered my Amazon pre-order of the trade paperback version of IDW's Star Trek: Countdown, the collected version of issues 1-4. Two weeks early. Before Issue #4 has even been released.

The countdown to the motion picture event of 2009 begins here, in the exclusive comics prequel to Star Trek, the upcoming blockbuster film from Paramount Pictures! JJ Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman present the origin of Nero, the mysterious Romulan who will ultimately threaten the survival of the entire universe.

I suspect Nero himself had something to do with me getting this. Forbidding events have been set in motion. I already feel time changing. I sense that... that... the Starfleet Construction Yards are moving from my own backyard here in San Francisco to... to... Iowa. Oh, dear. Things will never be the same.

Oh, and yeah, it's a really great read!!

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WonderCon Day 1 Report

Back from Day One at WonderCon here in San Francisco. The streets surrounding the Moscone Center have Star Trek movie posters (like these, left) hanging from the street lights! Really impressive crowd for the first day, too.

Paramount was giving away the 4 posters pictured here, so I grabbed one of each. That was about it for my Star Trek haul. Didn't see any merchandise associated with the new film other than issues of the prequel comic series Star Trek: Countdown. I'm holding off on that until the compilation is released in April or May. Classic toys seemed all the rage in the Dealers' Room, though. Trek is definitely generating some excitement again.

A number of TV and movie personalities were there doing autographs. I was surprised when I saw Gary Lockwood (Gary Mitchell) at one of the booths! Then in the west of the Dealers' Room were a number of other personalities, many who'd appeared in Trek including Pamelyn Ferdin (child star of the 60s and 70s who was Mary in "And the Children Shall Lead"), Michelle Scarabelli (TNG "In Theory"), Bobby Clark (the Gorn!), super yummy (and still super yummy!) BarBara Luna (TOS "Mirror, Mirror"), Chase Masterson (DS9's Leeta), Malachi Throne and Sean Kenney (both in TOS "The Cage"), and more. I'm not an autograph person, but...

I did pick up the lush hardback of the Mouse Guard RPG and artist David Petersen not only autographed it, but sketched me a little mouse inside as well! I'm not at all familiar with Luke Crane's Burning Wheel rules system, but I've heard nothing but good things about the game, the price was right and the autograph was a plus.

Went to the The Once & Future Trek panel, and although only Daren Dochterman and TrekMovie's Tony Pascale were able to make it, there was a good turnout for the panel. Didn't learn anything new but it's always nice to attach a face to a name. Both were very funny and well-informed, and the crowd was mostly positive about the future of Trek (and not just the movie). People definitely still care, no matter what Voyager did (hahahaha). The guys showed some fun Trek clips including Star Trek Knights of the Round Table, a commercial for UK's National Power/Powergen featuring Shatner and Doohan in character, and what looked to be an anti-drugs PSA from the 70s built as a mashup of clips from Trek The Animated Series. At least I think it was for real, but I can't find it online, nor any reference to it... maybe it was just a fan mashup.

Anyway, that's my Day 1. I'll report back on Day 2 tomorrow with impressions following the big Paramount panel in the Main Hall!

But wait! There's more.....