REVIEW: STAR TREK 50TH ANNIVERSARY COVER CELEBRATION
Fifty years ago, Captain Christopher Pike and his interstellar crew hit our TV screens to, famously, not a lot of fanfare. Still there was enough of the “wagon train to the stars” show that intrigued the studios, if only the first officer wasn’t a woman and the devil like character with the pointy ears would definitely have to go!
Fifty years on, a variety of Captains have now boldly gone, some of which were women, with each iteration creating a nebula worth of interest and hype. Boy, it sure was a good thing to keep the fella with the pointy ears!
Star Trek was and still is one of the most enduring “cash cows” that exists in pop culture. Catchphrases are as common place as any, needing just the right context for a “dammit Jim, I’m a (insert job) not a (insert job you have been asked to do)” that would rival any “I’ve got a bad feeling about this”. But being a cash cow comes with a level of responsibility. True, with an engaged fandom, you can pretty much ensure that pretty much anything that hits the stands will get snapped up. But to put out any old rehash or rubbish pretty much insults the fan base that any franchise surely needs.
Case in point. Hot on the heels of a photo-comic, which shows an entire episode in stills from the actual episode (I still don’t understand why you just wouldn’t watch the episode?) IDW pull out all the stops for a book of covers that you, if you are a fan, will have already purchased and as some are variants, at great time and expense spent. Still, it’s not like they are going to rip you off for this product of already seen goods, right? I mean, it’s not like the images in question can be found on the internet right? So surely this is a freebie to say thank you for all your support, right?
Well, unfortunately not. For you to enjoy the covers of books you already own, IDW are charging you $5.99! And to think they call Harry Mudd a pirate!
I haven’t seen some of these covers before, some of them are excellent movie quality in places. I also quite like some of the more abstract pieces, “City on the Edge of Forever” is always going to be a favourite as it the Gold Key cover. However, I still can’t help thinking this is gold pressed latinum for old rope.
For a fifty years anniversary, let’s have something that really shows Trek at it’s best, not at it money grabbing worst.
Overall – 0 Stars
(W) Mike Johnson (A) Tim Bradstreet, J. K. Woodward, David Messina, Rachael Stott (A/CA) Tony Shasteen
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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