Star Trek Comics = Retro Geek Fun
September 21, 2007
If you’re a geek of a certain vintage like me, the otherworldly strains of the original Star Trek theme song can send little tingles up your spine — even 30+ years after those rapt childhood evenings watching the UHF-rerun adventures of Kirk, Spock and the starship Enterprise. For better or worse, those shows helped to define me. It’s no coincidence that I spent my first eight years after college working as an engineer on the Space Shuttle program.
When I spotted 60s-70s-era Star Trek comics on the WOWIO New Releases feed this morning (free downloads), I was there in a click. Back in the day, I watched the original series and the animated show, but I had never seen this comic.
The writing in the first book is a bit odd with, for example, Spock’s speech laden with uncharacteristic emotion and far too many exclamation points. Then again, the writers didn’t have the prism of decades of pop culture character development on which to base the dialogue. This settles down in the later books, though exclamation points don’t ever seem to really go away in comic-speak.
Bottom line: seeing Shatner and crew rendered in that now-retro comic book style is pure nostalgia.
The Reader 
I had a couple of these babies when they first came out (I’m dating myself). I used to get TREK-related stuff when I was feeling a nostalgia gig but there’s something onerous about how movie companies (owned by multinationals) are shamelessly milking money from fans with ridiculous ploys like releasing new versions of the movies with “extra” footage…or maybe it’s billed as the director’s cut…or the “ultimate” version…or the 25th anniversary edition. The interesting thing about TREK is that back when the original series was being made, actors didn’t receive nearly the same amount for residuals and, if I’m not mistaken, Shatner et all were never compensated for the thousands of times TREK episodes have played around the world, in 50 languages.It wasn’t until the movies started getting made that the cast got a piece of the action.
I think you’re right about the residuals. If I recall, the Actors’ Union went on strike in the 80s to get that additional compensation, but it wasn’t retroactive. While the ST:TOS cast no doubt got a form of residual income from Trek conventions and all, I’m sure times were pretty lean for them until the new movies and series revived the franchise.
How I love eerie space fogs :)) Having been the editor/publisher of Fantastic Films magazine from 1977-1985, I never tire of such nostalgia. Thanks for the link 🙂
Peace and Blessings!
larga vida y largo cabello al capitan kirk!
I could like to download a TOS or any comic of star trek, in order to have a good show, but I don´t know how do it.
I put in the google criteria -free download star trek comics- So I guess that are for free. Sorry If I wrong.
Salute Ian Müller