STAR TREK: 60TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 (IDW PUBLISHING)
There are few franchises that can say they have been part of popular culture for 60 years.
Even fewer can say that after six decades, they are still finding new stories to tell. Star Trek has never really been about looking backward. It has always been about looking forward.
That makes STAR TREK: 60TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by David Gerrold, JP Buzio, Christine Franzen, Clayton Cowles, Dana Gould, Megan Levens, Charlie Kirchoff, Jeff Eckleberry, Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos, Jodie Troutman, Ryan North, Derek Charm, Dave Baker, Nicole Goux, David F. Walker, Esau Escorza, Isaac Escorza, Mike McMahan, Michael Allred, Laura Allred, Meghan Camarena, Mari Rolin, JP Jordan, Chris Fenoglio, Christopher Cantwell, Isaac Sánchez González, Igor Montil & Heather Antos (IDW Publishing) such a fitting celebration of the franchise.
STAR TREK: 60TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by David Gerrold, JP Buzio, Christine Franzen, Clayton Cowles, Dana Gould, Megan Levens, Charlie Kirchoff, Jeff Eckleberry, Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos, Jodie Troutman, Ryan North, Derek Charm, Dave Baker, Nicole Goux, David F. Walker, Esau Escorza, Isaac Escorza, Mike McMahan, Michael Allred, Laura Allred, Meghan Camarena, Mari Rolin, JP Jordan, Chris Fenoglio, Christopher Cantwell, Isaac Sánchez González, Igor Montil & Heather Antos (IDW Publishing) - Cover: Michael Cho
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
Coming in at 68 pages, this oversized anthology brings together stories spanning the history of Star Trek, from the original and The Animated Series to The Next Generation, Lower Decks, and the franchise’s newest chapters. There are stories featuring characters old and new. It is an impressive cross-section of Trek and that’s what makes this special work so well.
Rather than trying to make every story feel the same, each one has its own identity. The different writers and artists bring their own styles to each, allowing the stories to feel distinct while still unmistakably belonging to the same universe. Some of the creative talent is also particularly meaningful to the franchise. David Gerrold, who wrote the legendary The Trouble with Tribbles, returns to the world of Star Trek, while creators from some of Trek’s most recent television eras also get to contribute their voices
It’s a collection that feels like a conversation between generations. Think about everything this franchise has accomplished since 1966. It started as a television series that was cancelled after three seasons and somehow became one of the most enduring science-fiction franchises in history. It has inspired generations of writers, artists, scientists, engineers, astronauts, and fans. It has gone from live-action television to animation, movies, novels, comics, video games and countless other forms of media. Yet somehow, Star Trek is still relevant.
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It’s because the heart of the franchise has never been the starships, the aliens, the phasers or the transporter. Those things are fun, but they have always been the window dressing around something much bigger: the idea that tomorrow can be better than today.
Jean-Luc Picard once said, “The past is written, but the future is left for us to write.” That sentiment feels almost tailor-made for a 60th anniversary celebration. Star Trek has an enormous history behind it, but it has never been content to simply celebrate what has already been accomplished. It keeps asking what comes next.
Star Trek belongs to every generation that has discovered it. The people who watched Kirk and Spock in the 1960s, the fans who grew up with Picard and the Enterprise-D, the kids who discovered Trek through animation, and the newer fans finding the franchise through today’s series can all see a piece of themselves here. And maybe that’s the real legacy of Star Trek. Not that it has survived for 60 years, but that it has continued to inspire people to imagine what those next 60 years could look like.
As Captain Kirk once reflected, “What we leave behind is not as important as how we’ve lived.” After six decades, Star Trek has certainly left something behind. But perhaps its greatest achievement is that it continues to make people want to boldly go forward.
FINAL GRADE: 9.8
Star Trek: 60th Anniversary Special is a celebration of where the franchise has been, but more importantly, it’s a reminder that its story isn’t finished yet. 60 years later, the final frontier still feels like the beginning.
Let me know your thoughts on STAR TREK: 60TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 in the comments below. Thanks for reading!