10 Star Trek Comics Fans Need To Read

Sometimes it's hard to remember that there were great Star Trek comics before IDW took command of the franchise. However, DC Comics' 1989 series stands out for a number of reasons.

Sadly, we only got to see the first and final missions of the Enterprise-A on screen. This series fills that space with more than 70 issues of monster maroon goodness. Taking place just after Final Frontier, the series follows the continuing adventures of Captain Kirk and his crew in their early years aboard the Enterprise-A.

While not the only or even the first Star Trek series published by DC, this one feels special in that it occupies the most solid space in canon. Other volumes of the time often stepped on the toes of the films, writing themselves in circles trying to work their way around the plot threads left hanging by the ongoing movie arcs. But the six year gap between Final Frontier and Undiscovered Country gifted the writers with a time range to freely explore and make their own.

Though this run of comics doesn't always jive with known canon, the deviations are nothing especially egregious. What it succeeds at is expanding on many of the character arcs and plot threads set up by the films and in building a world that feels like it belongs somewhere between TOS and TNG. Kirk's command style hasn't changed much but Starfleet as an organization is becoming more strict. He may settle a situation the way he would back in the original series but now consequences come down on him.

This comic delivers the Enterprise-A fully in its prime as the ageing crew deal with a galaxy that's starting to change on them. DC's 1989 volume of Star Trek is a must read for any fans of the first six movies.