It’s a great time to be a Star Trek fan. Not only is the beloved sci-fi franchise celebrating its 60th birthday this year, but there’s a new television series for fans to enjoy with Starfleet Academy and introduce new fans to the universe as well. On the comics side of things, fans have had some great books as well, with the phenomenal Star Trek: The Last Starship taking readers into the 31st century and a Federation that has collapsed due to The Burn. Now fans are getting even more with another new series, this one finally giving one of Star Trek’s best characters their chance to shine three years after the end of television’s Picard.
On Wednesday, IDW Publishing announced Star Trek, a brand-new ongoing series from writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Dennis Menheere. Coming just a bit after the publishers most recent Star Trek ongoing wrapped, this new series will finally give fans something they’ve been waiting for for some time: the adventures of the USS Enterprise-G and captain Seven of Nine. The new series comes three years after the end of Picard and is set to be an epic story about survival and legacy all on a secret mission led by the popular character.
Seven of Nine is One of Star Trek’s Best Characters
According to IDW, the new Star Trek series will see Captain Seven of Nine bringing the Enterprise-G beyond the four quadrants of the galaxy for the first time ever with the Enterprise venturing into a hidden region of space where time fractures, minds unravel, and an unseen power manipulates fear itself—testing whether the Federation’s ideals of exploration are salvation… or the universe’s greatest mistake. It’s an exciting-sounding premise, one that is perfect for one the best characters Star Trek has ever introduced.
Seven of Nine was first introduced at the end of Star Trek: Voyager’s third season and has had an incredible story arc over the years. Initially a Borg drone, the character became a beloved and important member of the Voyager crew. However, after being denied entry into Starfleet because of her Borg past, she spent time with the Fenris Rangers. Eventually, Jean-Luc Picard granted her a field commission that saw her enter Starfleet and she was later assigned as first officer of the USS Titan-A, going on to become its captain — with the Titan rechristened Enterprise. Given her long road of redemption and perseverance and acceptance, Seven of Nine’s story has long been one that has appealed to fans and, to many, the finale moments of Star Trek: Picard felt very much like it was setting the character up for greater. Now, with IDW’s new series, that seems to be paying off.
And Seven of Nine — and Star Trek — is in good hands. Cantwell is not only a Star Trek fan but wrote Star Trek: Defiant and Star Trek: Redshirts, both of which were solid series.
“As we look back on 60 years of Star Trek, we celebrate a story universe that has actually always been about looking forward — a shared dream swirling within the daunting wonder and awe of the stars,” Cantwell said in a statement. “I discovered Star Trek as the age of 10 and my life was never the same. The worlds, the people, the stories that wrestled with the work it takes to build community and consensus, to establish and hold sacred values like peace and harmony, the tenuousness of truce amid a galaxy of agendas and perspectives. That is the magic of Star Trek — the kaleidoscopic wonder of its complex themes and notions.”
He continued, “In building a brand-new Star Trek adventure, we seek to do just that: create something brand new, something that looks entirely forward into the hope of the complete — and at times frightening — unknown, all as our ensemble of characters stands shoulder to shoulder, facing the expanse of an adventure never dared before. There is an abundance of incredible mythos that Star Trek has given us over six decades, but with this launch we seek to shed that past even as we embrace its best qualities.”
“If you’ve never experienced Star Trek in your entire life, this adventure is for you. It is a clean slate; truly a strange new world full of new characters — some of whom speak to what has come before, yes, but whose entire mission and purpose concerns boldly going where literally no one has gone before… not even Star Trek itself.”
Star Trek #1 arrives this September from IDW.
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