Today marks the end of the current phase of IDW’s Star Trek comics, with the release of Star Trek: Omega. But the Star Trek license isn’t going anywhere, and to prove it, IDW recently announced the next Star Trek series from writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, Star Trek: The Last Starship. In a mashup of eras, it promises to take Captain Kirk — yes, the Captain Kirk — and drop him into the far future of the Star Trek timeline established in the later seasons of Star Trek Discovery. Specifically, right into the middle of the Burn, that catastrophic event in which all the ships engines went boom and the Federation crumbled.
Kelly and Lanzing proved adept in their recently-completed Star Trek series at juggling cross-era plot elements along with characters struggling with their mortality and humanity in the wake of resurrection, and now they’ll have a chance to continue that work with Trek’s original square-jawed, lover of women, space cowboy in the captain’s chair, revived during a tumultuous but largely unexplored time of galactic history.
Check out the full press release for all the deets below, and check out more of our Star Trek coverage (including an interview with the cartoonist behind Chief O’Brien at Work), here.
“IDW Publishing is proud to announce STAR TREK: THE LAST STARSHIP, a thrilling new mission the likes of which comics have never seen before. Arriving this September from acclaimed co-writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing and featuring breathtaking art by Adrián Bonilla and stellar colors by Heather Moore, the iconic STAR TREK hero Captain Kirk is back from the dead… and just in time for him to watch the Starfleet he loved so dearly burn to the ground.
This epic comic book series takes place during The Burn, a galaxy-wide disaster which caused the destruction of every active warp core, killing trillions and shattering the peace, stability, enlightenment, and mutual protection the United Federation of Planets provided for seven centuries. Facing a true wild west in space, a mysteriously resurrected Captain Kirk will lead a new crew and ship in a seemingly impossible effort to uphold Starfleet’s mission of unity across the cosmos.
“Forget everything you know about STAR TREK,” remarked co-writer Lanzing. “THE LAST STARSHIP is a new crew, a new era, and a completely different tone; our aim is to be literary, intense, innovative, and most of all, accessible. We’re bringing you into the Federation’s darkest hour through the brilliant, noir-soaked lens of artist Adrián Bonilla with zero homework required.” The Eisner-nominated writer added, “ Longtime Trek fans will have a deep and fascinating reading experience, to be sure – this is a pivotal moment in Trek history that’s never been even glimpsed before – but above all, THE LAST STARSHIP is a dark and complex sci-fi you can hand to anyone. We’ve spent the last eight years celebrating all that Trek has ever been. Now, it’s time to rebuild it from scratch and discover all it can be.”
The only familiar face is the one you’d never expect to see in this era: Captain James T. Kirk,” stated co-writer Kelly. “William Shatner’s iconic performance transcends borders – Kirk is one of the great characters of the modern fiction canon with a timeless actor to match. He was also the first STAR TREK character we ever wrote – a leader and warrior poet with boundless tragedy and contradiction. Now, we’re honored to be taking this character into truly uncharted, groundbreaking territory in THE LAST STARSHIP – as the Federation’s greatest pioneer must face down the inferno that threatens to consume his entire legacy.”
STAR TREK: THE LAST STARSHIP #1 features a primary cover by Francesco Francavilla, variant by Skyler Patridge, and a foil variant by Michael Cho. The debut issue goes on sale September 24 with a pre-order deadline of August 18.”
Austin Gorton also reviews older issues of X-Men at the Real Gentlemen of Leisure website, co-hosts the A Very Special episode podcast, and likes Star Wars. He lives outside Minneapolis, where sometimes, it is not cold. Follow him @austingorton.bsky.social.
