Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- IDW "Infestation" Retailer Incentive Items

Item Name: "Infestation" Crossover Retailer Incentive Items
Publisher/ Manufacturer: IDW Comics

The Rundown: Sorry for the lack of new posts over the last couple of weeks folks! Work has been killer and I just haven't had much free time for posting. I'm actually doing this post at 5 in the morning (sorry if it's a bit incoherent), but I just had to get this one up right away! I just picked up these super keen retailer incentives for the big IDW crossover event "Infestation", and I really wanted to post this up fast so folks are aware of these.



For those of you haven't been keeping current with the wonderful IDW comics (shame on you), "Infestation" is company wide crossover dealing with one of my all-time favorite group of vile villains: ZOMBIES! The story runs through 4 different properties licensed to IDW- G.I.Joe, Transformers, Ghostbusters, and (most importantly) Star Trek! While none of the properties cross paths with each other (you won't see Kirk riding shotgun in Bumblebee or anything like that), the zombie story runs across each universe and is bookended by 2 "Infestation" specials, the first of which hit comic shops yesterday. Along with the book, retailers who ordered enough copies received special incentives to sell (or give away...). For every 10 copies ordered, stores got 1 copy of the sketchbook pictured above.



The sketchbook features reprints of art done by the various artists featured in the books and covers all four properties involved. There just a few Trek sketches inside, but the ones that are reprinted are really cool- My favorites being the McCoy pictured above...



...and this awesome shot by David Messina of zombie Uhura at her station! Now I know a lot of folks might be saying "zombies and Star Trek? Ummm... no thanks! Keep Trek serious please". But really, what's the fun in that? I mean, Trek crossed over with hippies. so why not zombies? I personally LOVE zombie stories, and I don't see the harm in doing a Trek story with them, especially if it's handled right, which this one looks to be. It's being written by my buddy Scott Tipton (bonus), it's set in the TMP era (double bonus), and it has freaking zombies in it (TRIPLE bonus). What's not to love!?!

Sorry, got on a soapbox there, back to the incentives...



The other incentive item for the book is this nifty patch. For every 5 copies ordered, IDW sent along a pack of 5 Trek "Infestation" patches. Each of the 4 licensed properties involved will have a patch featuring their logo with the zombie hand reaching up to it. Of course we all know that the Trek patch is the most important one, and I'm super stoked to iron this puppy onto my favorite jacket. If my wife lets me. Which she won't.

So there ya go! If you're interested in learning more about the book (which you should), head over to your local comic shop and ask your friendly retailer to point you towards "Infestation" issue 1! While you're at, ask him if he has any of these incentives handy. If he doesn't, and you really want one, well e-mail your name to apieceoftheaction@live.com and there's a chance you might get a set for FREE!

That's right! My local comic shop (Queen City comics in Fairfield, OH) was nice enough to hook me up with an extra patch and sketchbook to give away here at the blog! So shoot an e-mail to apieceoftheaction@live.com with your name and zip code (please put "Infestation" in the subject line too) and get entered to win! I'll pick one name at random in about a week or so! Good luck... and go check out the book!

Reading Room Spotlight- "Star Trek: Spock- Reflections" From IDW Publishing

Name: Star Trek: Spock- Reflections
Published by: IDW
Written by: Scott & Dave Tipton
Art by: David Messina, Elena Casagrande, Federica Manfredi, & Arianna Florean

The Rundown: Ah... Star Trek comics. They've been produced by just about every comic publisher at one time or another, with varying degrees of success. The Gold Key stuff was fun but sometimes highly inaccurate, the DC run was long-lived but had a very mixed bag when it came to good stories and art, Marvel had it twice but didn't deliver much memorable stuff, Wildstorm was just a brief flash in the pan... which leads us up to IDW. For the first time (at least in my eyes), I feel a publisher is treating Trek comics as a truly viable medium to continue the onscreen adventures. I have yet to be disappointed in an IDW Trek book. Each one that I read seems to capture the "feel" of the characters better than anything presented by those previous publishers. So for my first comic spotlight, I'm picking one of my favs from the IDW era: Spock- Reflections

Reflections is a four issue mini-series that spans Spock's life, from his days as a young outcast on Vulcan up through his efforts of reunification on Romulus. The story is told in flashbacks set against a "current" story of Spock on a mission to bid a final farewell to an old friend. You can either snag the trade paperback pictured above to get it all in one handy volume, or if you prefer single issues, here's what you'll be looking for (the retailer incentive cover, if one was available, is pictured to your right)-



Issue 1 finds Spock leaving Romulus in secret for Earth. Spock has to deal with a talkative Saurian, and through their exchanges we see a little more behind the reasoning for Spock's departure. A brief flashback with Captain Harriman, and a scene from Spock's youth on Vulcan give you a feel of what to expect from the series.



The second issue continues Spock's talk with the Saurian. In this issue, we get flashbacks of Spock's return to the Enterprise in "The Motion Picture", his time serving with Pike, and a brief scene on Romulus that basically set the stage for the "current" story. The TMP scene is especially well done and may be my favorite Trek comic moment EVER. It truly feels like a deleted scene from the movie.



Issue 3 finds Spock leaving the company of the Saurian to charter a ship for a little pickup before completing his journey to Earth. We get to see more of Spock's past, from an encounter with an old flame on Vulcan during the time of Spock's attempt to complete the Kolinahr Ritual back to an adventure during the original 5 year mission with Kirk and company (a moment I had anxiously awaited since the first issue).



The closing issue of the series finds Spock completing his mission to Earth interspersed with flashbacks to his experiences with Saavik around the time of "Wrath Of Khan". The story ends with a very touching moment shared with an unexpected special guest...

Overall, "Spock- Reflections" is one of the best Trek stories to hit comic shelves. The Tiptons know their Trek and can really get inside the mindset of these characters (something lacking from many of the previous Trek comic writers). The art too is elevated to a point beyond what the other publishers have offered and has a truly cinematic feel to it. You can tell by reading these books that this isn't just a job to these creators, but in fact they really do care about this property and are putting everything they have into delivering a high quality product. Can't wait for more!

Picking up the trade is probably your best bet if you just want to read the story (which you SHOULD do). Amazon has it for the low price of only $12.23, which is well worth it!

-James