Star Trek Manga Writer Hopes To Evoke Original Series

Joshua Ortega, who wrote the Top Cow comic series Necromancer, has turned his attention to recreating the original Star Trek in manga style.

Comic Book Resources has an interview with Ortega, who said that with the franchise being absent from movie theatres and broadcast television, he hopes to commemorate Star Trek's 40th anniversary by reminding fans why they fell in love with it in the first place.

"Outside of the original 'Twilight Zone,' I don't think there's a show that's had more impact on me than the original Trek series," Ortega explained of his reasons for wanting to be involved with the project. "It was so groundbreaking, in so many ways." Kirk, Spock, and McCoy were his favourite characters -- "Their dynamic, their personality differences, the way each one's strengths compliment or comedically clash against the other's...just great stuff" -- so the central trio will be the focus of his story.

The graphic novel will be called Anything But Alone, and Ortega said he did his best "to evoke the feel of a classic Trek or SF story from the '60s. Wild technology, interesting characters, and of course, a good moral and philosophical dilemma."

He added that any sci-fi fan should be able to read the comic, not just longtime Trekkers: "I think anyone who enjoys space or SF stories will be able to pick it up and enjoy it. At the same time, between the research I did for the story and my fondness for the Original Series, I think hardcore fans are really gonna dig the story." Tokyopop, which is publishing the comic, has not yet released the name of the illustrator.

For more on Ortega, see the article at Comic Book Resources.

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