The kooky crew of Paramount+'s "Star Trek: Lower Decks" animated series may be bringing the U.S.S. Cerritos home for good this year after five successful streaming seasons, but that doesn't mean the hilarious space hijinks have to end with a tearful farewell come October.
As revealed last weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, IDW Publishing is keeping the warp cores warm as it presents an all-original ongoing "Star Trek: Lower Decks" comic book title from the Eisner-nominated creative duo of writer Ryan North and artist Derek Charm ("Star Trek: Day of Blood - Shaxs' Best Day").
This new anthology, premiering Nov. 13, 2024, follows the misadventures of fan favorite "Lower Decks" characters like Boimler, Mariner, Tendi, T'Lyn and Rutherford in episodic tales using a revolving roster of illustrators beginning with Charm.
"'Lower Decks' is my favorite 'Star Trek,' and I have seen every single 'Star Trek' there is to see, except for one episode I will never reveal," North said in an official statement.
Related: 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Season 5 trailer launches the crew on one last wacky mission (video)
"This raises the obvious question: Will something in this comic contradict something that I missed in that one episode I never saw?" he added. "Thankfully, the answer is no, because the entire 'Lower Decks' team — both at IDW and Paramount — has been so amazing — supportive, clever, brilliant. We're making a big funny heartfelt book with huge sci-fi ideas, important character developments, tons of that 'Trek' flavor and a bunch of jokes, too. If you love 'Lower Decks,' you'll love this comic!
"I get to team up with some of my favorite artists for this book, starting with Derek Charm, who we last teamed up with on the Eisner-winning 'Unbeatable Squirrel Girl' and on the Eisner-nominated 'Shaxs' Best Day.' He is the best."
This isn't IDW's first foray into "Lower Decks" territory; the company published a three-issue "Star Trek: Lower Decks" miniseries from writer Ryan North ("Adventure Time") and artist Chris Fenoglio ("Star Wars Adventures") back in the fall of 2022. Both creators will contribute their talents to this new "Star Trek" series.
"Just when you thought we couldn't go lower… we're back with the first-ever ongoing 'Lower Decks' series," stated IDW Group Editor Heather Antos. "Just like the fans out there, we too want more 'Lower Decks,' and this time we're giving it to you tenfold! Ryan North is showing us just how deep of a 'Trek' nerd he is with these stories, and paired with the comedic geniuses of Derek Charm, Jack Lawrence and more on art duties for a rotating cast of 'episodic' issues, this series is a mission so fun that even the 'Lower Deckers' themselves won't want to miss it!"
With a main cover by Derek Charm and variant covers from Megan Huang and Chris Fenoglio, IDW's "Star Trek: Lower Decks #1" launches into shops on Nov. 13, 2024.
