On Thursday (Sept. 8), "Star Trek" fans around the globe will unite in celebration of the hope, inspiration, and promise that this storied sci-fi franchise has offered Earthlings of every stripe and persuasion since the original TV series first landed on that date in 1966.
It's a time to commemorate and share memories of visionary creator Gene Roddenberry's "Wagon Train to the Stars" and the iconic show’s premiere episode that aired back in late summer 56 years ago today.
But it's also the perfect excuse to reveal some cool new "Star Trek"-centric merchandise that helps honor the iconic franchise and its enduring legacy in all corners of pop culture.
Related: 'Star Trek' Day offers a feast for fans, including news, interviews and more
As a companion to Dramatic Labs' upcoming "Star Trek: Resurgence" video game arriving later this year for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Xbox Series X/S, IDW Publishing will be offering up a tie-in companion comic book this November to bring players up to speed on the game’s backstory.
"Resurgence's" adventure-driven game narrative delivers a space-faring story set in the period following the events of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and centers around the dauntless crew aboard the starship U.S.S. Resolute in the year 2380.
IDW's new five-issue miniseries, also titled "Star Trek: Resurgence," adds a distinct measure of depth and detail to the highly-anticipated interactive game and chronicles a disaster that strikes the crew of the U.S.S. Resolute before the overarching plot of Dramatic Lab's digital amusement.
Written by Andrew Grant and Dan Martin, and accompanied by evocative illustrations from artist Josh Hood ("Avatar: The Next Shadow," "Star Trek: Mirror Broken"), "Star Trek: Resurgence" gives imaginative readers a chance to explore tragic happenings aboard a Federation starship that preceded the game's storyline.
"I can't wait for fans to have a truly immersive game experience on the bridge of the U.S.S. Resolute and discover the formative events that indelibly shaped the ship and crew via the comic books," says Grant in an official IDW press release. "I'm grateful to have worked on a franchise that is genuinely hopeful about the future, that takes into consideration the needs of the many, and views diversity as a singular source of strength."
The plot begins on a desolate, windswept world that borders the particularly hostile Talarian Republic, where a genius scientist on the verge of developing technology that could revolutionize warp travel has vanished. The crew of the U.S.S. Resolute is dispatched on a secret stealth mission to locate Dr. Leah Brahms and keep her research out of nefarious hands.
"Drawing "Star Trek" is a bit of a double-edged sword," adds Hood. "The iconography is burned into the minds of so many fans that when you get something wrong — the phasers, the bridge of a starship, the comms badges — it's instantly recognizable as being wrong. But when you get it right, the entire experience of being in the 24th Century seems to slide right into place."
IDW's "Star Trek: Resurgence #1" arrives in comic shops and online outlets in November with variant covers by Dramatic Labs and Malachi Ward.
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