Alan J. Porter

The Weekly Haul - 11/11/09

2009-11-12T14:17:47Z

Yet again I feel compelled to share the spoils of my visit to Austin Books yesterday.

Comics

- Amazing Spider-Man #611 (Marvel)
- Batgirl #4 (DC)
- Batman #693 (DC)
- Batman / Doc Savage #1 (DC)
- Batman & Robin #6 (DC)
- Cars: Radiator Springs #3 (BOOM Kids!)
- Dark X-Men #1 (Marvel)
- Doctor Who #5 (IDW)
- Incredibles #2 (BOOM Kids!)
- Muppet Show: The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #4 (BOOM Kids!)
- Red Robin #6 (DC)
- Strange #1 (Marvel)
- Sword #1 (Marvel)
- Wall*E #0 (BOOM Kids!)
- Witchblade #132 (Top Cow)

Ares I-X: The Final Days

2009-11-11T22:42:51Z

The perfect diversion for fellow space hardware junkies - a great 10 minute movie about NASA's recent test of the ARES 1-X rocket.

STAR TREK Comics Timeline Project - 2250

2009-11-06T13:46:27Z

YEAR: 2250

Starfleet Academy
Stardate: not given
Comic: Star Trek Annual #2
Publisher: DC
Date: October 1991

Synopsis:

Writer: Peter David / Artists: James W. Fry, Curt Swan, & Arne Starr

The story of Jim Kirk’s arrival and early days at Starfleet Academy, where he first meets his roommate Gary Mitchell, the prankster and rival Finnegan, a young Uhura, and a young scientist by the name of Carol Marcus.

NEXT POST: 2251

Previous Entries

1953

2056

2063

---------------
NOTES:
(1) This timeline covers Star Trek comics published in the USA and UK between 1967 to 2007 (i.e. from Gold Key to TokyoPop) - it does not include any stories from current Star Trek comics publisher IDW.
(2) Click here for the Time Line Introduction explaining the background, definitions and considerations for this Star Trek Comics Time Line project.
(3) For more information on the history of Star Trek in comics check out my book STAR TREK: A Comics History. now available in stores.

The Weekly Haul - 11/4/09

2009-11-05T12:58:43Z

Being the result of this week's excursion to Austin Books

Comics

- Amazing Spider-Man #610 (Marvel)
- Black Widow: Deadly Origin #1 (Marvel)
- Captain America Reborn #4 (Marvel)
- Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love #1 (DC/Vertigo)
- Deathlok The Demolisher #1 (Marvel)
- Donald Duck #347 (BOOM Kids!)
- Eternal Conflicts of the Cosmic Warrior #1 (Image)
- Finding Nemo #4 (BOOM Kids!)
- House of Mystery #19 (DC/Vertigo)
- Psylocke #1 (Marvel)
- Stumptown #1 (Oni)

James Bond comics covers from around the world - #74 - "Till Death Do Us Part"

2009-11-05T12:39:28Z

Cover art for the James Bond comics story, Till Death Do Us Part, first published as newspaper strip in the Daily Express from 15th July 1975 to 14th October 1975

Newspaper Strip Title

Reprints:

Denmark

this story was also reprinted and published in Italy, Norway and Sweden.

Find out more on the history of James Bond in comics, check out JAMES BOND: A history of the illustrated 007, now on sale through a good bookstore near you!

Animated "Dalek Empire"

2009-11-04T15:24:55Z

Of all the various Doctor Who related CD audio adventures from the awesome folks at Big Finish, the one that I have probably listened to the most often is the excellent "Dalek Empire" series.

Now animator "android65mar" has created an excellent adaptation of the opening six minutes.

This is very cool and I'd love to see a full length version of this excellent story adapted into this format.

The Weekly Haul - 10/28/09

2009-10-30T21:44:05Z

And what four color wonders did I pick up this week at that purveyor of sequential art goodness known as Austin Books? - Well wonder no more dear reader.

Comics
- Astro City: Astra #2 (Wildstorm)
- Batman #692 (DC)
- Batman: The Brave & The Bold #10 (DC Kids)
- Buck Rogers #5 (Dynamite)
- Detective Comics #858 (DC)
- Die Hard Year One #2 (BOOM!)
- Fantastic Four #572 (Marvel)
- Gotham City Sirens #5 (DC)
- Jack of Fables #39 (DC / Vertigo)
- Justice Society of America #32 (DC)
- Muppet Peter Pan #2 (BOOM Kids!)
- Northlanders #21 (DC/Vertigo)
- Superman: Secret Origin #2 (DC)
- World's Finest #1 (DC)

Manga
- Naoki Urasawa's "Monster" Vol. 11 (Viz)

James Bond comics covers from around the world - #73 - "The Black Ruby Caper"

2009-10-23T12:54:14Z

Cover art for the James Bond comics story, The Black Ruby Caper, first published as newspaper strip in the Daily Express from 19th February 1975 to 15th July 1975

Newspaper Strip Title

Reprints:

Denmark

Norway

Sweden

this story was also reprinted and published in Finland, and Italy.

Find out more on the history of James Bond in comics, check out JAMES BOND: A history of the illustrated 007, now on sale through a good bookstore near you!

STAR TREK Comics Timeline Project - 2063

2009-10-23T12:21:20Z

YEAR: 2063

First Contact
Stardate: not applicable
Comic: Star Trek: The Next Generation - First Contact - Movie Adaptation
Publisher: Marvel
Date: November 1996

Synopsis:

Writer: John Vornholt / Artists: Terry Pallot, Rod Whigham & Philip Moy

The Borg travel back in time in an attempt to assimilate Earth in a time before the Federation. The Enterprise follows them back and seemingly destroys the Borg sphere, but it isn’t long before they realize that the Borg are still active and are tying to stop the flight of Zefhram Cochran’s first warp ship, the Phoenix; a flight that results in the first meeting between Humans and Vulcans. While one part of the crew fight to stop the Borg taking over the Enterprise, the others work to ensure that the first contact happens.

Second Contact
Stardate: not applicable
Comic: Star Trek: The Next Generation / X-Men #1
Publisher: Marvel
Date: May 1998

Synopsis:

Writers: Dan Abnett & Ian Edginton / Artists: Cary Nord & Scott Koblish

While travelling back to their own time following the events of Star Trek: First Contact, the Enterprise-E is diverted into the 20th Century of a parallel universe due to the actions of a time traveler known as Kang the Conqueror. The crew of the Enterprise joins forces with the mutant heroes known as the X-Men to foil Kang’s plans, and to repair the temporal rift. (The story continues in Star Trek: The Next Generation/X-Men: Planet X, a Pocket Books novel by Michael Jan Friedman.)

Side Note: Whenever I mentioned I was working on a book about Star Trek comics, this was invariably the first comic that most people recalled. Interestingly there were two distinct and opposite reactions (1.) They hated the book with a passion, the idea of mixing the Trek and Marvel universes being a total anathema; or (2) they thought the idea of having Capt. Picard and Professor X meet was the coolest thing ever as both characters had been played on screen by Patrick Stewart.

NEXT POST: 2250

Previous Entries

1953

2056

The Weekly Haul - 10/22/09

2009-10-23T11:47:50Z

Was a day later than normal at Austin Books, but still survived the trauma to pick up a somewhat smaller stack of books this week:

Comics

- Amazing Spider-Man #609 (Marvel)
- Azrael #1 (DC)
- Batman: Streets of Gotham #5 (DC)
- Brave & The Bold #28 (DC)
- Daredevil #500 (Marvel)
- Poe #4 (BOOM!)
- Star Trek Nero #3 (IDW)

STAR TREK Comics Timeline Project - 2056

2009-10-15T23:29:55Z

YEAR: 2056

"Forgiveness"
Stardate: not applicable
Comic: Star Trek: The Next Generation - Forgiveness
Publisher: Wildstorm
Date: October 2001

Synopsis:

Writer: David Brin / Artist: Scott Hampton

In the mid 21st century Dr Colin Blakeney makes significant strides in perfecting transporter technology until his lab is sabotaged during the first attempts at human transport. Trapped in a transport beam for over 300 year Blakeney will eventually be recovered by the crew of the Enterprise-E.

NEXT POST: 2063

Previous Entries

1953

James Bond comics covers from around the world - #72 - "The Phoenix Project"

2009-10-15T12:58:10Z

Cover art for the James Bond comics story, The Phoenix Project, first published as newspaper strip in the Daily Express from 23rd September 1974 to 18th February 1975

Newspaper Strip Title

Reprints:

Denmark

Sweden

this story was also reprinted and published in Finland, Italy and Norway.

Find out more on the history of James Bond in comics, check out JAMES BOND: A history of the illustrated 007, now on sale through a good bookstore near you!

The Weekly Haul - 10/14/09

2009-10-15T12:42:04Z

So what did I return from yesterday's trip to Austin Books with?

Well wonder no more, for here is the list:

Comics
- Adventure Comics #3 (DC)
- Batman #691 (DC)
- Batgirl #3 (DC)
- Booster Gold #25 (DC)
- DC Super Friends #19 (DC Kids)
- Doctor Who #4 (IDW)
- House of Mystery Annual #1 (DC/Vertigo)
- Marvels Project #3 (Marvel)
- Nomad #2 (Marvel)
- Red Robin #5 (DC)
- Star Trek: Spock Reflections #4 (IDW)
- Uncle Scrooge #384 (BOOM Kids)
- Walt Disney Comics #699 (BOOM Kids)

An evening at the races

2009-10-11T22:14:12Z

Spotted this young man enjoying his evening at the racetrack when I did a CARS signing at Thunderhill Raceway last month.

STAR TREK Comics Timeline Project - 1953

2009-10-09T14:49:40Z

YEAR: 1953

When the Stars Come A-Calling
Stardate: Not Applicable
Comic: Star Trek Special
Publisher: DC/Wildstorm
Date: 2001

Synopsis:

Writer: Ben Raab / Artist: John Lucas

Benny Russell, the 1950s SF writer that Capatin Sisko often sees himself as during his Prophet driven visions, continues to be turned away from publishers, not because of his talent, but because of his skin color. Later Russell is attacked by what appears to be a gang of Klingons, sees adverts for Quarks bar, mentions of the Borg, and sees aliens everywhere. Using these visions as inspiration Benny writes a new selection of stories and is accepted for publication in Incredible Tales magazine.

NEXT POST: 2056

---------------
NOTES:
(1) This timeline covers Star Trek comics published in the USA and UK between 1967 to 2007 (i.e. from Gold Key to TokyoPop) - it does not include any stories from current Star Trek comics publisher IDW.
(2) Click here for the Time Line Introduction explaining the background, definitions and considerations for this Star Trek Comics Time Line project.
(3) For more information on the history of Star Trek in comics check out my book STAR TREK: A Comics History. now available in stores.

STAR TREK Comics Timeline Project - Intro

2009-10-09T14:18:30Z

In the early stages of writing STAR TREK: A Comics History I started to keep a note of the various stardates attached to different stories. Initially this was just meant to be a guide for myself to help in the research process; but I soon realized that a full time line of the various Star Trek comics trying to put the stories into some sort of chronological order might make a great addition to the book and would be a fun project.

A little research showed that a few people had made starts at such a project over the years, and at one point the Star Trek comics published by DC Comics included their own time line, putting their stories in order.

As the work on the book progressed I took more and more notes, and with the aid of my wife Gill, made an attempt at compiling what I felt was the first comprehensive Star Trek comics time line covering all the comics issued between 1967 and 2007 (i.e. from Gold Key to TokyoPop).

Unfortunately while the completed timeline was in the final draft submitted, it had to be dropped from the final printed version of the book due to space and cost limitations (adding the time line section would have meant adding more pages than had already been allocated, with a subsequent increase in cover price - not something we wanted to do.)

But rather than just have that work sit on my laptop hard drive I have decided to present it here on my blog over the coming weeks and months.

And as I don't have any print space restrictions I'll be presenting an expanded version with cover art and synopsis of key stories.

To kick things off here's the Introduction to the timeline section as it would have appeared in the book.

==========================================

STAR TREK COMICS - A Time Line

Introduction

Given that almost every Star Trek story opens with a narrated Captain’s Log entry with an associated Stardate, it seems natural to try to put the various stories into some sort of chronological sequence. At first it would seem that the most logical way to do that would be to order the various adventures by the given Stardate. However, many of the published stories have no corresponding Stardate attached, and those that do use inconsitent methods. The problem is further complicated by the fact that even the official Stardate convention is confusing and inconsistent (see below for more on Stardates).

Since we know that most of the Star Trek stories take place in the 23rd and 24th centuries, the next obvious approach would be to list the stories in chronoligcal order based on conventional dates—in effect, to build a timeline. A timeline for the Star Trek prose novels has already been published in the excellent Voyages of the Imagination, and several of the people behind that project have made inroads into combining some of the comics stories into that timeline. In this chapter we have published what we hope is the first comphrensive timelime of Star Trek comics series, combining the stories from all the publishers listed in the previous chapters. The time line is based on chronological dates and, as far as possible, fitting the stories in with known established points in the history of the Star Trek universe. Of course with any fictional universe with input form a large number of creators inconsitencies are inevitable.

Stardates

The official definition of a Stardate is that it is intended to be a comprehensive calendar system used across the United Federation of Planets. Some other races and intergalactic organizations have also adopted the Stardate system. The system is designed to provide a unifed way of expressing time between locations which may be light-years apart and onboard ships that travel at relativistic speeds.

From a practical storytelling perspective, no one has ever officially (i.e. on screen) explained just how the system works. Stardates are simply made up by the creators of the TV shows, movies, novels and comics.

Bob Greenberger explained that in the early days of his tenure as editor of the Star Trek books at DC Comics the creative teams “did what we could to follow the lead of the film or episodes depending upon where our stories fell.” As a back up they used previously published sources if possible. Howard Weinstein concurred: “hey had to fit in with what the TV shows and movies established. “Once I decided where my stories fit into the TREK timeline, I'd base my stardates on ‘official’ dates used in the TV episodes and films.”

In ST:TOS, Stardates were generally four digits long. When ST:TNG aired, the show’s producers settled on a five-digit standard. The first digit was a 4 (because the show was set in the 24th century), the second digit signified which season of the show the episode was from, and the remaining digits increased as the season progressed. So a Stardate of 42002.9 would be early in the second season of ST:TNG, while a Stardate of 45998.2 would be late in the fifth season. The ST:TNG format was also carried over to ST:DS9 and ST:VOY.

In the main body of the book, I have quoted various Stardates exactly as they appeared in print in the original stories. However, for purposes of indexing, I have converted them to a standard four- or five-digit date followed by a decimal. For instance, in issue #10 of the Gold Key series, the Stardate is given as 12:48.6, while in the sixth UK story arc the Stardate is shown as 48.12.46. In this list they are shown as 1248.6. and 4812.46, respectively.

If a story has more than two Stardates shown, I have tried to use the Stardate in which the majority of the action occurs. If the story uses flashbacks, I have used the Stardate when the story starts.

Stories Listed Chronologically (Timeline)

Constructing an accurate calendar-based timeline for the Star Trek comics will be an ongoing process. Presented here is an initial attempt. The following criteria have been used in developing this timeline.

Where possible, events have been assigned a calendar date (or an approximate range of dates) based on references to other events where dates have already been established, continuity considerations, visual clues such as uniform styles, crew rosters, and the like.

This timeline was compiled by Alan J. Porter and Gillian J. Porter, building on work previously done by Bob Greenberger, Win Scott Eckert, and James McCain. (Off course any errors, omissions, bad guesses and outright mistakes are totally mine, and corrections, suggestions are welcome.)

=========================================

The first Star Trek Comics Timeline entry will be posted soon.

James Bond comics covers from around the world - #71 - "The Nevsky Nude"

2009-10-09T13:38:08Z

Cover art for the James Bond comics story, The Nevsky Nude, first published as newspaper strip in the Daily Express from 13th May 1974 to 21st September 1974

Reprints:

Denmark

this story was also reprinted and published in Finland, Italy, Norway, and Sweden.

Find out more on the history of James Bond in comics, check out JAMES BOND: A history of the illustrated 007, now on sale through a good bookstore near you!

The Weekly Haul - 10/7/09

2009-10-09T13:16:46Z

Let's see what I picked up at Austin Books & Comics this week...

Comics
- Amazing Spider-Man #608 (Marvel)
- Astonishing X-Men #31 (Marvel)
- Batman & Robin #5 (DC)
- Batman Annual #27
- Captain America: Theater of War #1 (Marvel)
- Cars: Radiator Springs #2 (BOOM Kids)
- House of Mystery #18 (DC / Vertigo)
- Incredibles #1 (BOOM Kids)
- Run #6 (DC)
- Sherlock Holmes #5 (Dynamite)
- Star Trek: Romulan Schism #2 (IDW)
- Planetary #27 (DC / Wildstorm)
- Witchblade #131 (Image/Top Cow)

Graphic Novels
- Grandville (Dark Horse)

Trade Paperbacks/Graphic Novels
- Muppet Robin Hood (BOOM Kids)

and while signing at the excellent Rogues Gallery store in Round Rock last weekend I also picked up:

Manga
- Naoki Urasawa's MONSTER Vols. 9 & 10 (Viz Media)

Waiting for the Doctor...

2009-10-06T18:17:00Z

Over the last 45 years it's looked like this...

And next year it will look like THIS.

and I can't wait.

Sneak look at the Sarge & Fillmore story due in stores next week.

2009-10-05T18:42:22Z

I know several people have been waiting for the Sarge and Fillmore issue of the Cars: Radiator Springs mini-series. Well the wait is almost over as it will be arriving in stores next week.

But you can get a sneak peek by thanks to the fine folks at MajorSpoilers.com by clicking on the image below.

The Weekly Haul - 9/30/09

2009-10-02T13:00:19Z

And here's this week's rundown of the stack of sequential art that I liberated from Austin Books.

Comics
- Amazing Spider-Man #607 (Marvel)
- Astro City: Astra #1 (Wildstorm)
- Batman: The Brave & The Bold (DC)
- Die Hard: Year One #1 (BOOM!)
- Echo #15 (Abstract)
- Gotham City Sirens #4 (DC)
- Jack of Fables #38 (DC / Vertigo)
- Justice Society of America #31 (DC)
- MIckey Mouse & Friends #296 (BOOM-Kids)
- The Phantom: Generations #5 (Moonstone)

Trade-Paperbacks

- Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood (Candlewick Press)
- Umbrella Academy: Dallas (Dark Horse)

James Bond comics covers from around the world - #70 - "Beware of Butterflies."

2009-10-02T12:09:45Z

Cover art for the James Bond comics story, Beware of Butterflies, first published as newspaper strip in the Daily Express from 4th December 1973 to 11th May 1974

Reprints:

Denmark

this story was also reprinted and published in Norway, and Sweden.

Find out more on the history of James Bond in comics, check out JAMES BOND: A history of the illustrated 007, now on sale through a good bookstore near you!

The Weekly Haul - 9/23/09

2009-09-24T12:39:19Z

After yesterday's visit to Austin Books & Comics, this is what has been added to the reading stack on my family room coffee table:

Comics

- Amazing Spider-Man #606 (Marvel)
- Buck Rogers #4 (Dynamite)
- Dark Reign: The List - X-Men #1 (Marvel)
- Detective Comics #857 (DC)
- Doctor Who: Black Death/White Life (IDW)
- Monsters Inc. #2 (BOOM Kids!)
- Muppet Peter Pan #1 (BOOM Kids!)
- Spider-Woman #1 (Marvel)
- Star Trek: Spock Reflections #3 (IDW)
- Superman Secret Origin #1 (DC)
- Underground #1 (Image)
- Wednesday Comics #11 and #12 (DC)

My little bit of Beatle Kindle-ing

2009-09-23T17:12:00Z

As I mentioned yesterday, my biography of the early days of the Fab Four, "BEFORE THEY WERE BEATLES," is now available as a Kindle edition. (at a special low, low price of just $1.99)

And here's the proof.

Although I'm not a big fan of the Kindle as a physical device - I must admit that seeing my own book on here is kind of cool.

And I've sold as many ebook copies in the 24 hours since it went live, as I have of physical hard copies in the past month.

James Bond comics covers from around the world - #69 - "The Girl Machine."

2009-09-23T12:02:08Z

Cover art for the James Bond comics story, The Girl Machine, first published as newspaper strip in the Daily Express from 19th June 1973 to 3rd December 1973

Reprints:

Denmark

Sweden

this story was also reprinted and published in Norway.

Find out more on the history of James Bond in comics, check out JAMES BOND: A history of the illustrated 007, now on sale through a good bookstore near you!