To boldly go where no Manga has gone before...

As part of the fortieth anniversary of the Star Trek franchise Tokyopop will be launching the first volume of their Manga version of Star Trek. Contrary to earlier reports it will not be based in the Next Generation timeline but the original series (TOS as we Trek fans refer to it), so we are going to be treated to Manga interpretations of the classic characters, Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Scotty, Sulu and Chekov.

It isn’t actually the first time Trek has appeared as a Manga publication, however – I still have an old copy of Star Trekker in my collection, which dates back to the 80s I think. It had some of the original characters, although from the movie era, (and a few Next Generation) in it, but mostly featured a very Manga style crew on their own Federation Starship, riffing on Trek themes such as Star Trek IV where the Manga crew go back in time not to save the whales but to eat them.

The Tokyopop volume is due in September and will contain five tales, one of which sounds very Manga territory (young robot-riding warriors) while others sound more Trek: Enterprise caught in the middle of warring planets, trying to negotiate a peace while another sees survivors of a gender war who live on in their machines trying to take over the Enterprise. No word on Tribbles yet though – surely if any Trek character would suit Manga it would be Tribbles???