'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' comic book miniseries launches in December

Art from "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" #1 from IDW Publishing.
Art from "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" #1 from IDW Publishing. (Image credit: IDW Publishing)

Get ready to continue the mission of exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life and new civilizations. 

Paramount's "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" TV series was a smashing success in its debut season, offering a nostalgic, back-to-basics approach to the storied sci-fi franchise that attracted legions of fans using a traditional planet-of-the-week format that worked so well in "Star Trek: The Original Series."

To keep the bold space odyssey soaring until the second season, comic book publisher IDW Publishing recently announced a "Strange New Worlds" tie-in series coming to our galaxy in December.

Related: 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' scores its 1st tie-in book from veteran Trek novelist

Starring Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rebecca Romijn, Celia Rose Gooding, Christina Chong, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun, Bruce Horak, and Jess Bush, "Strange New Worlds" is a lighter, less depressing mission than the grim plots and extreme violence in "Star Trek: Discovery" and "Star Trek: Picard."

To build on the success of the television series, "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — The Illyrian Enigma" is a four-issue miniseries that unfolds in the timeline between the hit show's first season and its highly anticipated sophomore outing arriving sometime in 2023. 

Cover art from "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" issue #1. (Image credit: IDW Publishing)

Teaming up again are "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" co-executive producer Kirsten Beyer and veteran "Star Trek" author Mike Johnson ("Star Trek: Discovery–Adventures in the 32nd Century," "Star Trek: Picard–Stargazer"). Acclaimed artist Megan Levens ("Star Trek: The Mirror War–Troi," "Star Wars Adventures") and colorist Charlie Kirchoff ("Star Trek: Year Five") complete this stellar creative team to deliver a warp-speed outer space voyage for all ages.

Cover art from the "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" comic book series from IDW Publishing. (Image credit: IDW Publishing)
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Here's the official synopsis:

In "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds–The Ilyrian Enigma," Commander Una Chin-Riley — first officer and helmsman of the U.S.S. Enterprise — stands accused of unlawful genetic modification by Starfleet. Sparing no time, Captain Pike and his crew set out in search of evidence to prove her innocence!

"The only thing more fun than 'Strange New Worlds' is more 'Strange New Worlds,'" said Johnson, Beyer, and Kirchoff in a joint IDW statement. "We're thrilled to bring fans the first comic book adventure starring everyone's new favorite crew, in an all-new story that picks up where Season One left off. We couldn't be happier that Megan Levens is beaming aboard to join us!"

Cover art from the "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" comic book series from IDW Publishing. (Image credit: IDW Publishing)

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Ilyrian Enigma #1" will blast off on Dec. 21, 2022 with four cover variants, including Cover A by Megan Levens, Cover B by Jake Bartok, and retailer incentive editions from Liana Kangas and Malachi Ward.

"When "Strange New Worlds" came out we knew that the show was something special," adds Senior Editor Heather Antos. "We're thrilled to bring in Kirsten and Mike's expertise from behind the scenes, as well as an artistic duo who captures the warmth and whimsy of this universe as effortlessly as Megan and Charlie, to explore even stranger new worlds in comics."

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Jeff Spry
Contributing Writer

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.