Set phasers to…read? Anyways, it’s time for “So You Want To Read Comics” our weekly feature where we dive into specific interests, fandoms, and hobbies and then give some comic suggestions based on those. All of this, just to make your introduction into the comic world as easy as possible.

This week, we’re taking a look at Gene Roddenberry’s masterpiece Star Trek. Saying that this series is beloved would be an understatement of monumental proportions.  Premiering in 1966, Star Trek went on to define what a fandom could be and in a lot of ways set the stage for many of the ways we now interact with our favorite properties. There’s hardly been a year since its first year, that didn’t feature Star Trek in some capacity.  TV, movies, radio, video games, novels, cartoons, even a few stage plays, you name it, there is probably a version of it featuring Star Trek.

Being that Star Trek is so omnipresent in pop culture, it makes for a perfect avenue to enter the world of comics and these following suggestions will take you there.

Star Trek: Waypoint

Writer: Various
Artist: Various
Publisher: IDW Publishing

You can purchase this issue via comiXology

If you’re a fan of Star Trek, chances are you already know that the series has a long, long, looooong, history with comics. Nearly since its inception, Star Trek has had comics based on it.  This means that while there’s a cornucopia of issues to consume, they’re not all the same level of quality, cohesiveness, or reader-friendliness. A lot of times the comic series’ can go so long that they spawn their own continuity that goes far beyond where the shows or movies go.  That leads us to Star Trek: Waypoint. This was a fairly short series that featured standalone stories that span across a majority of the TV series’.  In one issue you may find a story featuring the characters from The Original Series, then the next issue read a story about your favorite crew members from Voyager. What’s so nice is that everything is self-contained, meaning you need only a familiarity with the characters to understand what’s going on within these pages. The only downside is that this series didn’t last very long, so depending on how quickly you read, you might be looking for something new pretty quickly.

Money Shot

Writer: Sarah Beattie & Tim Seeley
Artist: Rebekah Isaacs
Publisher: Vault Comics

You can purchase this issue via comiXology

So, if you’re familiar with this feature you may have noticed a pattern: The first recommendation is more of a safe bet, while the second is a bit more…challenging. So, you might be thinking that’s what’s happening here. Not so.  Money Shot, while being cheeky and decidedly adult-themed, it has a lot of heart and the same sort of philosophies that were present in early Star Trek are here as well, just with less clothing.  Money Shot is the story of a group of scientists who have no money for their research, so they turn to pornography to fund their studies.  It may sound ridiculous, but when you break it down, these characters are venturing out into the galaxy in search of knowledge and a better understanding of the cosmos.  This isn’t a big space opera about war or invasion.  This is a story about people who genuinely want to obtain knowledge and do things that will benefit everyone.   It just so happens that they have a lot of sex and misadventures along the way.  Kind of like a certain green shirted captain back in the day.

So, did these recommendations send you to the moon or not? Do you have some suggestions of your own? Let us know in the comment section down below.

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