IDW'S STAR TREK: YEAR FIVE

IDW Publishing has announced its launching Star Trek: Year Five, a monthly comic book series debuting in April.

A sweeping space odyssey developed by a brain trust of exceptional writers, Year Five welcomes co-writers Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and artist Stephen Thompson for its opening story arc, and -- painting Star Trek for the first time in all his 60 years of professional illustration -- Greg Hildebrandt as cover artist for the debut issue.

Here's how IDW described the book:

"In Star Trek: Year Five, the crew of the Enterprise have traveled to strange new worlds, defeated impossible foes, and made universe-changing decisions. But with the end in sight, they'll have to face their biggest challenge yet. Step aboard the Enterprise with Kirk, Spock, Bones, and Uhura on a voyage towards an uncertain future!"

"Year Five will be a vital, hard-hitting, character-focused look at Captain Kirk on his last year in command," Lanzing said. "His actions will have huge ripple effects, from the outbreak of war in the Alpha Quadrant to an unprecedented strain of trust with Spock. We'll turn a mirror on our modern society, just as Trek did in the 1960s, and go boldly towards meaningful, heartfelt stories."

Star Trek: Year Five will be nurtured by a collaborative writer's room, including Brandon Easton, Jody Houser, Jim McCann and the aforementioned Lanzing and Kelly -- working together to craft the overall journey while swapping writing chores specific to each story arc. As Lanzing said, "We'll tell an ongoing narrative with a beginning, a game-changing middle, and a definite end... and do so with some of the best writers in comics contributing their unique, diverse voices and ideas."

"The opportunity to be a part of this monumental legacy is an unbelievable trust. With Year Five, we don't just want to thrill -- we want to channel the power of Roddenberry's original vision, to tell a story about the future that illuminates our present," Kelly said. "It's time for the Enterprise to come home... but first, they'll have to face an enemy that's been waiting in the shadows since 1968."

"I have been a fan of Star Trek right from the beginning in 1966," Hildebrandt said. "I admired the social, moral, and political statements that were obvious in Gene Roddenberry's plot lines. I feel that the original was and is one of the best shows ever on TV, and clearly the inspiration for all the Space Operas that have followed. It was an honor to paint this cover art of the original cast. Having never painted Trek before, it was a kick for me at 80 years old."