IDW has announced the first expansion to its relaunched Star Trek series, boldly going to new frontiers in 2023. The initiative, which began with the publication of Star Trek #400 in September 2022, saw the launch of an ambitious new flagship series, Star Trek #1, in October.
Now the publisher has announced an upcoming crossover event, Star Trek: Day of Blood. This new arc will debut on May 6, 2023 with the short introductory interlude Prelude to Day of Blood, to be included in IDW’s Star Trek: Day of Blood Free Comic Book Day special.
Prelude prefigures the formal kickoff of a sweeping new Trek crossover in July that will continue throughout other Star Trek comic book series, including IDW’s ongoing flagship Trek series and the recently announced Star Trek: Defiant series, launching in March. Prelude to Day of Blood will be co-written by veteran Trek comic creators Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Christopher Cantwell with art by Mike Feehan.
In Prelude to Day of Blood, the U.S.S. Santa Cruz travels to the Korvat colony for Kot’baval. But what was supposed to be a simple observation of the sacred Klingon festival quickly turns into a bloodbath when the cult of the godkiller reveals themselves to the universe.
“I’ve been nothing short of ecstatic to be a part of this new, larger Star Trek initiative at IDW,” says Cantwell. “There were moments in our writers’ room with Jackson and Collin where I couldn’t believe we were really doing this—not just telling one Star Trek story but weaving together multiple Trek stories at the same time, with plotlines from Star Trek and Star Trek: Defiant converging. We threw all our boldest ideas and best character pairings into a story of pure chaos, starship battles, and real epic dramatic resonance you can only achieve in the scope of comics.”
Following the May FCBD one-shot, the full Star Trek: Day of Blood arc will include the following issues:
- Star Trek: Day of Blood #1 (July 2023)
- Star Trek: Defiant #6 (August 2023)
- Star Trek #11 (August 2023)
- Star Trek: Defiant #7 (September 2023)
- Star Trek #12 (September 2023)
“It’s time for Benjamin Sisko to face the past,” says Lanzing, “and for readers to finally get a look at the true fallout of the Dominion War. Deep Space Nine is the inspiration for this entire line, so it feels only right that the crew of the U.S.S. Theseus come back to where it all started.”
“As lifelong Star Trek fans, Jack and I have been dreaming of this kind of thing since we can remember. This is the kind of event you could only do in comics, with enormous stakes and two starship crews colliding in the middle of a truly deadly crisis. This is our season finale, and it all begins in Free Comic Book Day’s Prelude to Day of Blood.”
“Star Trek: Day of Blood is what this last year of comic book planning has been all about,” says senior editor Heather Antos. “It all leads to this moment. Was Sisko the correct choice of the Prophets? Will Worf’s Klingon honor serve him well? Or will the two remain in the crossfires of the godkiller? Jackson, Collin, and Chris are asking some of the biggest questions we’ve ever seen in Star Trek comics, and it’s time to answer them in the franchise’s first-ever classic summer crossover event.”
Star Trek: Prelude to Day of Blood will be available as a Free Comic Book Day exclusive on May 6, 2023 and will feature cover art by Malachi Ward.
