Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, IDW | Tagged: captain kirk, william shatner

Captain Kirk Is Back From The Dead In New Star Trek For September 2025

Captain Kirk is back from the dead in a new Star Trek starting in September by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Adrián Bonilla & Heather Moore

Star Trek: The Last Starship brings Captain Kirk back from the dead in a new comic book series from IDW Publishing, starting in September, written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, drawn by Adrián Bonilla and coloured by Heather Moore, as Captain Kirk, as played by William Shatner is back from the dead… and just in time for him to watch the Starfleet he loved so dearly burn to the ground. Because he is crossing over with Star Trek: Discovery's timeline and the events of The Burn which wiped out all warp cores across the galaxy.

"This epic comic book series takes place during The Burn, a galaxy-wide disaster which caused the destruction of every active warp core, killing trillions and shattering the peace, stability, enlightenment, and mutual protection the United Federation of Planets provided for seven centuries. Facing a true wild west in space, a mysteriously resurrected Captain Kirk will lead a new crew and ship in a seemingly impossible effort to uphold Starfleet's mission of unity across the cosmos.

"Forget everything you know about Star Trek," remarked co-writer Lanzing. "The Last Starship is a new crew, a new era, and a completely different tone; our aim is to be literary, intense, innovative, and most of all, accessible. We're bringing you into the Federation's darkest hour through the brilliant, noir-soaked lens of artist Adrián Bonilla with zero homework required." The Eisner-nominated writer added, " Longtime Trek fans will have a deep and fascinating reading experience, to be sure – this is a pivotal moment in Trek history that's never been even glimpsed before – but above all, The Last Starship is a dark and complex sci-fi you can hand to anyone. We've spent the last eight years celebrating all that Trek has ever been. Now, it's time to rebuild it from scratch and discover all it can be."

"The only familiar face is the one you'd never expect to see in this era: Captain James T. Kirk," stated co-writer Kelly. "William Shatner's iconic performance transcends borders – Kirk is one of the great characters of the modern fiction canon with a timeless actor to match. He was also the first Star Trek character we ever wrote – a leader and warrior poet with boundless tragedy and contradiction. Now, we're honored to be taking this character into truly uncharted, groundbreaking territory in The Last Starship – as the Federation's greatest pioneer must face down the inferno that threatens to consume his entire legacy."

Star Trek: The Last Starship #1 features a primary cover by Francesco Francavilla, variant by Skyler Patridge, and a foil variant by Michael Cho. Plus, there will be full art variants for Francavilla's (1:15) and Cho's (1:15) covers in addition to the first declared Local Comic Shop Day variant for 2025 by Malachi Ward. The debut issue goes on sale the 24th of September 2026.

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