Trekker Omnibus

Trekker #1

by Ron Randall, Gail Simone (Foreword)

Enter the retrofuturistic world of Mercy St. Clair, a talented and troubled bounty hunter navigating a society steeped in extreme violence on her journey of growth and self-discovery. Collecting over twenty-five years' worth of Ron Randall's sci-fi adventure opus, Trekker balances smartly paced action and intriguing explorations of alien landscapes, while tracing the arc of Mercy's development as a thinking, feeling character immersed in a world of intrigue and excitement.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction

328 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2013

About the author

Ron Randall has been working professionally as an illustrator and storyteller for over twenty years. He has worked for all major US comic publishers including DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image and many others, and commercial clients include Disney, Nike, Lucas Film, SeaWorld and Playstation. He has provided exceptional art for some of the biggest brands in comics, from Star Wars to Predator to Venom.

Reviews

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably would've rated this higher if I'd read the series when it was first published, but now, this story of a futuristic female bounty hunter feels dated. What once must have seemed daring and fresh, now has a lot of competition. Mercy St. Clair (her name brought to mind Modesty Blaise) is determined and committed to her chosen profession, but has a soft heart, considered a flaw for someone in her line of work, but it gives her a rounded personality, which is good considering how much of these stories feel cliched, especially the dialogue. I don't know when these stories were originally written, but the tech seems almost quaint now given all the advances of the past couple of decades, which isn't Randall's fault, of course; it just means some aspects of this series haven't aged well. The art is lovely, though. Randall has a nice, realistic touch. I wanted to like this more than I did.

[Matthew J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of what was then (2013) the complete Trekker series, this omnibus reminds me a bit of early Hellboy, in that the author/artist incubates the character through a series of short stories and vignettes, until she's 'ready for prime time.' Maybe that was the nature of the old 'Dark Horse Presents' days. Whatever the case, Ron Randall has created a cool character and put her through some cool and harrowing adventures in a (and I mean this in a good way) generic Science Fiction setting. Here me out on the 'generic' thing. I don't mean that to be harsh at all. There are a lot of Sci-Fi settings where the setting is the most important thing. Look at later Star Wars films, for example. It's not about the characters, it's about the Jedi VS the Sith, it's about the Force, it's about Destiny. It's not about cool or interesting characters having adventures (except for "Rogue One"). That's what this is. The setting is a sort of nebulous Science Fiction setting. Our hero, Mercy, lives in a Cyberpunk via 2000AD city of squalor and misery. But as the series goes on, we learn that there are other worlds, places where things aren't so bad, aliens, etc. In that sense, it reminds me of some classic Sci-Fi, like Andre Norton. It assumes that you get it. You get what Science Fiction is, so you don't need everything spelled out for you. You can just latch on to a cool character or two and follow along. I like that.
Science Fiction fans should check this out. Mercy is interesting, as are a bunch of her supporting characters. I know that the assembly of this omnibus also marked Randall's return to the character and that he's since written some more 'long form' Trekker stories. Can't wait to read them.

[Alessandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a comic book (or better, 25 years of collected comics books about a single character by the same writer/artist) with all the right ingredients to be a success. A retrofuturistic world, about 200 years in the future, but with a look fairly reminiscent of last century's '30s in the US. A single, sexy, full-of-troubles main character, which is also a bounty hunter, despised both by cops and criminals alike.
Add to this the fact that the main character is always drawn sexy, no matter what she is doing, and that when she takes off her work clothes to face 'normal life', she dresses even sexier (for example, she is dressed sensually even at the funeral of one of the characters in her stories), so sexy that she was probably the forerunner of those artists who, in the early 1990s, forever changed the way of drawing female comic protagonists popularised by people like Jim Lee. If then the stories are also pretty (not masterpieces, but solid enough), and held together by a common plot that unfolds in the life of the protagonist, then we have a very good product, which Dark Horse offers in this omnibus, peppered with a few goodies in the epilogue.
An excellent product indeed, warmly recommended to all fans of sci-fi comics and space opera.

[Douglas Hancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a fan of Ron Randall's Trekker when it debuted in the pages of Dark Horse Comics Presents WAY back in the 1980's. The book even ran for six issues of it's own title before going back into DHCP. Trekker tells the ongoing story of Mercy St. Claire who is a Trekker (or bounty hunter) who operates in the city of New Gelaph on Earth in the year 2226. Beautiful artwork and great stories.

Anyway, I kickstarted his latest graphic novel and wanted to catch up on what I had missed over the years. The Omnibus doesn't cover EVERYTHING that I missed but it comes close. I highly recommend this for anyone who likes sort of retro-futuristic sci-fi action stories.

[Shad Engkilterra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like binge-watching a TV show but better!

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend Ron's magnum opus. These are the first few series collected together in the first omnibus, not the later one Ron did himself. Great space opera work!

[Ted Henkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never heard of Trekker until I stumbled across this Omnibus edition.
This tome contains all the stories, plus artwork of bounty hunter Mercy St. Clair, as she fights not only criminals on the lamb, but the corrupt police and politicians running New Galeph.

These tales aren't all about blasting bad guys. Mercy is a troubled woman, riddled with as much doubt as her body gets riddled with bullets, while seeking to find a balance between her rough profession and her softer personal life. There's a "creation of Mercy St. Clair" chapter that involves a mentor and an old flame.

The stories are well written and well drawn, although most of the images are in black and white.

Speaking of imagery: While athletic and attractive, Mercy isn't a overly-buxom babe in a skimpy costume. Oh sure, there's usually a picture or two in each chapter of Mercy in a nice dress, while out on the town, or even in lingerie; but her trekker (bounty hunter) uniform looks more practical than just about any other comic costume I've seen.

If you like retro-noir sci-fi with flawed female protagonists then Trekker Omnibus will be a good read for you.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book, I am very puzzled at the checkered publishing history of Trekker. This should have been an ongoing, moderately successful title, but this small volume seems to be the whole thing, from the 1980s until 2013, which is really too bad.
Mercy St. Clair is a Trekker, a licensed bounty hunter in a future which has the tendency toward too much crime for the police to handle. In theory, Trekkers only hunt down criminals, but often in these stories Mercy gets involved with the police cases directly. Other than her uncle, the police seem remarkably corrupt. Imagine a cross between Gotham City and Buck Rogers, and you won't be far off. It's a future, but not a happy one.
In addition, there are side plots involving Mercy's love life and a side story about a mysterious pacifist organization which doesn't quite make sense, but which probably would have worked if there had been more stories in the series.
Ron Randall is apparently continuing the stories in webcomic form. I look forward to reading those as they become complete.

[Jared Millet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly fun 1980s indie comic I'd never heard of until Dark Horse's omnibus came out. "Space Bounty Hunters" are a lot more common today than they were back then, and strong, fully-clothed female protagonists are still more of a rarity in comics than they should be. Kudos to Dark Horse for not letting this little gem vanish into obscurity.

[Joe Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful pulpy world building with beautiful art.

[Jefferson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great example of late '80s independent adventure comics that belongs on the same shelf with the likes of Nexus or Jon Sable. Ron Randall is a criminally underrated storyteller.

[Paul Raised]

DNF at 50% because I can't get past the black and white drawings, and the story just doesn't have enough pull for me

[Fiannawolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the characters, setting and artwork. Kudos. Will buy more in the future.

[Carissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action packed and interesting. i enjoyed Mercy's development through the series. The art is great, engaging but not distracting. A must read for anyone who likes sci-fi.