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Star Trek: Gold Key Archives #4
Star Trek: Gold Key Archives Volume 4
Boldly going... where it all started! Re-presenting the first comic book adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise and her crew! Fully remastered with new colors, Volume 4 collects issues #19-24, including stories "The Haunted Asteroid," "A World Gone Mad," "The Mummies of Heitus VII," "Siege in Superspace," "Child's Play," and "The Trial of Captain Kirk."
164 pages, Hardcover
First published October 29, 2015
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About the author
Arnold Drake
324 books11 followersArnold Drake was an American comic book writer and screenwriter best known for co-creating the DC Comics characters Deadman and the Doom Patrol, and the Marvel Comics characters the Guardians of the Galaxy, among others.
Drake was posthumously inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008.
Drake was posthumously inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 10, 2020
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.25 of 5
Featuring issue numbers 19-24 we continue to look at the Gold Key Star Trek comics collection. The stories have gotten better - to the point where some of these stories could have been filmed episodes (and some of them feel like rip-offs of episodes). The art is still stunning, but often very clearly 'wrong' (look at Spock's bright red uniform tunic on the cover of the first issue featured here!).
Our first story is "The Haunted Asteroid" - magic, mysticism, and robots seem to be running theme through these later stories. We also see more female guest star of the week ... er, issue ... in these books. The authors apparently are catching on to what's happening in the television series.
"A World Gone Mad" has Kirk and crew playing nursemaid to a bratty youngster - complete with Napoleon-style uniform - who is about to be the leader of a planet. He's unaware that anyone could possibly not love him, much less want him dead. But perhaps they're not really acting of their own accord.
"The Mummies of Heitius VII" - Take mummies and curses from ancient Egypt and place them on the Enterprise. How can you go wrong?
"Siege in Superspace" - One of my favorites because of the confidence one must have in a starship captain who doesn't know what a black hole is!
The pink-skinned Uhura is rather insulting, but the story is one of the stronger ones even if it is a bit easily resolved.
"Child's Play" follows some storylines that we've seen before. We have serious need for a medicine that can only be made with the herb found on this planet. The planet is run by children. To complicate matters, an asteroid in on a collision course and only the Enterprise stands in its way.
"The Trial of Captain Kirk" - even the title is reflective of a Star Trek episode ("Court Martial"). Kirk is accused of accepting bribes to protect pirates. In order to fight these charges, Kirk undergoes cosmetic surgery so that he can escape the watchful eye of the Federation. The surgery ... gives him an afro. (I kid you not!)
Spock and McCoy leave their bodies on the Enterprise but put their consciousness's into robots so that they can head down to a planet with an atmosphere so dangerous it would destroy their bodies in seconds.
There is a mini feature of artist George Wilson who painted many of the covers for the Gold Key Star Trek comics.
It's still a bit fun to reread these comics and to relive some of the exciting, geeky days as a young Trekkie. Nostalgia is mostly all this is good for, but unless you scour ebay and buy up all the old comics at many times the cover price now, this is the only - and probably the best - way to read these classic comics.
Looking for a good book? If you're a dedicated Star Trek fan, you probably want to read Star Trek: Gold Key Archives: Vol. 4 which collects the earliest Star Trek comic books and reprints them.
Featuring issue numbers 19-24 we continue to look at the Gold Key Star Trek comics collection. The stories have gotten better - to the point where some of these stories could have been filmed episodes (and some of them feel like rip-offs of episodes). The art is still stunning, but often very clearly 'wrong' (look at Spock's bright red uniform tunic on the cover of the first issue featured here!).
Our first story is "The Haunted Asteroid" - magic, mysticism, and robots seem to be running theme through these later stories. We also see more female guest star of the week ... er, issue ... in these books. The authors apparently are catching on to what's happening in the television series.
"A World Gone Mad" has Kirk and crew playing nursemaid to a bratty youngster - complete with Napoleon-style uniform - who is about to be the leader of a planet. He's unaware that anyone could possibly not love him, much less want him dead. But perhaps they're not really acting of their own accord.
"The Mummies of Heitius VII" - Take mummies and curses from ancient Egypt and place them on the Enterprise. How can you go wrong?
"Siege in Superspace" - One of my favorites because of the confidence one must have in a starship captain who doesn't know what a black hole is!
The pink-skinned Uhura is rather insulting, but the story is one of the stronger ones even if it is a bit easily resolved.
"Child's Play" follows some storylines that we've seen before. We have serious need for a medicine that can only be made with the herb found on this planet. The planet is run by children. To complicate matters, an asteroid in on a collision course and only the Enterprise stands in its way.
"The Trial of Captain Kirk" - even the title is reflective of a Star Trek episode ("Court Martial"). Kirk is accused of accepting bribes to protect pirates. In order to fight these charges, Kirk undergoes cosmetic surgery so that he can escape the watchful eye of the Federation. The surgery ... gives him an afro. (I kid you not!)
Spock and McCoy leave their bodies on the Enterprise but put their consciousness's into robots so that they can head down to a planet with an atmosphere so dangerous it would destroy their bodies in seconds.
There is a mini feature of artist George Wilson who painted many of the covers for the Gold Key Star Trek comics.
It's still a bit fun to reread these comics and to relive some of the exciting, geeky days as a young Trekkie. Nostalgia is mostly all this is good for, but unless you scour ebay and buy up all the old comics at many times the cover price now, this is the only - and probably the best - way to read these classic comics.
Looking for a good book? If you're a dedicated Star Trek fan, you probably want to read Star Trek: Gold Key Archives: Vol. 4 which collects the earliest Star Trek comic books and reprints them.
May 31, 2022
K, now this one is a pretty interesting volume. Even though, let's just admit it, it's a mixed bag. It started with two stories by Arnold Drake, one of which was prerrt solid, while another one wasn't. We also got cheesy, yet entertaining story about space mummies (yes, space mummies, deal with it) by John David Warner. Which I was ready to enjoy, but unfortunately, it ignored even the most basic parts of the lore, so, as the result, it ended up being our usual Gold Key disaster.
What's really interesting here is two stories by Gerry Boudreau. He only wrote two and then never returned to Star Trek, so, history geeks? This issue is for you. Mr. Boudreau's first story, Siege in Superspace proved to be cute, a little bit romantic and overall neat story with many anti-war elements. Unfortunately, again, it treated the original lore in a very silly matter. Not as bad as Dick Wood did in early issues, and yet, it felt stupid here and there. I mean... seriously? Captain Kirk not knowing about black holes? What did they even tech him in the Academy then?
The second story, on the other hand, the one that is called Child's Play, is probably the best thing we ever had in this series up to this point. Not only it's a pretty neat story (a little bit too close to Miri episode from the original show, but still), it's also the most accurate one so far. That dialogue Mr. Spock had with Bones about the warp speed? Sure, when The Next Generation (and later - Voyager) appeared, they've re-established the entire warp speed thing, but for The Original Series period? It's surprisingly accurate stuff. Shockingly even, since it's Golden Key we're talking about and thanks to Dick Wood, Enterprise here originally used thrust engine and had maximum speed of 110,000 miles per second (yes, it was a thing, check the first volume of this reprint if you don't believe me - it has Mr. Wood at his very worst).
Anyway, the volume ends with another story by Arnold Drake, but unfortunately, it's, like, the worst one he came up with so far. Just because of how painfully generic and aged it is. Even though it was originally published in 1974, it feels exactly like something from, like, 40 years ago. Like, you know. From those early issues of Detective Comics, where saying coold words like "framed" was more than enough to keep kids excited. Didn't work well in 70s, when even big heroes like Namor had hard time surviving the big game.
So, like I said, this volume is a mixed bag. Worth checking for at least Child's Play though. Because I WANT CHUCKY! Ahem... sorry. That's just horror fan inside of me talking. Anyway, this series is still mostly for history geeks and those who feel nostalgic, but still, quite a lot of interesting things here. Just make sure not to pick up Gold Key Star Trek if all you want is a solid comic book entertainment. It's not about that.
What's really interesting here is two stories by Gerry Boudreau. He only wrote two and then never returned to Star Trek, so, history geeks? This issue is for you. Mr. Boudreau's first story, Siege in Superspace proved to be cute, a little bit romantic and overall neat story with many anti-war elements. Unfortunately, again, it treated the original lore in a very silly matter. Not as bad as Dick Wood did in early issues, and yet, it felt stupid here and there. I mean... seriously? Captain Kirk not knowing about black holes? What did they even tech him in the Academy then?
The second story, on the other hand, the one that is called Child's Play, is probably the best thing we ever had in this series up to this point. Not only it's a pretty neat story (a little bit too close to Miri episode from the original show, but still), it's also the most accurate one so far. That dialogue Mr. Spock had with Bones about the warp speed? Sure, when The Next Generation (and later - Voyager) appeared, they've re-established the entire warp speed thing, but for The Original Series period? It's surprisingly accurate stuff. Shockingly even, since it's Golden Key we're talking about and thanks to Dick Wood, Enterprise here originally used thrust engine and had maximum speed of 110,000 miles per second (yes, it was a thing, check the first volume of this reprint if you don't believe me - it has Mr. Wood at his very worst).
Anyway, the volume ends with another story by Arnold Drake, but unfortunately, it's, like, the worst one he came up with so far. Just because of how painfully generic and aged it is. Even though it was originally published in 1974, it feels exactly like something from, like, 40 years ago. Like, you know. From those early issues of Detective Comics, where saying coold words like "framed" was more than enough to keep kids excited. Didn't work well in 70s, when even big heroes like Namor had hard time surviving the big game.
So, like I said, this volume is a mixed bag. Worth checking for at least Child's Play though. Because I WANT CHUCKY! Ahem... sorry. That's just horror fan inside of me talking. Anyway, this series is still mostly for history geeks and those who feel nostalgic, but still, quite a lot of interesting things here. Just make sure not to pick up Gold Key Star Trek if all you want is a solid comic book entertainment. It's not about that.
May 27, 2020
Star Trek: Gold Key Archives Vol. 4 is a clever look at Kirk and Gang and at the same time gives us an insight into their first adventures! :D The Art is cleverly done and dovetails neatly with the script! :D When you consider that these are collections form the first comics published well accomplished and really capture the feel of the adventures at hand! :D
Paula M Block nails it with how outlandishly clever the tales are and Arnold Drake really puts the characters through the wringer! :D Star Trek: Gold Key Archives Vol. 4 is full of rib breaking humour, characters going to the extreme and situations that a brilliantly handled that still add a tone of adventure and mystery to the adventures that will keep you on your toes and up late seeing what happens! :D
Star Trek: Gold Key Archives Vol. 4 really gives an insight into the character and their origins but at the same time showing you how they were getting the media rolling in from the start! :D Star Trek: Gold Key Archives Vol. 4 is full of Daring Do, Afro's, Face Changing. Robots, Mummies, Phaser Fights, Rib Breaking Humour, Adventure and Action! :D 'Blood Brothers! :D Crisp High Five! :D Brilliant Get it When You Can! :D
Paula M Block nails it with how outlandishly clever the tales are and Arnold Drake really puts the characters through the wringer! :D Star Trek: Gold Key Archives Vol. 4 is full of rib breaking humour, characters going to the extreme and situations that a brilliantly handled that still add a tone of adventure and mystery to the adventures that will keep you on your toes and up late seeing what happens! :D
Star Trek: Gold Key Archives Vol. 4 really gives an insight into the character and their origins but at the same time showing you how they were getting the media rolling in from the start! :D Star Trek: Gold Key Archives Vol. 4 is full of Daring Do, Afro's, Face Changing. Robots, Mummies, Phaser Fights, Rib Breaking Humour, Adventure and Action! :D 'Blood Brothers! :D Crisp High Five! :D Brilliant Get it When You Can! :D
September 3, 2019
A neat premise where a guy build a memorial to his wife on an asteroid. Time lapses, disappearing people, robots and lots of skeletons are all part of one story.
On the other hand there's baseball in space. Yep. Oh, yes, it seems in these comics that the phasers almost never are able to destroy or even really hurt what they are aimed at. Their batteries must be low.
The Galileo 7 is green (air sickness?). There are things which basically are primitive versions of the Borg, an utterly different Romulan ship, a black hole that the ship goes through and survives and a pirate mining operation all combine to make up some rather so-so stories.
On the other hand there's baseball in space. Yep. Oh, yes, it seems in these comics that the phasers almost never are able to destroy or even really hurt what they are aimed at. Their batteries must be low.
The Galileo 7 is green (air sickness?). There are things which basically are primitive versions of the Borg, an utterly different Romulan ship, a black hole that the ship goes through and survives and a pirate mining operation all combine to make up some rather so-so stories.
December 30, 2017
Totally hilarious. Made me remember what I love about the original series and classic science fiction. Some of the stories were simplistic and had holes in the plots. Each issue was an enjoyable space romp.
January 10, 2020
I was going to give 2 stars because the stories are largely forgettable, but then Kirk had plastic surgery and got an afro.
March 11, 2020
Mummies, forgotten asteroids, and brain dumps into cylon-like bodies. Yup. It's more 60s Star Trek comics!
June 20, 2024
These comics were written and drawn by people that never seen the TV show. Thus hilarity ensues, but only for those that know Star Trek already.
September 13, 2016
I didn't enjoy some of the stories here as much as Volume 3. But it is interesting seeing a story in which the Enterprise enters "superspace" and has to create a black hole to get back to their own universe. I'm not a physicist, but I feel like it is a notable precedent for what we see in the Star Trek reboot, even if it is tangential. I noticed in one story that McCoy looked like it said "MsCoy," and in some parts it seemed like they tried fixing it by wiping off the bottom part of the "s." Wonder what the story behind that is.
August 29, 2016
Volume four of the Gold Key archives (1972-73) has some interesting comics, still too fantastic to be believed part of the Star Trek universe. A reverse Taj Mahal, a planet driven to insanity, a trip through a black hole into an alternate dimension and so on. These stories are candid, entertaining, if a little rushed in, having only a certain amount of space to fulfill the plot. However, as a snapshot of a gone era, they certainly fill their roles.
Read
February 27, 2020Definitely not as good as the first three volumes but still with some entertaining moments. There are also some cringeworthy moments involving female characters that are uncomfortably reflective of the time this was written. But it's a time capsule. Got to take it all in. There are also plenty of crazy, early years Trek stories in here.
January 6, 2016
Lots of crazy fun.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews