Trekker: The Complete Journey Vol. 1

Trekker

by Ron Randall

When TREKKER first came out in the 1980s it was a ground-breaking series: A badass bounty hunter who lives by her own rules and takes orders from no one as she makes her way through the violent and complicated world of the 23rd century. As Gail Simone wrote in her introduction to an earlier collection, "It's of stuff like Trekker that revolutions are begun. A female character that is sexy but not sexualized, that is tough but not without flaws and doubts, and that is dangerous but not without compassion."

All of those original tales are collected in this hefty, deluxe volume which introduces Mercy St. Clair, her world, and the cast of characters that are still developing and unfolding in the new stories that grow out of the adventures that all begin here. Whether you are new to the world of Trekker or a long-time fan and reader this book is designed to thrill and to satisfy you... and to leave you wanting still more.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Science Fiction

530 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2020

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

[Thom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read many individual issues from this Portland artist over the years. I never found the "Omnibus" edition, 328 pages through 2013. This collection, released in 2020, contains 12 "books" - each roughly one or more comics in a series, including the stories from "Dark Horse Presents", three "interludes" and plenty of extras, including additional sketches by Ron Randall.

For those who don't know, the main character Mercy is a "Trekker" - a future bounty hunter with great moves and accuracy in weapons. Humans have gone beyond Earth, though the story is set in a future (and yet crime ridden) Earth city called New Gelaph. This collected edition tells a chronological story of Mercy's life, with asides about her training, her parents, and more.

This book was a kickstarter in 2020, though I ended up getting it as part of a subsequent kickstarter of new stories, "The Complete Journey Vol. 2". My old issues are often in shades of gray, this book is in glorious color! Looking forward to reading more in the new year.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I try not to review to many graphic novels as it artificially increases my books read, however, this one deserves some notes and praise. This GN contains basically the whole Trekker story line. Begun 3 and a half decades ago, this work was clearly ahead of its time. For one, it has a strong female protagonist bounty hunter as the main character, a sort of boba fet meets batman that is a lady. I don’t think this was often the case for the 1980s? It’s also a really cool progressive melding of subgenres before this was really done. It is definetly a space opera while managing to not rip off Star Wars. The characters and their drama are key, and while tech is prolific, it’s functionality is largely shrugged at. It is also a little bit of cyberpunk. The atmosphere is beyond dark and gritty, with the powerful taking everything from the small guy, beneath a thin veneer of technological bravada. I’d argue that all three of these facits put it ahead of its time, as do the actual stories, which on the surface have a sort of Wild West feel to them...yet so much more just beneath. The heroine is challenged both physically but more often psychologically and spiritually, and I’d argue the later, while in the subtext, is where the real story happens. Seriously, I cannot believe this story began so long ago, as it seemed like something written a couple decades later. Now, this volume is particularly wonderful in that it has the heroines full story, which seems to have been written in brief marathon runs every few years, so you get what was written from the 1980s all the way to 2020. The action is fast moving, the stories resonate on so many levels, and I’d argue the story also shrugs off the notes of the times as it seemed a good bit more fatal and free to the characters than much of what was written back then. I will concede that I kind of mentally winced at mercy’s latest romantic partner, not because it didn’t work here, but just as it seems kind of a bit to prolific...kind of a token gesture where a writer can have two women kissing and then go into brag about how progressive they are, which annoys me a lot...but then again, mercy has the odd psychologically of knowing exactly who she is while always seeking who she is, so I suppose the latest works, especially considering this was her oldest remaining friend. I think? Anyway, while I don’t say I was crazy about everything that happened, I will be interested to see where this story goes next. To her mothers homeworld to find her roots, I’d imagine? To become the champion of a pacifist society she derides? We shall see.

[Shaun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't familiar with Trekker before I saw a kickstarter for the latest entry in the series. Backing it, I picked up this hardcover copy of a collection of the first part of the tale of Mercy St. Clair, the titular Trekker, or bounty hunter. She is pretty badass, a little bit like Han Solo, or perhaps more like The Mandalorian. She is in a grim business, but sometimes her heart leads her to do the right thing, instead of the thing that is good for the bounty hunting contract.

The setting is a bit of a retro sci-fi feel with the grit and grime of the 80s. The world is corrupt, and Mercy is untenably a pessimist, skeptical of the good in society. She grows as a character over time. I believe the last entries in this book are in the 2010's, when Ron Randall started the series back up.

Speaking of Ron Randall, he does the story and the art. There are various courists, but they all seem to do a good job. The art is quite good, appealing but grim. Mercy has a unique and memorable design. She's sexy, but not in the way many other female comic book characters are. She isn't decked out in a bikini like a Red Sonja, or a skin tight spandex that leaves nothing to the imagination like Spider-woman. Having Ron Randall as a kind of singular vision leads to a cohesion that is often not available in comics from bigger entities like Marvel or DC that hire out many creators over the years.

Ultimately, there is a lot of action, and though it deals with a grim future setting it's not devoid of fun. If you never checked it out in the 80s, I'd suggest getting this collection to catch up on it now, and if you love it like I did he's still putting new entries today with 3 or 4 trade paperbacks put on kickstarter. I can't wait to dig in to the next one.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently I have been combing through Kickstarter lately for graphic novels. I have come across a couple neat series that I didn’t know existed. One is Drive, the other is Trekker.

Being late to the party actually turns out to be a good thing. I can get whole series and binge way past my bedtime. In this Vol. 1 of Trekker, the author has collected together all of early series stories, along with a story that bridges to the next set of graphic novels.

Mercy St. Clair is a fun character to follow. A bounty hunter that always seems to find herself in deeper than she anticipated. Mysteries abound, as we slowly learn more of Mercy’s backstory.

In reading the extras at the end, Trekker was Dark Horse original, back in the mid-1980’s. That puts the series into perspective, as a character such as Mercy would not have been seen as very commercial, yet Dark Horse supported the series enthusiastically. I believe it speaks well of the author and Dark Horse. I’m a fan who now needs to get ahold of the next set of books.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well drawn, deftly written with a good eye for character and world-building, Trekker is an engaging adventure comic that's worth a look.
++++++
GoodReads doesn't have a listing for TREKKER: THE COMPLETE JOURNEY Vol. II, so I'm adding my review and reading dates here.

Like the first book, Randall crafts interesting worlds and characters. The farther I get into the saga, the more the more cloying bits of dialogue (the unadulterated and constant fawning over Mercy and Molly, Molly and Mercy's one-dimensional flirting) start to wear thin for me. There's still some interesting elements - the schism between idealism and pragmatism, the way Randall takes his time with his story (hey, let's have a fun Burroughsian side-quest because I want one!). In fact, I think I like the side quests more than the main narrative, which is, so far, a very basic sci-fi rebellion against fascism.

I'll have to really think about how much deeper into Trekker I want to go.