EXCLUSIVE | Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing Talk Star Trek: The Last Starship

Next month, IDW, the proud home to Star Trek comic books and graphic novels since 2007, is kicking off their new flagship series, STAR TREK: THE LAST STARSHIP, from Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing!

The logline for the series is, "The Federation has fallen. Hope is fading. One last starship remains to fight for the future…unless a resurrected James T. Kirk dooms it first."

Ahead of the release of STAR TREK: THE LAST STARSHIP #1 on September 24, StarTrek.com had the opportunity to talk with Kelly and Lanzing about their upcoming series, the franchise's legacy, as well as learn more about Kirk's 31st Century crew.

[Editor's Note] Final order cut-offs for pre-orders is this upcoming August 18. Be sure to visit your local comic shop to secure your copy!

A New Entry Point for Fans

Kelly and Lanzing's first foray in Star Trek comics for IDW began with 2018's STAR TREK: WAYPOINT SPECIAL #1. They would then take the helm of the ongoing series, 2019's and 2022's .

Lanzing tells StarTrek.com, "After a longtime of doing the most fan-forward Star Trek comics ever, in STAR TREK and [Christopher Cantwell's] , we're now doing something totally different."

"It's called STAR TREK: THE LAST STARSHIP, and it's the story of the only starship that survives — the big event that takes out 99% of Starfleet and wrecks the Star Trek universe, necessitating Discovery and Starfleet Academy to put that all back together," explains Lanzing.

"This is the story of that hundred years of those institutions falling apart. The story of the one captain and crew aboard a shop called the U.S.S. Omega that tries to hold it all together. This is also the story of James T. Kirk returning to an era that is fully unfamiliar and watching his own legacy burn and trying to figure out how does he save the world."

"We like to consider it absolute Star Trek," adds Kelly. "It's Star Trek for everyone. If you love space, if you love adventure, if you love noir, this book is going to be for you."

The State of the Federation

Lanzing lays out what readers can expect in this new era and from this story, "This is a glimpse at the Federation at its absolute highest. No one has seen what the Federation has looked right before the Burn. This is the first time we're getting to show that."

"This is what the Federation got to after 700 years of Kirk and Picard and Sisko and Janeway and all their efforts and the utopia they made," continues Lanzing. "And getting to glimpse that through Adrián [Bonilla] and Heather [Moore], and then burn it down and see how it can hold together this team. The whole team is operating on the exact same level to make something really special."

MEET THE CREW OF THE U.S.S. OMEGA

Kelly and Jackson note, "So many of these characters are brand new and we're so thrilled to be able to bring you to the world."

Captain Delacourt Sato

"Our captain is a man named Delacourt Sato," states Kelly. "If fans of ours have been following [Star Trek], that name should sound a little familiar, especially to fans of . He's incredibly intelligent. He's incredibly competent. He is part Trill, part Vulcan, and part Andoria. He's a true polyglot of Federation cultures here to stand in this place of burning."

Wowie Carter

"His first officer is a young [non-binary] person named Wowie Carter," Lanzing continues. "The way we pitched it was, 'Wowie Carter is what if Wesley Crusher absolutely rocked right out the box. What if Wesley Crusher stepped out and was absolutely hyper intelligent and hyper confident.'"

Valqis + Hana

Kelly teases, "We have a delicious relationship between our helmsman and our communications officer Valqis, the Klingon who is a poet. Her heart is full for the first time. And after 700 years, we reached a Klingon culture that has started to move past that warrior nature and started to find the more true artistic soul of a Klingon culture."

"Then we have Hana, our Bajoran," adds Kelly. "She's a little bit of a Bajoran unlike any we've seen. She's so fun, she's so flirty. It's really great."

The Arrival of Captain James T. Kirk

How does the long deceased legendary captain factor into all of this?

"Finally, obviously, we have our one and only, our James T. Kirk coming in to change this whole thing," Lanzing teases. "We can't tell you how he gets there, why he gets there, or who he truly is."

"That said, there are three characters who haven't been announced in the book at all yet," continues Lanzing. "We can't wait for people to see. One is a character from the Star Trek canon, but presented in a way that no one is expecting, and two are just brand-new, totally incredible characters. Just wait until you meet Dr. Zed."

The Creative Team

Kelly and Lanzing offer effusive praise for the creative team on this series — artist Adrián Bonilla and colorist Heather Moore.

"The art style for this book is nothing that's ever been in Star Trek," details Lanzing. "Adrián Bonilla is a Spanish artist. He comes from the tradition of our Captain America artist Carmen Carnero. We saw Adrián's work and we knew immediately that he was going to deliver something unlike anything we've seen. Collin said 'noir,' and that's a great description. This is a book all about shadows, all about silences, all about those dark moments of the soul. And Adrian's incredible at bringing those to life. But then simultaneously, every time a starship has to do something incredible, suddenly he's the best starship artist you've ever seen. He's really pushing himself and pushing the book to go beyond what we expect from a Star Trek comic, and just be absolutely awesome comics. We love Adrián; we can't wait for people to see his art. Plus, we have our colorist Heather Moore."

"She's doing absolutely stunning work too," Kelly adds. "It's like being able to bring that somewhere between Discovery and TNG, find the balance between those two kind of moments in time, finding colors, finding the emotion that's going to really link those together. Heather's doing an incredible job."

Thanks to our friends at IDW, take a look at the colored preview pages from STAR TREK: THE LAST STARSHIP #1!

STAR TREK: THE LAST STARSHIP #1 beams into shops on September 24, 2025 and fans have until August 18 to get their local comic shop to pre-order!

For information on how to acquire copies of Star Trek comic books, please contact your local comic shop or visit www.comicshoplocator.com to find a store near you.