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Star Trek Comics: Your Reading Guide to the Kelvin Timeline

Today is Star Trek Day! Since the first Star Trek comics were released over 50 years ago, many more comics have been published by various publishers. IDW Publishing became one of them in 2009 after securing the rights to Star Trek comics. They started with the release of Star Trek: Countdown, a comic prequel to the 2009 film, Star Trek.

It was the start of a series of comics set in the film continuity, officially named by CBS in 2016, the Kelvin Timeline. This alternate reality was created when the Romulan Nero traveled to 2233 and destroyed the Federation starship U.S.S. Kelvin. From then on, history became different from the Prime Universe, where Star Trek: The Original Series and the other TV series take place.

In comic book form, the Kelvin Timeline spans around 10 years of comic book stories, including two ongoing series and a few limited series. Following is our guide to the Star Trek’s Kelvin Universe Comics, to discover all the adventures of Captain Kirk and his crew, before, during, and after the movies! 

Star Trek’s Kelvin Universe Comics Collection

A new Star Trek Timeline starts here! Tying into the Next Generation, those comics explore the origins of Nero and Spock’s motivations.

Those three stories are also collected in Star Trek Library Collection Vol. 1.

The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of James Kirk, a thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy, and Spock, a Vulcan raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. Their partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before. This is where Star Trek (2009) takes place. You can also check out the Star Trek: The Official Motion Picture Adaptation.

In 2011, IDW launched Star Trek, an ongoing comic series set after the events of the first movie to relate the new adventures of the Starship Enterprise written by Mike Johnson, with various artists. The first twelve issues (except for #7 and #8) revisit classic Star Trek: The Original Series episodes.

  • Star Trek Volume 1
    Collects Star Trek (2011) #1-4

    • Issues #1-2 are an adaptation of the episode ‘Where No Man Has Gone Before’ (1×01).
    • Issues #3-4 are an adaptation of the episode ‘The Galileo Seven’ (1×13).
  • Star Trek Volume 2
    Collects Star Trek (2011) #5-8

    • Issues #5-6 are an adaptation of the episode ‘Operation: Annihilate’ (1×29).
    • ‘Vulcan’s Vengeance’ (Issues #7-8) is the first story not based on any episode.
  • Star Trek Volume 3
    Collects Star Trek (2011) #9-12

    • Issues #9-10 are an adaptation of the episode ‘The Return of the Archons’ (1×22)
    • Issues #11-12 (‘The Truth About Tribbles’) are inspired by ‘The Trouble with Tribbles’ (2×13).

The countdown to Star Trek Into Darkness starts here! Starting with issue 13, the comic began to shift in order to prepare for the future release of Into Darkness. The comic explores the pasts of several members of the crew while Countdown to Darkness chronicles the Mudd Incident mentioned in the film. 

  • Star Trek Volume 4
    Collects Star Trek (2011) #13-16

    • Issue #13 (‘Hendorff’) is a stand-alone story focused on redshirts. 
    • Issue #14 (‘Keenser’s Story’) is a stand-alone story telling how Scotty met Keenser.
    • Issues #15-16 are an adaptation of the Mirror Universe story (2×10)
  • Star Trek Volume 5
    Collects Star Trek (2011) #17-20

    • Issue #17 (‘Bones’) explores Leonard “Bones” McCoy’s past.
    • Issue #18 (‘The Voice of a Falling Star’) explores Uhura’s past.
    • Issue #19 (‘Scotty’) explores Montgomery Scott’s past.
    • Issue #20 (‘Red Level Down’) focuses on Sulu and Chekov.
  • Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness
    Collects Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness #1-4. 
  • A Star Trek video game was released in 2013 set before the movie.

When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. This is where Star Trek Into Darkness happens, and there is no comic book adaptation.

The crew of the USS Enterprise continues their five-year mission, now with storyline longer than two issues.  

The U.S.S. Enterprise meets the Green Lantern Corps! Kirk and Spock make a most unusual discovery on a lost world… igniting events that will change the fate of empires!

If you want to know more about the Lanterns after this event, check out our Complete Green Lantern Guide! 

  • Star Trek Volume 13
    Collects Star Trek (2011) #55-60

    • This trade is part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the franchise 
    • ‘Legacy of Spock’ (#55-58) is set after Spock Prime departs the shuttle bay in the first movie.
    • ‘Connection’ (#59-60) sees Captain Kirk and the crew encountering themselves, members of the Prime Universe! 

Star Trek: The New Adventures

The New Adventures is a five-volume omnibus (big trade paperbacks of 6 in. x 9 in.), republishing the Star Trek: Ongoing comic series.

Star Trek: The New Adventures, Volume 1 (#1-12) | Star Trek: The New Adventures, Volume 2 (#13-24) | Star Trek: The New Adventures, Volume 3 (#25-34) | Star Trek: The New Adventures, Volume 4 (#35-4) | Star Trek: The New Adventures, Volume 5 (#46-60) 

This is the moment to watch Star Trek Beyond, where the USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, and encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test. 

After the release of Star Trek Beyond, a new comic series from IDW was released, once again written by Mike Johnson (and co-written with Ryan Parrot from issue #6). Boldly Go takes place months after the main event of Star Trek Beyond, but prior the closing scenes with the launching of the USS Enterprise-A.

Want to read more Star Trek Comics?
Check out Star Trek (IDW 2022)

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