Review- STAR TREK: THE JOHN BYRNE COLLECTION

STAR TREK: THE JOHN BYRNE COLLECTION (IDW, First Printing, 2013; Hardcover)

Collects Star Trek: Alien Spotlight- Romulans, Star Trek: Romulans- The Hollow Crown #1, 2, Star Trek: Romulans- Schism #1-3, Star Trek: Assignment Earth #1-5, Star Trek: Crew #1-5, and Star Trek: Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor #1-4 (cover dates February, 2008- July, 2010)

Writer and Artist: John Byrne

Colorists: Leonard O'Grady, Tom Smith, Lovern Kindzierski, and Mario Boon

I owned, read, and subsequently sold two of the John Byrne Star Trek trades, Romulans: Schism and Crew. Since I didn't care enough about them to keep them it made perfect sense to buy this deluxe hardcover collecting those as well as the rest of Byrne's Star Trek output for IDW in one handy package.

Byrne was part of the original generation of Star Trek fandom, watching it as a teenager who grew up studying at the altar of comic books and science fiction of the 1960s. His love and knowledge of this era's art is genuine. Byrne was from the generation of creators who knew that this stuff was important and tried to make it clear to the rest of the world that it was just as important as the fans always believed. The fans that Byrne influenced went on to become creators who did just that, making nerd persecution a thing of the past. Nerds are now free to be themselves in public.

I don't know what's what here, as I am a casual Trek fan. Time travel has always been a pet theme for Byrne, and he uses Gary Seven from a single episode of the original series to pepper throughout the various series, giving them a common thread. Star Trek: Assignment Earth is a lot of fun, with Byrne exploring what could have happened if Roddenberry's spin-off series had been greenlit.

My favorite issues in this book were Star Trek: Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor, a fantastic set of tales which take place after the original series somewhere near the first movie. I am not a Trek expert but could follow the stories here easily enough.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is one heavy book.

Paper stock: Thick glossy coated stock.

Binding: While this book has sewn binding, the book block is super heavy and I worry about its durability over the long haul. It almost feels like it is pulling out of the casing.

Hardback cover notes: The hardback has a pretty fancy embossing, with the Starfleet A being stamped into the cover. The cover has a thick waxlike lamination that will provide years of enjoyment.