What do you think?
Rate this book
Star Trek: The Key Collection/The Enterprise Logs #4
Star Trek - The Key Collection: Volume 4
The classic television show that became a classic comic book. Revisit the original crew and see why these Gold Key books were, and remain, so popular among both Star Trek and comic book fans alike. Volume four collects issues 25-32. Includes:
"Dwarf Planet" (#25)
"The Perfect Dream" (#26)
"Ice Journey" (#27)
"The Mimicking Menace" (#28)
"Death of a Star" (#30)
"The Final Truth" (#31)
"The Animal People" (#32)
"The Choice" (#33)
"Dwarf Planet" (#25)
"The Perfect Dream" (#26)
"Ice Journey" (#27)
"The Mimicking Menace" (#28)
"Death of a Star" (#30)
"The Final Truth" (#31)
"The Animal People" (#32)
"The Choice" (#33)
232 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2005
4 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Len Wein
1,585 books155 followersLen Wein was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men (including the co-creation of Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus). Additionally, he was the editor for writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons' influential DC miniseries Watchmen.
Wein was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008.
Wein was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 26, 2024
This reprint of comic originally published by Gold Key July 1974 to September 1975. Each chapter begins with a smaller rendition of the cover followed by a reprint of the full issue on glossy paper. The sequential books included are: Dwarf Planet, The Perfect Dream, Ice Journey, The Mimicking Menace, Death of a Star, The Final Truth, The Animal People, and The Choice. The colors are not consistent throughout the volume nor are they vibrant like the original tv series. The stories are interesting and in the Star Trek mold of discovering new civilizations with drama and action. The color inconsistency with uniforms and ex machina endings are the main distractor hence the minus one star.
April 28, 2015
Normally, I wouldn't start reading something in the middle of a run unless I had a good reason. I'm big on continuity and I hate to read something and then have a cliffhanger which I don't have the following issue to complete the story. But the Gold Key books of the 1960s and 70s were single issue stories- no multiparters here. Also, to obtain some of the earlier issues would cost me an arm and a leg. For example on the online site for Mile High Comics, a fine issue of Star Trek #3 sells for $101!
So it's reprints for me!
I found this volume at a local comics show for only $5. Containing 8 issues, that was less than a dollar a book and way cheaper than the combined price of about $150 bucks if I were to buy all the issues online. I also bought volume 5 at the show and since there are 3 more books in this series, I should be able to have a run of the first 40 or so books for a very reasonable amount of money.
It wasn't an official standard practice to give credits to artists and writers until the late 70s. While DC and Marvel were already doing this when these Gold Key books were published, not every publisher gave credit when and where it was due. None of these issues boast a credit so I haven't a clue who were behind these stories nor can I determine who to praise for the gems and who to blame for the stinkers.
The art was of near superior quality for a Silver Age licensed work. Most comics based on live action shows contained artwork to looked nowhere near to the actors they were representing. That's not so here. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, and sometimes Scotty were drawn in a near photorealistic style. Well- except for one thing- the ears on Spock were enormous. They were drawn to look like they covered 3/4 of his head. I know Vulcans have big ears, but this was ridiculous. Artwork of the various alien races were quite good as well and the rendering of the Enterprise was stunning.
The coloring was hit and miss. Sometimes you'd see one of the crewmembers wearing the wrong color tunic. I noticed that in the mistakes, you'd see one crewmember wearing the right color and the other crew member inked in the same color as their colleague. For example, there was a panel in which Bones and Scotty were sitting together and they both wore science officer blues. I'm wondering if these color mistakes were a cost saving measure. Nonetheless, it was a little irritating to me.
The stories ranged from 'The Trouble With Tribbles' good to 'Spock's Brain' bad. 'Dwarf Planet' in which Scotty is hit with s shrink ray and the clone saga 'The Perfect Dream' were the best in this collection. The mutant uprising story 'Ice Journey' was horrid. I suggest you skip that tale. One problem all issues had were that the last couple of panels attempted to be humorous like the final scene of each episode of classic Trek but the jokes mostly fell flat and the endings were quite awkward.
Regardless of some of the nits I have about the books in this series, the overall book was an enjoyable tale and this work is a welcome addition to my Star Trek comics collection
So it's reprints for me!
I found this volume at a local comics show for only $5. Containing 8 issues, that was less than a dollar a book and way cheaper than the combined price of about $150 bucks if I were to buy all the issues online. I also bought volume 5 at the show and since there are 3 more books in this series, I should be able to have a run of the first 40 or so books for a very reasonable amount of money.
It wasn't an official standard practice to give credits to artists and writers until the late 70s. While DC and Marvel were already doing this when these Gold Key books were published, not every publisher gave credit when and where it was due. None of these issues boast a credit so I haven't a clue who were behind these stories nor can I determine who to praise for the gems and who to blame for the stinkers.
The art was of near superior quality for a Silver Age licensed work. Most comics based on live action shows contained artwork to looked nowhere near to the actors they were representing. That's not so here. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, and sometimes Scotty were drawn in a near photorealistic style. Well- except for one thing- the ears on Spock were enormous. They were drawn to look like they covered 3/4 of his head. I know Vulcans have big ears, but this was ridiculous. Artwork of the various alien races were quite good as well and the rendering of the Enterprise was stunning.
The coloring was hit and miss. Sometimes you'd see one of the crewmembers wearing the wrong color tunic. I noticed that in the mistakes, you'd see one crewmember wearing the right color and the other crew member inked in the same color as their colleague. For example, there was a panel in which Bones and Scotty were sitting together and they both wore science officer blues. I'm wondering if these color mistakes were a cost saving measure. Nonetheless, it was a little irritating to me.
The stories ranged from 'The Trouble With Tribbles' good to 'Spock's Brain' bad. 'Dwarf Planet' in which Scotty is hit with s shrink ray and the clone saga 'The Perfect Dream' were the best in this collection. The mutant uprising story 'Ice Journey' was horrid. I suggest you skip that tale. One problem all issues had were that the last couple of panels attempted to be humorous like the final scene of each episode of classic Trek but the jokes mostly fell flat and the endings were quite awkward.
Regardless of some of the nits I have about the books in this series, the overall book was an enjoyable tale and this work is a welcome addition to my Star Trek comics collection
June 29, 2025
Very anicent feeling Trek tie-in. All the stories are too quick.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews