During my blogging absence, some truly outstanding images graced the covers of my Star Trek series, The Last Generation. I thought I’d do a bit of catching up, both to chronicle the issues for posterity (lame) and recognize the extraordinary work for the artists (not so lame).
So, from the About Freakin’ Time folder:
Star Trek: The Last Generation #4, by JK Woodward.
My buddy JK Woodward of Peter David’s Fallen Angel fame has been blazing across these covers for the entire series, but I think this one is my favorite, even moreso than the homage cover he did for issue #1. His grasp of color and composition is exceptional, and his paints–particularly the image of Sulu–perfectly capture the tone and style of the series. When JK and I talked about this cover ahead of time, literally all I said to him was, “how about, you know, just some space battle, maybe with Sulu’s image in the background”–and from that exceptionally creative and detailed description, this is what he delivered. A movie poster cover if ever I saw one.
While you’re at it, also check out JK’s work on issues #2 and #3 — standout work all-around.
Star Trek: The Last Generation #3, by Joe Corroney.
Joe Corroney is one of the most gifted cover artists I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with, easily the best cover artist during IDW’s years publishing Star Trek, and possibly any company’s years holding the license. A good number of “likeness” artists produce work that comes across as too posed and waxy, but Joe’s art is entirely vibrant, thematic and atmospheric. As an editor who hired him for any number of Star Trek covers, I was thrilled to finally have him do work for a book that I wrote.
When I first spoke to Joe about this cover, I referenced the seminal Eddie Adams Vietnam War photo of a captured VC sniper being executed in the street, but perhaps not so obvious an homage as to be distracting. Joe produced an astonishingly vivid cover that perfectly captured the moment, both in the photo and in the issue, even though it’s actually a composite of several different scenes from the story.
Coming soon: Coverama II!
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Andrew Steven Harris 
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