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I found this in an old file today. Marvel got the rights to Star Trek comics in 1979. Everyone had high hopes but they botched it up. When word got out that it would be cancelled I wrote in and complained. This was Jim Shooters sorry reply:
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LOL! Neat letterhead! -
Well, Shooter has often been criticized for his blunt approach.
Funny how DC took the franchise just a few years later and had a decade long run with it.
ChrisComment
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Oh, that's classic!Think OUTSIDE the Box! For the BEST in Repro & Custom Packaging!Comment
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Paramount refused to let Marvel address TOS, making the comic series only set in the movie universe. The writers at Marvel were very flustered and painted into a corner.Places to find PlaidStallions online: https://linktr.ee/Plaidstallions
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seems Paramount often messed with the comics too much
i seem to recall the only reason DC's series was cancelled was because Paramount wanted to do their own comic run....which did not last that long in the endComment
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That's right! I read that in an interview in a Trek Fanzine.
Also, in the interview series Modern Masters, John Byrne stated that Jim Shooter declared all Marvel Comics would have 1 story-per every single issue. No stories would be told over multiple issues. You can see around Star Trek, issue 4-5, the ongoing story ended and every issue thereafter was a 1 issue story. Basically they took "new" Star Trek and forced it into the old Gold Key format. It was like a 1-2 punch of bad management that killed the title at Marvel.Comment
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There is a great article on Star Trek comics in an old issue of Back Issue. It's written by Mike W. Barr, who wrote Trek comics for both Marvel and DC. He mentions the freeze on TOS elements at Marvel there too.
Basically someone at Paramount is always messing up the comic licenses.
ChrisComment
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^^ I knew of the freeze on TOS elements, but did anyone ever say why. Was it that someone else still had the rights or Paramount was trying to sell them as two different sets (aka more money?)It's all good!Comment
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In a sort of similar way, Marvel also had restrictions placed on their Star Wars comics after Return of the Jedi.
Following ROTJ, Jo Duffy has said that the mandates from Lucasfilm supposedly told them they weren't allowed to use the Empire in their stories, and they also weren't allowed to advance the Han - Leia relationship in any way, or do stories involving The Force or the Jedi Knights. Retsrictions were also placed on how they referenced the Darth Vader character, especially the fact that he had been Luke's father. They also weren't allowed to do any stories set during the Old Republic or Clone Wars period.Last edited by Bruce Banner; Oct 9, '11, 12:08 PM.PUNY HUMANS!Comment
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I don't know if an answer has ever come to light in regards to Paramount. One interview I read-a long time ago-the writers got the impression that Paramount felt they would keep a tight leash on the new Star Trek. But to what end? Could it be referencing the old series costs extra money? DC 's writers once mentioned that they had to pay extra fees if specific characters like Harry Mudd were used. If you look at the DC series there were a lot of TOS characters brought back.
Byrne also mentioned that the Paramount people really gave him a headache on the Indiana Jones comic. He would write and draw the whole issue after a grueling approval process and right before it went to print the Paramount Liason would say change the whole thing. So he quit the book.Comment
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Love him or hate him, I always appreciated that he answered his mail. When I was a kid, that was a really big deal... I could send him a letter and he'd actually take the time to reply!Comment
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Ironically that was one of the better stories published by MarvelRight, and I heard the series was really cancelled because Marvel slipped up and did a story with McCoy's daughter who was mentioned in TAS.It's all good!Comment
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