'Star Trek: Waypoint' Returning in 2018

Star Trek: Waypoint, IDW Publishing's anthology format Star Trek comic book, is returning in November for a special, oversized one-shot.

IDW Publishing made the announcement during the Star Trek Las Vegas convention. The new Waypoint one-shot will feature three stories set in Star Trek's prime timeline. One will focus on the characters from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, another on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the third will span "the entire length of Trek history" according to IDW's new Star Trek group editor Denton Tipton (via TrekCore). Confirmed characters include James Kirk, Spock, Data, and Ezri Dax.

Writing the stories are Brandon Easton, Jackson Lanzig & Collin Kelly, Dave Baker & Nicole Goux, and Matthew Dow Smith. Artists are Goux, Smith, Sonny Liew, and Josh Hood.

Star Trek: Waypoint was originally a six-issue anthology miniseries that was released bimonthly by IDW Publishing from 2016-2017 that was met with mostly positive reviews. The series was launched as part of Star Trek's 50th-anniversary celebration and the stories featured in the series spanned the entirety of the Star Trek franchise's history. Every Star Trek television series pre-Star Trek: Discovery was featured, and the final issue even touched on Star Trek: Phase II, Gene Roddenberry's unproduced TV sequel to Star Trek: The Original Series.

Tipton also teased an upcoming comic book story about the past and future of Jean-Luc Picard by sharing a photo of Patrick Stewart as Picard with hair, a backstage photo taken during the filming of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Violations." His only other note was a reference to "the past of the future." Perhaps IDW plans to publish a story about Picard's days in command of the USS Stargazer before he took command of the Enterprise?

A series spotlighting Jean-Luc Picard would probably be a wise move from IDW Publishing considering the biggest news to come out of Star Trek Las Vegas, which is that Stewart will be returning to the role of Picard in a new Star Trek series on CBS All Access. Whether or not this presumed new Picard-centric comic book story has anything to do with CBS All Access series is unclear.

Picard will also be featured in the newly announced novel Star Trek: The Next Generation: Available Light.

Are you excited for the return of Star Trek: Waypoint? What do you think the Picard tease is all about? Let us know what you think in the comments section!

Star Trek: Waypoint returns in November 2018.