Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim is slated to feature a graphic novel that hits shelves just before the release of the film.
Much like the Dungeons and Dragons manuals, this graphic novel is a prequel that will answer a lot of questions for moviegoers, and will help set up the world of the film before you see it. Now apparently the same will happen with the next Star Trek film, and this graphic novel will bridge the gap between the last film and the next one.
The next JJ Abrams Trek flick is called Star Trek Into Darkness, and as the site GiantFreakinRobot tells us, the graphic novel will be called Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness.
The prequel is set to be released via IDW and is described as a four issue mini-series. Interestingly enough, as Robot points out, the movie’s title doesn’t have a colon, but the graphic novel does. (Maybe they’ll have the colon in the Special Edition or the Director’s Cut).
With Pacific Rim, the graphic novel can help build anticipation for the film, so it does seem a little odd there’s a graphic novel before the next Trek film because there’s already plenty of anticipation, not to mention JJ Abrams is extremely paranoid about secrets getting out.
That said, there was also a comic prequel before the first Abrams Trek hit theaters, Star Trek: Countdown, so this will be continuing in the Abrams Trek tradition. The comic is penned by Roberto Orci, one of the screenwriters of the new Trek films, and comics writer Mike Johnson, with David Messina illustrating.
Personally, I think it’s a rather interesting idea to have a comic bridge the gap between movie releases, and in the case of Pacific Rim, it will be a good barometer for the film’s pre-release buzz. The first Star Wars comic was released before the film and it did very well, although when they tried to bridge the gap between the first film and Empire with the Holiday Special…well, the results speak for themselves. (Thank you JJ for not attempting a Trek Holiday Special).
The cover of the Countdown to Darkness has already been released, with the first issue on track to hit the stands in January 201 – five months before Star Trek Into Darkness goes live on May 17, 2013.
