In this review of Star Trek: 60th Anniversary Special #1, ten short stories of the crews spanning Star Trek’s 60-year timeline tell various space adventures.
Star Trek: 60th Anniversary Special #1
Writers: David Gerrold, Dana Gould, Brian Michael Bendis, Ryan North, Dave Baker, David F. Walker, Mike McMahan, Meghan Camarena, Chris Fenoglio, Christopher Cantwell
Artists: J.P. Buzio, Megan Levens, Michael Gaydos, Derek Charm, Nicole Goux, Esau and Isaac Escorza, Michael Allred, Mari Rollin, Chris Fenoglio, Isaac Sánchez González
Main Cover: Michael Cho
Variant Covers: Michael Allred, Judd Mercer, Caitlin Yarsky, Michael Cho
Page Count: 68 pages
Release Date: September 9, 2026
This review contains spoilers
The ten stories presented in this oversized anniversary one-shot issue focus on a different crew or character familiar to fans of Star Trek through the years, although some of the crews are part of more than one story.
Kirk and the Original Series gang are covered in the first four tales, with the fourth one transitioning to the Next Generation right at the end. The fifth story focuses on Picard and Beverly Crusher from the Star Trek: Nemesis time period.
Story six is a solo tale about Worf’s upbringing as a Klingon raised by humans.
The seventh entry is, fittingly, a more humorous tale, as it features many of the Star Trek: Lower Decks crew.
The eighth, “Where the Map Runs Out,” is from the recent Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and covers a debate between Cadet Genesis Lythe and Cadet Torek on whether a certain book is science fiction or fantasy.
The ninth story brings us to Star Trek: Enterprise where a crew member is searching for Captain Archer so he can approve his Starfleet records photo.
Story ten is from the Star Trek: Picard time period and serves as a lead-in to the new Star Trek #1 series that is coming soon. A preview of the opening pages to that new issue wraps up this anniversary edition.
Analysis
For fans of all forms of Star Trek, this Star Trek: 60th Anniversary Special #1 will likely be highly enjoyable. The variety of writers and artists working on this issue illustrates the diversity and appeal of Star Trek through the years. With ten stories to read through, any reader will be able to come away with a favorite or two.
Depending on when you became a fan, you likely have a favorite crew already and will gravitate toward their particular story (or stories, in the case of a couple crews). For me, it’s the Next Generation, so I was glad to see two solid entries with some of those characters, plus a tiny transition at the end of story four.
My favorites out of all these entries include Worf’s solo tale, “The Peaceful Klingon” and the Starfleet Academy story, “Where the Map Runs Out.” Worf has so many great moments through the TV shows and movies, but the exploration of his upbringing is somewhat limited. While this story isn’t able to get into a lot of detail, it sheds a little more light on how he came to be a pacifist.
The back and forth discussion between Genesis and Torek about whether a particular book is science fiction or fantasy is a perfect debate for two Academy cadets. Their attempts to change each other’s mind about how to perceive the story is a good example of how it’s important to keep an open mind, which is a major theme for Star Trek.
The final story, “Manifest Destiny,” by Christopher Cantwell, is an exciting lead-in for the new title with Captain Seven in command of the Enterprise-G. It introduces the Epsilon Corridor and the Trinity (a group of M class planets) that will play a key role in the ongoing series. This entry, along with the preview of Star Trek #1, looks like an exciting new adventure.
One disappointing aspect of the issue is the exclusion of some major series. There’s no Deep Space Nine (unless you count Worf’s story), no Voyager, no Discovery, and no Strange New Worlds. This would have been a better anniversary celebration with a story from each of those series, as fans of those crews would probably be expecting. The main cover represents all of them, so why not inside, too?
The artwork in this anniversary issue is as wide ranging as the stories themselves. One story is drawn in the style of the TOS animated series. The Lower Decks story is not in the animated style of the show, but a different story (“The Search for Archer”) is. My favorite artwork is from the “Manifest Destiny” story with artist Isaac Sanchez doing the illustrations and colors by Igor Monti. The style features more angular characters and stands out from the others in this issue.
Final Thoughts
Star Trek: 60th Anniversary Special #1 is a one-shot that captures the spirit of the franchise. While not all of the series have a story, the ones present are fun reads. Have fun, comic lovers!
