In the late 1970s and early 80s, the Marvel Super Special series brought comics to magazine format as only Marvel could, but with its fifteenth issue, it went were no man has gone before with a comics adaptation of
Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the movie that revived the Trek franchise for new generations in movies, on TV, and in movies again.
This interior page shows the introduction of Lt. Ilia, as well as her reunion with her former lover Will Decker (plus the mention of a transporter-phobic crew member. I wonder who that could be?) I love how much story is packed into these panels; in today's comics, this sequence would probably be two or three pages long, with a splash for Ilia and protracted meaningful panels between Ilia and Decker. But in the style of the day, storytelling moves along with breakneck pace.
Stats for word balloons and captions are yellowing, and the back shows tape around the areas of the third and fourth panels, as if those panels were redrawn and re-placed (I'm guessing perhaps something to do with getting the likenesses right.)
Regardless, this page stands as a reminder of my lasting Trek affection. As the saying goes, the human adventure is just beginning.
