Original Harlan Ellison ‘Star Trek’ Episode Script Gets A Comic Book Miniseries At IDW

With its dramatic tale of time travel trauma, "City on the Edge of Forever" is widely considered one of the best episodes of the original Star Trek TV series, but what made it to the screen was quite different from sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison's original script, which was too long for a one-hour TV show and had far too many speaking parts for the production budget.

Comics don't have those restrictions, though, so IDW Publishing is taking Ellison's full, original teleplay and adapting it into a comics mini-series, starting in June. It'll be written by Scott Tipton and David Tipton, and with interior art by J.K. Woodward. Juan Ortiz will be the artist on the main covers, which give the series a sort of pulp-novel look, while movie poster artist Paul Shipper will be on variant covers. Ellison will serve as a sort of consultant.

Here's what Ellison said about the project, according to an IDW press release:

It was a superlative joy of my long life to have worked with Leonard Nimoy, who became my friend, and many others at Star Trek; and an equally heart-happy joy to be working with J.K. and the Tipton Bros. and Chris Ryall on this long-awaited visual of my (humbly, I say it) brilliant original "City…"

His boasting isn't really wrong. Ellison's 1966 teleplay won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Writer’s Guild of America’s Award for Most Outstanding Teleplay.

IDW's Chief Creative Officer and Editor-in Chief Chris Ryall said adapting the script has been one of his goals at IDW since acquiring the Star Trek license. He promised an adventure "unlike any other."

The series is scheduled for a five-issue run.