Anyone that’s a fan of Star Trek will tell you just how affected they are by the franchise. One becomes immersed within the first few minutes. It’s far more than a military science fiction thriller but a study of the human condition. Each of the properties have done an amazing job of not just entertaining but discussing relevant issues in society.
There has never been a IP which outright talks about societal ills like Star Trek. It was the first show I watched where I felt like I was not alone. It made being smart feel like you stood out for all the right reasons. In the 400th issue of the long running IDW Publishing comic, Star Trek, a collective of creators come together to tell some tales in this connected universe.
In “Captain’s Log”, we find Kirk as he writes final Captain’s log, as he recalls what would a lifetime of memories. In “Soldier On”, We find O’Brien as he foils a Cardassian spy, alerting their military, that Starfleet is a formidable foe. In “Meanwhile”, Scotty wakes up from a nap to notice that no work has been done, and decides his day is already done. In “A Matter of Choice”, we find out exactly where Wesley Crusher has been all these years and how did he end up being a guardian of time. In “Starfleeter”, we find a young Keyla Detmer as she bonds with a young Klingon warrior, eventually becoming friends. In “A Perfect System”, a sentient being name Gary Mitchell realizes the mission of Star Trek makes his existence, none essential, as it is in good hands. In “Where No Publisher Has Gone Before”, the impact of the franchise in comics is told .
Overall, Star Trek #400 is an excellent tribute to this franchise which has meant so much to so many people. The stories by the different writers is astounding.. The art by the different artists is incredible. Altogether, a worthy tribute and an excellent addition to the canon.
Story: Chris Eliopoulos, Declan Shalvey, Mike Johnson, Wil Wheaton, Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Rich Handley Art: Luke Sparrow, Seth Damoose, Angel Hernandez, Joe Eisma, Megan Levens, Ramon Rosanas Color: DC Alonso, Steve Dellasala, Ronda Pattison, Lee Loughridge Letterer: Jake Wood, Neil Uyetake, Nathan Widick Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy
IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
(W) Wil Wheaton, Declan Shalvey, Chris Eliopoulos, Rich Handley, Mike Johnson (A) Joe Eisma, Megan Levens, Luke Sparrow, Seth Damoose, Angel Hernandez (CA) Louie De Martinis of Magnus Art In Shops: Sep 07, 2022 SRP: $7.99
Celebrate IDW’s 400th issue of Star Trek comics with this monumental issue highlighting fan-favorite eras of the acclaimed series. This collection of minis brings together Star Trek comics veterans in an equal celebration of IDW’s Star Trek comics past and future. Join little Keyla Detmer-as seen in Star Trek: Discovery-Adventures in the 32nd Century #3-on a new expedition, visit the Kelvin Universe, witness a heartfelt tale by TNG’s very own Wil Wheaton, and more by Chris Eliopoulos, Declan Shalvey, Rich Handley, and Mike Johnson, with art by Luke Sparrow, Seth Damoose, Megan Levens, Angel Hernandez, and Joe Eisma!
(W) Wil Wheaton, Declan Shalvey, Chris Eliopoulos, Rich Handley, Mike Johnson (A) Joe Eisma, Megan Levens, Luke Sparrow, Seth Damoose, Angel Hernandez (CA) Louie De Martinis of Magnus Art In Shops: Sep 07, 2022 SRP: $7.99
Celebrate IDW’s 400th issue of Star Trek comics with this monumental issue highlighting fan-favorite eras of the acclaimed series. This collection of minis brings together Star Trek comics veterans in an equal celebration of IDW’s Star Trek comics past and future. Join little Keyla Detmer-as seen in Star Trek: Discovery-Adventures in the 32nd Century #3-on a new expedition, visit the Kelvin Universe, witness a heartfelt tale by TNG’s very own Wil Wheaton, and more by Chris Eliopoulos, Declan Shalvey, Rich Handley, and Mike Johnson, with art by Luke Sparrow, Seth Damoose, Megan Levens, Angel Hernandez, and Joe Eisma!
Come to the Baltimore Comic-Con on September 28-30, 2018 at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center. Tickets can be purchased on-line with debit or credit card now to avoid standing in additional lines. The Baltimore Comic-Con has announced the addition of movie, television, and Internet star Wil Wheaton as a guest of the show both Friday and Saturday.
Wil Wheaton is an author, actor, and producer. He is best known for his work on The Big Bang Theory, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Stand By Me. He is the co-creator, with Felicia Day, of the award-winning webseries, Tabletop. He is an award-winning and critically acclaimed audiobook narrator. His narration includes Ready Player One, The Collapsing Empire, Red Shirts, Strange Weather, and Masters of Doom. As a voice actor, Wil has performed in Teen Titans, Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, Ben Ten: Alien Force, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and Disney’s Miles from Tomorrowland.
Wil lives with depression and anxiety, and is an outspoken advocate for mental health care. He is the recipient of the 2014 Rona and Ken Purdy Award to End Discrimination, awarded by NAMI.
With everyone else running their lists of the top Presidents and the worst and because our current occupant of the Oval Office is, ahhem, how do I put it?
Quite right. So, we thought we’d bring you the list of the top fictional Presidents to help us set our sights higher.
Let’s start with a couple of honorable mentions. While they didn’t make the top list, it’s worth noting that Roy Schieder, James Cromwell, and Bruce Greenwood have all played presidents multiple times. Because when someone says, “We need a President—who’s an actor who exudes gravitas?” the obvious answer is the guy who blew up Jaws, Farmer Hoggett, and. . .well, Bruce Greenwood. Robert Rodriguez also seems to like to cast random people as presidents in his movies, including George Clooney in Spy Kids and Charlie Sheen as the most hilariously named fictional president ever, “President Rathcock,” in Machete Kills.
And with that, I present to you, the Top 25 Fictional Presidents of all time
25. Stephen Colbert / President Hathaway — Marvel Comics/Monsters vs. Aliens played by Stephen Colbert.
Because the Executive Producer of Our Cartoon President has also been. . . a cartoon president. Specifically, a president who decides that the best way to attack aliens is with monsters. This film was genius and I never quite understood why it didn’t take off more.
Also, we should always remember that time in Marvel comics when Colbert (his persona as a loudmouth host of The Colbert Report, not his nicer, more mainstream self as host of The Late Show) ran as an independent, won the popular vote, and lost the Electoral College to Obama.
Losing the popular vote but being elected anyway? “Preposterous! Only in comic books!” you say? Sounds right.
Ok, so not exactly a president. But he’s right in that hall of almost presidents with Hillary Clinton, Al Gore and Samuel Tilden. And none of them got to team up with Spider-Man. (Yet.)
24. James Dale — Mars Attacks! played by Jack Nicholson.
Stealing a vibe from Dr. Strangelove and other b-movie alien invasion films, Nicholson is able to channel quite well the hapless president overwhelmed by alien invasion. My favorite is how he keeps believing the worst possible advice. For style, not for substance, you made the list.
23. Tom Beck — Deep Impact played by Morgan Freeman. Ok, I know he belongs on this list, but I get seriously confused about which asteroid movie this was? Oh, this was the one where the asteroid actually hits. Ok. Not with Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis. And was Morgan Freeman also the President in “Olympus Has Fallen”? Oh, no, that was Aaron Eckhart. Almost.
Anyway — Morgan Freeman. That is all.
22. Cory Doctorow / Wil Wheaton, Ready Player One.
Are you ready for Ready Player One?
With the movie coming in just a few weeks, hype is in full gear. Worth noting, in Ernest Cline’s book that the film is based off of, it mentioned the very real people Cory Doctorow and Wil Wheaton had been elected president and vice-president of the Oasis, the giant online system everyone uses for games, education, second life. At this point, who controlled the Oasis was far more important than who was actually president, as the real world really sucked.
Real people, fake product, fake presidents– but we could use more people like them in politics and fewer like, well, most of the people in charge these days.
21. Preston Rickard / Beth Ross, Prez from DC Comics
Kids elected president? We could do much worse. In this satire where future presidents are elected by Twitter because turnout is so low and kids are allowed to vote, somehow a social media star gets elected president. In the 2015 reboot, they even bring back the original Prez from the 1970’s. It’s great satire because our politics have literally gotten just that bad. You can read a more full review we ran here and also here, and here, and an interview with the writer here. A series that was cancelled too soon, maybe it will get rebooted again in another 40 years.
20. Thomas Whitmore, Independence Day played by Bill Pullman.
Ok, just watch that clip above. That’s the only reason why. Yeah, he flew a fighter jet to save the earth, but so what? Big summer movie speech– the biggest summeriest speechiest movie speech ever. And please try to forget that Independence Day 2 ever happened.
19. Vanellope Von Schweetz – Wreck-It Ralph played by Sarah Silverman. Upon being restored to her rightful place as Princess of Sugar Rush land, Vanellope decides to transition her government into a constitutional democracy and become President. Hey, it’s better than ordering the execution of Taffeta Muttonfudge and the others who were mean to her. For being a president who is able to give up supreme executive power in favor of giving it to the people, you made the list, Vanellope.Also, looking forward to your sequel and you possibly becoming. . . a Disney Princess?
18. Merkin Mufflin – Dr. Strangelove played by Peter Sellers.
On this list if only for the classic line “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the war room!” And because Peter Sellers.
17. Zaphod Beeblebrox — The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Finally, a president whose narcissism rivals that of our own! Two heads, three arms, and the biggest idiot, he was elected president of the galaxy — a position which has no power and is only there to distract people from who’s really in charge. There are a lot of satirical presidents on this list, but this is one of the best. If he had Twitter, no doubt he’d be tweeting about being “a very stable genius” “despite all the negative press covfefe.” Also, the only president with his own music video (from the 2005 film starring Sam Rockwell as our president) — and he’s better looking, too.
16. President Skroob — Spaceballs played by Mel Brooks.
It’s good to be the king, er, president. Floozies. Unlisted walls. Nobody telling you your ass is so big. Your own canned air supply.
Too bad you run a civilization so dumb that it is running out of oxygen. (I’m betting Scott Pruitt runs Spaceballs’ EPA) But still, hail Skroob!
15. James Marshall — Air Force One played by Harrison Ford. “Get off of my plane!” That’s all you need to make the list. Also, James Marshall seems like a pretty good guy. He’s resourceful enough to contact his people and sabotage his own hijacked plane, he can speak Russian in remarks to the Russian government.
I always thought this was the “President Jack Ryan” movie that we never got (because, let’s face it, Debt of Honor and Executive Orders will never be made into movies) as a follow up to Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. Plus, it’s Harrison Ford.
14. Richard Nixon’s head — Futurama played by Billy West. “NIXON’S BACK!!!” Disproving the adage that there are no second acts in politics, Nixon served as President of Earth for most of the run of Futurama, providing some awesome times along the way– brought to you by Shenkman’s Rubbing Compound and the great taste of Charleston Chew.
Corrupt, easy to anger, and also pretty stupid, it makes us almost forget how bad the actual Richard Nixon was. And it also seems pretty spot-on these days.
13. Jackson Evans – The Contender played by Jeff Bridges.
One of my personal and pet favorites, President Jackson Evans spends most of the film trying to outmaneuver a slimy and hypocritical Gary Oldman (the second time he’s been the villain on the list! Whaddya know?!?) to get a woman confirmed as his Vice President. Oh, and also trying to order the most ridiculous things from the White House kitchen staff to show them they’re unprepared. Jeff Bridges is also part of a family of presidential stars, including his father Lloyd Bridges president in Hot Shots Part Deux, and brother Beau Bridges as president three times in 10.5, its sequel 10.5 Apocalypse and an episode of Stargate SG-1.
12. Kang – The Simpsons played by Harry Shearer. When Kang and his sister Kodos take over as Bill Clinton and Bob Dole in the 1996 elections, it was only a matter of time before one of them became president. They were sure fire winners, especially with classy campaign rhetoric like: “Abortions for some, tiny American flags for others.” “My fellow Americans. As a young boy, I dreamed of being a baseball; but tonight I say, we must move forward, not backward; upward, not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!” When it was pointed out that they were aliens, Kodos pointed out it was a two party system. When some idiot said he would vote for a third party candidate, Kang sealed his place in history by saying “Go ahead– throw your vote away.” And that’s what make him so high on this list. Don’t like it? “Don’t blame me, I voted for Kodos.”
11. President Business – The Lego Movie played by Will Farrell.
Both greed and conformity personified, President Business is perhaps the most subversive choice on this entire list. Most kids will never get the dystopian overtones, but if Gordon Gecko and Big Brother made a child out of Legos, this would be it.
Also, that awesome hat and those legs.
Those legs.
Genius.
Also genius– you notice those are coffee mugs on his hat, right?
If only we’d heeded the warning of electing a “businessman” to be president. If Trump invited everyone to a Taco Tuesday, we know something evil is about to happen.
10. Lex Luthor – Superman.
Compared to the other villains on this list (and the current POTUS) who knew that Lex Luthor would be one of the least evil and least overt of the great villain presidents?
The best thing about Luthor as president (and always with Luthor) is he doesn’t think he’s the villain. He even gets the majority of America to agree with him. True genius.
9. Leslie Knope – Parks and Recreation played by Amy Poehler. Ok, so she was never explicitly president on the show. But the show’s finale sure seemed to hint at it. And let’s be honest? She is exactly what we need right now.
Because unlike most of the rest of these dopes in the top 10, Leslie Knope embodies gumption and honesty and has yet to be corrupted by political power. And we hope she never does. We love you, Leslie Knope.
Knope/Swanson 2020.
8. Lisa Simpson – The Simpsons played by Yeardley Smith.
Speaking of competent, smart, earnest women who could take over the presidency in a heartbeat. . . .
This is the clip everyone knows where The Simpsons predicted President Trump and a huge debt crisis because of his policies. But what we can hope for is the next occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will have the intelligence and empathy of Lisa Simpson. I’m not so sure about Secretary of the Treasury Milhouse Van Houten, though. I guess if (Producer of Suicide Squad) Steve Mnuchin can do it. . .
7. Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Comacho — Idiocracy played by Terry Crews.
The smartest president in the not-too-distant-future (and Cassandra-like warning of our current administration), President Comacho was wise enough to let his Secretary of the Interior, Not Sure, put water from the toilet on the crops, even though we all know plants crave the electrolyes in Brawndo, the thirst mutilator. Also, he’s a champion wrestler, and who doesn’t want that in the White House?
6. Dave Kovic impersonating President Bill Mitchell — Dave played by Kevin Kline.
In the second-greatest Ivan Reitman film of all time, we get to see what would happen if we actually let a regular guy be president. And the answer is a not half-bad job. Dave’s jobs program makes sense to me, and his approach to trimming the budget to keep a homeless shelter open? Would that we could actually do that. While not the most accurate portrayal of Washington, it’s a version I wish we lived in and less like the real world Washington, which is more petty and full of incompetents — like Veep.
5. President Lindberg — The Fifth Element played by Tiny Lister.
As one of the many presidents on this list who have faced destruction of the planet, he handled it the best.
Because what every president should do when facing disaster in the 90’s? Throw Bruce Willis (in this case Corbin Dallas) at it. And perhaps the best part is where he gets yelled at by Corbin Dallas’s overbearing mother.
Wait. . . Gary Oldman’s the bad guy in this one, too! Definitely a pattern. . . and maybe a metaphor for this year’s Best Actor Oscar race, too.
4. David Palmer — 24 played by Dennis Haysbert.
Possibly the most badass of our top 5 presidents, David Palmer stood up to assassination attempts, terror attacks, and Kim getting menaced by a cougar (ok, so not that last one). He was also the only guy who seemed to be able to control Jack Bauer, which probably qualifies you to be on this list anyway. Also, a crazy murdery wife. And a competent brother who made a good president in his own right. But he was no David Palmer. Few people are.
2. [tie] Josiah “Jed” Bartlett/Andy Shepard — The West Wing/The American President played by Martin Sheen/Michael Douglas.
This is a tie because you can’t truly separate these two characters, as they both personify Aaron Sorkin’s idealized White House full of competent, well-meaning people. Yes, it’s a fantasy in itself. But it’s one we wish we had.
Still one of my favorite tv shows of all time and one of my favorite movies of all time. Also, I think it’s time to reboot The West Wing. Sorkin said he’d reboot it with Sterling K. Brown as president, but I think we could do even better. Pitch: It’s the first two years of President Seaborn’s first term. Except President Seaborn is actually Sam’s wife, and she’s played by, oh, I dunno. . . Gina Torres, Eva Mendes, Eva Longoria, or Rosario Dawson. Who’s with me?
Honorable mention here to President Santos, our first Latino fictional president.
1. Laura Roslin — Battlestar Galactica played by Mary McDonnell.
A lot of fictional presidents have faced down apocalyptic threats to Earth. Few of them have had to live on after the apocalypse.
Laura Roslin did that and more. Despite being completely unintentionally thrown into the presidency (she was a schoolteacher and Sec of Education before) she filled the role like few others could. And she held her own against Adama, against Tom Zarek, against those fraking cylons, and finally against cancer. She made mistakes along the way, but she rose to what she needed to do. And that is why she is the best. So say we all.
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So, who did we miss? There’s a couple intentionally left off here for very real, non fictional reasons, but if we missed your favorite, or think we rated someone too high or too low, let us know in the comments!
The long-awaited The Guild Library Edition Volume 1 HC is coming! From Dark Horse Comics and the famed YouTube comedy web series The Guild, this deluxe oversized hardcover includes every Guild comic, including two new stories by Felicia Day—the first to be published since 2013!
Felicia Day, who most recently teamed up with Netflix for the revival of Mystery Science Theater 3000, brings her original webisodic sensation to comics with help from The Guild cast and crew (including producer Kim Evey and director Sean Becker).
The Guild first came to comics in 2010, with stories set before the web series began, following lonely violinist Cyd Sherman trying to navigate a frustrating personal life as she stumbles on an online MMO called The Game. As Cyd gathers friends in-game, she gains confidence to confront all the problems in her real life. With, ahem, varied results.
The Guild Library Edition Volume 1 features thirty-four pages of brand-new comics—drawn by Mike Norton, Francesco Francavilla, and Naomi Franquiz—as well as the exciting one-shot written by Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton spotlighting his character Fawkes, and the short Free Comic Book Day story by Felicia Day and Jonathan Case. Also featuring art by Becky Cloonan, Darick Robertson, Adam Warren, Tim Seeley, Jonathan Case, and more!
It is hard to believe that 13 dice in a container the size of a soda can would receive the first perfect score I’ve given since I started writing for Graphic Policy, but believe it, Zombie Dice is flawless. Better known for Munchkin and their role-playing game GURPS, designer Steve Jackson and his self-titled team at Steve Jackson Games managed to combine equal parts luck and risk taking in this quick, addictive, and deceptively simple game.
Two rules: eat brains and don’t get shotgunned. For two or more players, this game can be played in 10 to 20 minutes and can be taught in a single round. The dice are color coded green, yellow, and red and have three symbols on them, a brain, shotgun, and footprints. The green dice have the most brains and least shotguns, yellow dice slightly fewer brains and slightly more shotguns, and red dice the fewest brains and the most shotguns. On a player’s turn, shake the cup, draw three dice without looking, and roll them. Brains to the left, shotguns to the right, and footprints get re-rolled along with however many more dice you need to draw from the cup to roll three again. Once you roll three shotguns your turn is over, but until then you can choose to stop and score how many brains you have or keep rolling. The first to collect 13 brains wins!
All comments and issues have been heard and answered by Steve Jackson Games (a rarity with many game companies these days). Players mentioned the original container peeled and the bottom sometimes popped out while shaking…so they designed a sturdier dice case. Then people cried for an expansion…and they got Zombie Dice 2 – Double Feature, which added three additional dice (a hunk, a hottie, and Santa Claus) that added even crazier twists to the game mechanics. They even released a brain score pad, which I failed to see before I typed ‘brains’ in Amazon and found a 36-count bundle of brain pencil top erasers for teachers. The best part? Reviews underneath said, “these are perfect for Zombie Dice!” They cost more than the game, but I bought them anyways and couldn’t be happier.
Though this game’s popularity exploded once it was featured on TableTop, Star Trek childhood star Wil Wheaton‘s web series, I’d like to think it would have thrived regardless of their excellent game review. Perfect for waiting in line or traveling, and at around $12, this game is a cheap stocking stuffer for last minute buyers (I’ve seen it at Target). Zombie Dice now has a smartphone app, shot glasses, and t-shirts (did I mention it was popular?), but merchandise aside, it is still just a cup with 13 dice that makes for–dare I say–brainless fun.
Designer: Steve Jackson Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy
At Gen Con 2013, Mayfair Games will host a Block Party on Thursday evening, August 15 at the Georgia St. Pavilion at Gen Con Indy 2013. While the Mayfair team has an evening of entertainment planned, excitement is building for The Star Trek: Catan Warp Speed Charity Event, featuring noted television and film star Wil Wheaton.
To participate in this charity event, beginning at 7:00 pm, attendees can sign up here and donate $100 with all proceeds supporting Gen Con Indy’s official 2013 Charity Partner, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana.
Wheaton, an actor, author, and avid gamer, is best known for the roles of Gordie Lachance from Stand by Me and Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation. He has also appeared on The Big Bang Theory, Leverage, and The Guild, and hosts the breakout board game web series Tabletop.
Participate in the largest charity event at Gen Con Indy 2013. Buy your tickets fast because the field is limited to 48 brave spacefarers, so register now!
Wil Wheaton, who starred as a teenager in the classic coming-of-age film Stand By Me in 1986 and a year later earned an important role in Star Trek: The Next Generation, will appear at next month’s Wizard World Austin Comic Con. Wheaton joins seven other “TNG” cast members in a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the start of the landmark series, Oct. 26-28 at the Austin Convention Center.
Other fellow “TNG” cast members scheduled for Austin include Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis and Brent Spiner.
Wheaton is also known for popular roles as Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers and portraying himself on the series The Big Bang Theory. He is an avid blogger, with frequent postings at Wil Wheaton Dot Net and WWdN: In Exile.
Gen Con has announced Wil Wheaton as its first of three Media Guests of Honor. Wheaton will sign autographs Thursday through Saturday, August 16-18 at the Autograph Area of the Exhibit Hall at Gen Con Indy 2012. Gen Con will announce its two remaining Gen Con Indy 2012 Media Guests of Honor in the next two weeks.
Wheaton first entered the entertainment spotlight with his prominent roles in the films Stand by Me and Toy S
oldiers. However, he endeared himself to the geek community as Wesley Crusher on the popular Star Trek: The Next Generation, and following his run on Star Trek, has championed many important initiatives for the geek community. Active in blogging and social media, in 2009, Wheaton was named by Forbes as the 14th most influential web celebrity.
Splitting his time between acting and writing, Wheaton currently recurs as Doctor Isaac Parrish on SyFy’s hit series Eureka, as computer hacker Chaos on TNT’s Leverage, and as a “delightfully evil version” of himself on CBS’s The Big Bang Theory. He has recently appeared as serial killer ‘Floyd Hansen’ on Criminal Minds, comic book publisher ‘Miles Sklar’ on NUMB3RS, as the voice of ‘Ted Kord, the Silver Age Blue Beetle’, on Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and as Axis of Anarchy leader Fawkes in Felicia Day’s smash hit web series The Guild.
Come to the Baltimore Comic-Con on 
22. Cory Doctorow / Wil Wheaton, Ready Player One. 
Wil Wheaton, who starred as a teenager in the classic coming-of-age film Stand By Me in 1986 and a year later earned an important role in Star Trek: The Next Generation, will appear at next month’s Wizard World Austin Comic Con. Wheaton joins seven other “TNG” cast members in a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the start of the landmark series, Oct. 26-28 at the Austin Convention Center.
