The Prestige Era
WildStorm (1999–2002)
WildStorm had Trek for three years and used the time better than any publisher since DC’s first volume. Operating as a DC imprint with production values above the standard licensed comics of the period, WildStorm dispensed almost entirely with ongoing monthly series in favour of miniseries, one-shots, and prestige-format graphic novels. The output is smaller in volume than any other era but more consistently strong in quality.
The DS9 and TNG work in particular is worth tracking down. Divided We Fall remains one of the better Trek comics arguments ever made. The Gorn Crisis — a standalone hardcover graphic novel — is the flagship piece: painted art, long-form narrative, a genuine attempt at doing something with Trek that could only work in comics. WildStorm lost the licence in 2002, and the era ended underappreciated. Most of it has never been properly collected.
The best single story WildStorm produced. A four-issue crossover bringing the TNG and DS9 crews together to deal with a crisis involving Trill symbionts and the ethics of joined identity. Written by John Ordover and David Weddle, both of whom worked on DS9 itself. The crossover premise is used as a genuine story driver rather than a marketing hook.
Most WildStorm miniseries were not collected in TPB form. The Gorn Crisis was published as a standalone hardcover from the outset. Both listed items are out of print but findable. Selected WildStorm material was later reprinted in the Eaglemoss Graphic Novel Collection.
Divided We Fall is the natural starting point — a self-contained four-issue story that demonstrates everything WildStorm was doing well. The Gorn Crisis hardcover is worth tracking down separately if the visual ambition of the era interests you.
You want Trek comics that feel like they were made by people who understood the source material and had genuine creative ambition with it. WildStorm’s output is the most consistently quality-focused of any pre-IDW publisher, and it remains significantly underrepresented in Trek fandom discussions.
Review coming.