Star Trek Confirms The Truth About Red Shirts Before 60th Anniversary

IDW Publishing is unleashing the Star Trek horror story that fans didn't know they had been waiting for all along.

Per Comic Book Movie, IDW Publishing has officially unveiled the next terrifying sci-fi experience — Star Trek: Red Shirts — Ghost of the 21st Century. This new limited series from writer Gerry Duggan and artist Scott Buoncristiano will use the unwritten rule that Red Shirts in Starfleet are marked for death as the core concept behind a truly stomach-churning tale of terror.

Star Trek: Red Shirts — Ghost of the 21st Century #1

• Written by GERRY DUGGAN
• Art by SCOTT BUONCRISTIANO
• Main cover art by CHRIS SHEHAN
• Variant cover art by MALACHI WARD

The official solicit synopsis for Star Trek: Red Shirts — Ghost of the 21st Century #1 from IDW Publishing reads, "When conscripted security grunt Harry Deubert finds contraband hidden inside a fallen comrade’s body, he uncovers Section Null — a secret Starfleet directorate turning disposable red shirts into assets in a sprawling criminal conspiracy.... Someone inside Starfleet Security is selling out the Federation. And once Deubert and Taval learn what red shirts are really for, there’s no going back."

What To Know About Star Trek: Red Shirts — Ghost of the 21st Century

Star Trek: Red Shirts — Ghost of the 21st Century is the first spinoff series of the hit Star Trek: Red Shirts, which debuted last year. The harrowing series revolves around the ill-fated Red Shirts who so often end up as cannon fodder in the Star Trek franchise, and was described by IDW's Star Trek Group Story Editor Heather Antos as "very gruesome from the get-go."

Star Trek: Red Shirts — Ghost of the 21st Century writer Gerry Duggan opened up about the upcoming series, expressing his personal excitement over reuniting with Antos and artist Scott Buoncristiano, with whom he previously worked on Deadpool and The Dark Room, respectively. "I've not been able to enlist in Starfleet until now, but I can promise this new volume of Red Shirts is going to leave a very big bruise on Star Trek," Duggan stated.

"I was over a month into a Star Trek rewatch when I was asked to do Red Shirts," :Buoncristiano added. "It's one thing to watch this universe, but it's another to be able to draw and create within it. Collaborating with Gerry Duggan and the crew at IDW is a blast, and I can't wait for readers to see what we do to these poor, doomed Red Shirts."

The next Red Shirts series from IDW is the latest in a long, ever-expanding line of Star Trek comics from the beloved indie publisher. Recently, IDW gave fans their first look at Captain James T. Kirk as the Borg King, as illustrated by Hernan Gonzalez and Lee Loughridge for a variant cover for the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Starship #8, which will mark a major turning point in the ongoing battle against the Borg Queen Agnes Jurati.

Star Trek: Red Shirts — Ghost of the 21st Century #1 from IDW Publishing goes on sale on July 22.