Stunning 'Star Trek' Comic Art Sells for Nearly $14K in Recent Auction

The cover of "Star Trek: Year Five" #1 sold for $13,750 at auction in April 2019.
The cover of "Star Trek: Year Five" #1 sold for $13,750 at auction in April 2019. (Image credit: Heritage Auctions)

A gorgeous "Star Trek" cover art piece featuring The Original Series cast sold for $13,750 in a recent auction.

"A longtime collector of pop culture from New York state" ponied up the funds for the Greg Hildebrandt art, which graced the debut issue of "Star Trek: Year Five" #1, Heritage Auctions spokesperson Eric Bradley said in an email to Space.com.

The piece features an image of Capt. James T. Kirk beside representations of his ship (the USS Enterprise) and various planets. Below him are large images of Spock and Dr. McCoy, and then several other smaller pictures of the rest of the "Star Trek" crew.

Related: 'Star Trek': 50 Artists. 50 Years. (A Sci-Fi Art Slideshow)

"Star Trek: Year Five" is released by IDW Publishing and will have several creators working on the first story arc, which the company says explores "a hidden chapter of Enterprise history." The 38 by 28-inch (96 by 71 centimeters) piece by Hildebrandt was expected to sell for between $10,000 to $15,000. (No word on its value in Federation credits.)

For Trekkies, the auction also featured Steven Chorney's 1991 poster study for "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" and Richard "Sparky" Moore's "Star Trek: Mission to Horatius" book cover and interior illustrations.

Heritage also featured several sci-fi, fantasy and horror artworks in this auction, such as the 1954 original cover art for "Orbit Science Fiction" #5 by Ed Valigursky and the 1953 painting "Dark Moon," Hannes Bok's original cover art for "Fantasy Digest" (which was subsequently renamed "Fantasy Magazine").

Take a look at some of the items auctioned below:

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Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace