After 60 Years, Star Trek Releases Its Biggest Collector's Item Yet

Star Trek fans have plenty to look forward to this year as the franchise celebrates its 60th anniversary, and it’s now been revealed that even more is on the way. IDW Publishing will release a special art book giving fans an incredible look at its Star Trek comics.

ComicsBeat shared an exciting preview of The Art of Star Trek & Defiant, which contains pieces from more than 65 artists and will be released as a hardcover book on June 16, 2026. The art book’s official description from IDW reveals that it will offer an in-depth look at what made the art of Star Trek and Defiant possible, focusing on cover art, concept art, and interior art. It will also include interviews with select artists, sharing about their process and what makes Star Trek special for them.

Star Trek Celebrates 60th Anniversary with New Defiant Art Book

Artists included in The Art of Star Trek & Defiant include Ramon Rosanas, Francesco Francavilla, Rachael Stott, Malachi Ward, JK Woodward, Liana Kangas, Ángel Unzueta, Angel Hernandez, Marcus To, Megan Levens, and more. The book will be 216 pages long, and will also include commentary from series writers Christopher Cantwell, Collin Kelly, and Jackson Lanzing.

IDW’s flagship Star Trek series, which is set between Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Nemesis, began publication in 2022. Defiant followed in 2023 and ran until 2025, serving as both a spin-off and a tie-in to the original series. IDW described Defiant as ‘The Dirty Dozen meets Star Trek’, with Worf of House Martok leading a crew on the U.S.S. Defiant in the hopes of finding and defeating a mysterious messiah leading a genocidal cult.

Defiant ran for 27 issues before concluding, and IDW recently published Star Trek: Lore War, the final collected volume of the series, back in January. With the new art book on the way this summer, fans will get an even deeper look at the two interconnected series, allowing them to appreciate the rich story even further now that it's wrapped up and completely available to collect in trade paperback form.

IDW Reveals Big Plans for Star Trek's Landmark Anniversary

The Art of Star Trek & Defiant is just one entry in IDW’s new line of art books, with The Art of Star Trek: Lower Decks planned for release on May 5, 2026. That art book focuses on the critically acclaimed animated Star Trek series, with an in-depth look at its characters, ships, and scenery, as well as interviews with the art team about how it was made from start to finish.

IDW also has massive plans for its ongoing Star Trek comics to celebrate the 60th anniversary. A brand-new Star Trek: 60th Anniversary Special issue will feature “all new tales from the creative minds behind everyone’s favorite characters and captains”, and multiple new Star Trek titles are set to follow throughout the year. More details about IDW’s Star Trek plans for 2026 are expected to emerge in the coming months.

The Art of Star Trek and Defiant will be released on June 16, 2026.