Interview + Preview: Susan Bridges & Tilly Bridges on STAR TREK: VOYAGER – HOMECOMING

In the series finale of Star Trek: Voyager, the U.S.S. Voyager arrived home from the Delta Quadrant, thanks to a few slight massive temporal prime directive violations. In the decades since “Endgame” aired, Trekkies have wondered and speculated about what the next steps in Voyager’s journey might look like. Now, thanks to the upcoming comic Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming, those questions are going to be answered.

Homecoming arrives at your Local Comic Shop (LCS) on September 3rd, 2025. To mark the occasion, Comics Beat caught up with writers Susan & Tilly Bridges over email. Will you be picking up the issue when it arrives?

AVERY KAPLAN: Can you tell us about your personal history with Star Trek in general and Star Trek: Voyager in particular?

SUSAN & TILLY BRIDGES: Trek’s been part of our lives for as long as we can remember. We loved it as kids… and we met each other online writing Trek fanfic. 

Last year we had a big vow renewal/re-wedding party, and we used the Klingon wedding from DS9 as the basis for the ceremony (it was actually just that entire ceremony, but with some personal vows added). We made custom Trek table centerpieces that were these plastic TVs, and each had a different show displayed on the front, and “alien plants” sticking out the top. And on the back of each one was an LCARS entry about what the plants were, and each of them had unique jokes.

Writing ten jokes about alien plants was, y’know… not easy. Why did we do that? Because we’re writers and can’t help ourselves.

We’ve done a full chronological (in release order) rewatch of all 800+ hours of Star Trek, multiple times. It’s our happy place.

Star Trek is an inseparable part of the fabric of our lives. And Voyager holds a special corner of that fabric, because it was the first time Trek said “hey, women can run the show too.” And that kind of representation matters. A lot.

Everyone should be able to see themselves in the art they love, and that goes double for the most inclusive franchise around.

KAPLAN: Do you have a favorite episode of Voyager?

SUSAN & TILLY: Tilly loves Counterpoint as it exemplifies everything Trek should be… fighting for the rights of the oppressed, helping those in need by doing what you can. Susan loves Innocence because it’s a great Tuvok episode that explores his character a lot, and Tuvok is her sweet Vulcan baby.

But also Tuvix is a really great episode! The fact that it’s so controversial and people keep talking about it and debating it is because it’s so good. It’s a perfect moral dilemma, a problem with no “right” solution where everyone can be saved. That people still feel so strongly about it is a testament to how good it is.

KAPLAN: What kind of research went into writing Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming? Did you learn anything that surprised you?

SUSAN & TILLY: We rewatched the finale, Endgame, just to prime ourselves for where things left off. And we watched every appearance of Species 8472, just to take notes on everything that had been revealed about them.

But we’d seen all those episodes many times before, so nothing really surprised us, other than how little the audience actually knows about Species 8472. And that was exciting, because that gave us plenty of room to explore. 

KAPLAN: Did you find any particular character especially difficult or easy to write?

SUSAN & TILLY: Only The Doctor, who we love dearly. And his voice comes so easily, maybe easier than any of the rest of the cast. But look, he is verbose and comic pages aren’t huge, and comic issues don’t have that many pages in them.

There’s only so much room on a page, and there are seven other main characters who need space, too. So we had to cut down his lines a lot from what we wanted them to be, because we just didn’t have the real estate on the page to let him go “full Doctor” most of the time.

KAPLAN: Can you give our readers some hints about what they can expect in Homecoming?

SUSAN & TILLY: Well we’re gonna explore fluidic space and Species 8472, because there’s so much interesting stuff there, and we got to create a lot of new details about their existence.

You’ll see Tuvok dealing with the neurodegenerative disease he contracted in Endgame, you’ll see what spurs Seven toward where we find her in Picard, and you’ll see B’Elanna and Tom dealing with being brand-new parents. You’ll also see Janeway struggle with the weight of the decisions she has to make, and her absolutely dogged determination.

But more than that, you’re going to see what getting home means to these people. After everything they did for seven years to get back, what happens if the rug is pulled out from under them (because this is Voyager and nothing ever goes to plan)?

What would you do to finally get back? Are there still lines you won’t cross? Is there anything at all that could make you sacrifice getting to see your loved ones again?

KAPLAN: What was working with the rest of the creative team on Homecoming like?

SUSAN & TILLY: It’s been amazing! Angel Hernandez is a brilliant artist, and his art is filled with such amazing texture and detail. He’s also so good at drawing the cast’s likenesses. So much so that you write a panel where Janeway’s sad, and then he draws it beautifully, and then you feel bad that you made Kate Mulgrew sad! It’s so good.

Charlie Kirchoff’s colors have really made Angel’s lines pop, and they’ve brought so much depth and life to everything. 

Neil Uyetake’s letters are fab, especially his sound effects (we love comic sound effects, and Trek is full of amazing sound work, so you’re gonna see a lot of those).

And working with Heather Antos and Cas Jones in editorial has been so great, not just because they’re kind and fun people, but also because they’re really good at their jobs. They make every issue better.

It’s a true team effort and so much more than the sum of its parts, and that’s so apt because that’s the heart of Trek, isn’t it? All these different people coming together to do something great that none of them could have done alone.

KAPLAN: Could this story potentially continue beyond the miniseries? 

SUSAN & TILLY: Pre-order numbers and sales for this series (and, hopefully, a collected trade paperback) are the way to let IDW know you love what we’re doing and want to see more of it. And we’d certainly love to write more Trek until the end of time! You can help make it happen by supporting the book and getting those pre-orders in on time.

This, too, can be a team effort! How very Star Trek.

KAPLAN: What would you personally order from the food replicator?

SUSAN & TILLY: See the thing is, the replicator makes whatever you order perfectly nutritious, containing everything you need. And when you know that, how could you not order pizza all the time and never stop?

Perfectly nutritious pizza, please put it in our pie-holes all day long.

KAPLAN: Can Star Trek exist without IDIC (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations)?

SUSAN & TILLY: Nope. It’s baked into the very concept right from TOS. And even though IDIC is, in-universe, a Vulcan ideal, it’s also exactly what the entire United Federation of Planets should be (it’s not always, but people are flawed, and learning from your mistakes and working toward a better future is what it’s all about.)

And the Federation is the heart of Trek, it’s the foundation for all of it. Take that away and you don’t really have Star Trek anymore. It’s never been about the very cool ships or amazing technology, it’s about the people and their mission of acceptance, inclusion, and exploration. 

And that’s wonderful, don’t you think?

KAPLAN: Is there anything else you’d like me to include?

SUSAN & TILLY: Telling this story, to be the ones to bring this crew we love back home and give them the reunions we’ve all been waiting for, is truly an honor. Like, people say that about a lot of things but we legit mean it. It’s huge and means so much to us.

Writing Star Trek is literally our dream. We’d like to keep doing it forever. So please get Voyager: Homecoming! Tell your family and friends, and broker a peace treaty with a former enemy who’s come around to realizing how great the Federation is, and then tell them about the book, too!

Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming will be available at your LCS beginning September 3rd.

Keep up with all of The Beat’s Star Trek coverage here.