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Joanna McCoy: Hostage!

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Leonard McCoy’s daughter Joanna McCoy was introduced to comic book readers in two stories released by Marvel Comics. Both took place around the same year during Captain James T. Kirk’s second five-year mission aboard the refit USS Enterprise , and both had curious similarities. “All the Infinite Ways” Joanna debuted in “All the Infinite Ways” by Martin Pasko, issue 13 of Marvel’s short-lived Star Trek series . Marvel’s license was famously limited to Star Trek: The Motion Picture , and therefore not allowed to reference elements from The Original Series . Pasko slipped in as many TOS references as possible into his eight stories. Introducing Joanna was a sly choice, as she had not technically appeared in TOS , yet was familiar to devoted Trek fans who’d read about the character in Steven E. Whitfield’s best-selling reference book The Making of Star Trek . Pasko envisioned Joanna similar to the way Arnold Drake had adapted her in the form of Barbara McCoy in “The World Beneath t...
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McCoy's Daughter Barbara

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Star Trek: The Original Series story editor Dorothy Fontana and actor DeForest Kelley envisioned in 1967 that Dr. Leonard McCoy had a daughter from his failed marriage. (See my previous post about the history, creation and background of the character.) Although Joanna McCoy never appeared onscreen, Gold Key Comics brought a version of her to life in the 1970s by way of Barbara McCoy. She appeared in two comics, “Furlough to Fury” (#40) and “The World Beneath the Waves” (#43). Both stories have been attributed to author Arnold Drake , who was believed to have written 22 of Gold Key’s Star Trek stories. Star Trek comics at the time did not maintain continuity between stories, and this afforded the author the opportunity to approach the character from different perspectives in her two appearances. Today such differences stand out. In both comics, Leonard loves his daughter without fail, and the only negative comment he made was in #43 that she had a bitter streak. That’s consistent ...
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McCoy's Two Daughters

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The idea of Leonard McCoy’s daughter came from a talk between actor DeForest Kelley and script editor Dorothy Fontana in January 1967, where she thought McCoy might have a son from his failed marriage. Kelley suggested that it be a daughter. Fontana jotted down a story idea in a memo on January 24, 1967. In the story, the Enterprise took on new medical staff at a starbase, and Kirk and McCoy were in the transporter room as they beamed aboard. As Fontana wrote, “One of the women, a lovely dark-haired girl of twenty, takes one look at McCoy and flings herself into his arms, much to Captain Kirk's surprise. Then McCoy turns to Kirk, grimaces, and introduces Nurse Joanna McCoy — his daughter.” Fontana wrote, “McCoy had been married a long time ago, but it turned sour and ended in divorce despite the birth of the child, Joanna. McCoy, soon after the divorce, entered the space service. He has provided for Joanna, but due to the demands of the service, has seen her very seldom as s...
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David Gerrold's Galactic Whirlpools

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The Galactic Whirlpool David Gerrold’s story “The Galactic Whirlpool” began as a pitch for the original Star Trek series, but was considered too expensive to film. He retooled the premise into a Dell novel, “Yesterday’s Children,” as an effective study of human nature at wartime aboard a destroyer. Later, when Bantam asked for a story, Gerrold got to tell his original tale in the novel “The Galactic Whirlpool.” When I interviewed Gerrold about the novel in 1984, I mentioned that, even though it was unique and refreshing, “The Galactic Whirlpool” felt like a standard Star Trek story. “Yeah, it was. ‘Whirlpool’ is not an average, standard Star Trek book. It is the standard.” Gerrold’s story presented the original Star Trek vision, perfect characterizations, rare character development, and mounds of insight, all hidden within that format, a mix which wasn’t seen often in those early novels. “Any time you see me doing something that looks ‘standard,’ it’s not. There’s something ...
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Getting Really Real

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Malcolm and Joey in the transporter room My favorite of Gerry Conway’s Star Trek comic strip stories was his last one, “Getting Real.” It was unique in that it was told from the point of view of two junior high school kids who, in 1983, were beamed up to the starship Enterprise . I found myself getting carried away by all the ideas and questions that popped into my head as I was reading, inspired by all the things not answered in the tale. The story started when the two kids, Joey and Malcolm, walked outside of an arcade after their Defender game crashed. They heard a buzzing sound, and when they popped ’round the corner, they saw what they took to be William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and James Doohan about to get ready to promote the latest Star Trek movie. Joey asked for an autograph from Nimoy, who was made up to look like Mr. Spock. When asked how the boys knew who they were, Joey pointed to a poster on the wall behind them, which advertised Star Trek airing Saturdays on Channel...
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Hidden Gems in Chekov's Choice

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Nightmares in “Chekov’s Choice” Back in 1985, Walter Koenig and I spoke briefly about a story he’d written for DC Comics that year. It appeared in issue #19 of DC's Star Trek, Volume 1. He’d said, “I mentioned to Marv Wolfman, who’s the editor, the fact that Chekov wasn’t even getting a decent role in the comic book, never mind in the movies, and he said, ‘Why don’t you write one, and make Chekov the hero?’ “It’s called ‘Chekov’s Choice,’ and he has to make a choice between love—or the woman he considers his love—and the safety of the ship. It’s one of those stories of personal conflict, and I think it’s very much in keeping with the feeling of the series.” During his convention appearance that day, Koenig described talking to Marv Wolfman about perhaps writing a story for the comic. “I said, well, ‘There are conditions: Chekov has got to get the girl, he’s got to be totally in control of the situation, and his decision affects the lives and deaths of 400 people aboa...
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