It’s the creation of a daunting brief: each of the 80 original series Star Trek episodes represented by their own poster. Illustrator and designer Juan Ortiz, a man with 28 years of experience under his pen, is the man trying to please a galaxy of Starfleet aesthetes.
And it’s a tremendous success, with the result of a book that’s a visual summation of each episode; a nostalgic tease that tractor beams you back to the simpler time of the Technicolor TV adventures that Kirk and crew promoted as they smooched and warped their way around the Milky Wa-hey. In fact, the greatest beauty in Ortiz’s work is that it gives the sensation of an ‘event’ to an hour of TV that’s close to 50 years old.
Ortiz’s visual interpretations are smarter than their immediate gorgeousness suggests. Inventive without being too obtuse, attractive without being simply decorative, his overwhelming retro style distils the essence of each episode down into a clean, stylised layout that’s complex enough to hold the eye but simple enough to remain in the mind once the cover has flumpfed shut.
Ranging from the pulp to the psychedelic, each pin-up seamlessly collates the dynamism of Star Trek‘s 1960s space exploration while also taking inspiration from other graphic fashions: Saul Bass’s jagged geometric beauty, black-light posters, Monty Python, a wink to the sci-fi magazines on the era and, in one eye-catching spread, an Orion female in an alluring but deadly pose reminiscent of the early James Bond posters.
Ortiz’s art and the poster-size pages aren’t meant for close-up ‘spread on your lap’ viewing, and nor are they for surreptitiously flipping through in your bookshop (we know who you are, we have agents everywhere) they’re a gallery experience. Prop the great plate of images up against your Tri-D Chess board, take a few paces back, and let your eyes beam it all up. Maybe even pour yourself a glass of Romulan Ale and put on a Klingon opera – you know, really make a night of it. This is one of those books that’s worth it.
So, impressive work all round, Mr. Ortiz. Now, how’s about getting started on The Next Generation? Go on. Please. Make it so.
Published on 6 September 2013 by Titan Books.
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