Published Oct 1, 2012

FIRST LOOK: October's TOS Retro Art Prints

By StarTrek.com Staff

It’s the first of the month, and that can only mean one thing: four new Star Trek art prints by Juan Ortiz will be released today. Actually, it means two things: four new Juan Ortiz/Star Trek art prints will be released AND StarTrek.com has an interview with Ortiz about the new pieces. Available right now are “The Trouble With Tribbles,” “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,” “Catspaw” and “The Alternative Factor.” And here’s our chat with Ortiz…Before we start previewing the October art prints, which of the September prints seemed to generate the most reaction? And why do you think it generated that kind of reaction?Ortiz: I thought that "Balance of Terror" or "Charlie X" would be the more popular ones but, to my surprise, "And The Children Shall Lead" appears to be the fan favorite -- even for those that hate the actual episode. I think the skull is a powerful image that takes you right to the core of what that episode is about. The four prints for October are “The Trouble with Tribbles,” “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,” “Catspaw” and “The Alternative Factor.” Let's go with “Tribbles” first. Take us through the inspiration for this print.Ortiz: Despite (the fact) that dozens of Tribbles are poisoned, this is an off-beat, light-hearted, maybe even comedic episode. So I thought about some of the movie comedies that I like from the 60s, like It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, where everyone is just having a ball.

A lot of people will be surprised to see so much color in the print, since the Tribbles were pretty muted in color. What led you to go that route?Ortiz: Despite what it looks like, the Enterprise is not beaming hundreds of Tribbles into space. The Enterprise is metaphorically bleeding Tribbles. I wanted the poster to be fun and colorful, and (to) hopefully make people smile. What were you aiming for with “Battlefield”?Ortiz: Before I upset any fans, I intentionally flopped the colors so that the white and the black could face each other. Although the two antagonists are from the planet Cheron, I wanted to depict any race on any planet where there is race hatred.

How did you go about creating the shapes of the faces?

“Catspaw” is stark, Gothic and playful at the same time. Give us a feeling for what inspired this one.

Batman

It's got a Halloween-y feel to it, down to the colors. Did you have October in mind, or did someone at CBS smartly think to make it available as an October option?

“The Alternative Factor” is a lot of fun. Are we correct in seeing a Yellow Submarine meets The Who/Tommy connection in this?

Tommy

What else were you shooting for with this poster?

Of the four art prints, which one came the most easily to you and which was the hardest to realize?

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QMx will offer the four prints as a set of plated-printed lithographs on 100-pound, aqueous-coated, satin-finish paper. Each print measures 18x24 inches and the set of four is $34.95. US and Canada fans can purchase the sets at QMxOnline.com.

Pyramid will have the images available in the UK on Wood for £39.99 (43x59cm) and £49.99 (45x76cm), Canvas for £59.99 (60x80cm) and as Framed Art Prints at £49.99 (60x80cm). UK fans will be able to purchase the items at Amazon.co.uk, ForbiddenPlanet.co.uk and Oneposter.co.uk.

The next four images will be revealed on November 1st here on StarTrek.com.

FIRST LOOK: October's TOS Retro Art Prints

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