Inside IDW's Star Trek: Voyager - Homecoming with writers Tilly and Susan Bridges - Exclusive Interview

      Villordsutch interviews Tilly and Susan Bridges, the authors of Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming...

      Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming is not merely a return; it’s an audacious continuation that captures all the appropriate emotional and narrative elements. Crafted by dedicated Trek fans Tilly and Susan Bridges, the comic offers an exciting and touching reunion for Janeway and her crew. After giving it a well-deserved 9/10 in my review, I engaged the writers in an exclusive interview here at Flickering Myth to delve into their creative process, their profound bond with Voyager, and the enthusiasm that fuels this significant release...

      Let's get straight to it—what took you so long? It’s been nearly 25 years since Star Trek: Voyager concluded! Seriously though, why did you both decide that now was the right moment to return to the ending of Voyager with Endgame?

      Additionally, how did you pitch the concept of Homecoming to IDW Publishing? Or was it the other way around—considering IDW has long been the home for Star Trek comics, did they approach you with a request for a Voyager comic, asking if you had anything exciting?

      We can address both of these questions together! Most people might not realize that the license holder (in this case, Paramount) has full control over the entire franchise and has the final say on each show, novel, comic, game, and more. We had already been in discussions with IDW’s Star Trek lead editor, Heather Antos, about possible Trek comic ideas and areas where we could potentially contribute, as we are passionate Trek fans and writing for it is our dream. What Heather has accomplished with the Trek books is truly remarkable, and we hoped to be included.

      During those conversations, Paramount approached IDW and expressed interest in a Voyager-centered comic to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Heather then asked us if we’d be interested in pitching story ideas, and we eagerly accepted the opportunity. We submitted five different story pitches, and the one that Heather, IDW, and Paramount liked best became Homecoming (yes, we're aware there's a Voyager book with the same title; no, they’re not related. And no, we didn’t choose the title, so please don’t blame us for that).

      Tilly and Susan Bridges

      Was there any apprehension from IDW Publishing about launching a Voyager comic right after Endgame, especially with newcomers possibly facing challenges? Even with the brief recap in the comic, did you worry that new readers might feel somewhat confused?

      That was certainly a consideration during our writing process. Not only because we wanted the story to be accessible to a wide audience, but that’s also been a goal of Heather’s for the entire line. She wants the comics to resonate with more than just Trek fans, which is how it should be. So we made sure to include a clear synopsis of what had happened up to that point. Every show, book, game, or comic could be someone’s first encounter with that universe. Therefore, we aimed to make it as accessible as possible, hoping to inspire new Trekkies along the way.

      We’d be thrilled if newcomers to Voyager enjoyed Homecoming and then followed up by watching the series—that would be fantastic.

      When you began writing, did you find it easy to recall the key events of Voyager's journey through the Delta Quadrant as you referenced them throughout the pages? Did you rewatch old episodes or consult Memory Alpha? Or, like the rest of us, did you just get drawn back in whenever Voyager aired on TV?

      We’ve rewatched the entire show multiple times—actually, we’ve revisited every Star Trek series multiple times. We’ve gone through all 900-plus hours of Trek in chronological order (by release date) several times! Our love for it runs that deep. So, we were very familiar with the show and characters.

      However, with over 900 hours of storytelling, it’s tough to keep everything completely straight, particularly the minute details. Once we settled on Homecoming as our official pitch, we revisited Endgame to refresh our memories and look for any story cues or unresolved plot points to incorporate. We also revisited the three (how could there only be three?!) episodes featuring Species 8472 to ensure we were completely up to speed on what was known about them.

      In Homecoming issue #1, you can spot a reference to a dangling plot point from one of those episodes, specifically the blood sample taken from Chakotay in “In the Flesh.” We aimed to make Homecoming feel like an integral part of the Voyager narrative, so we loved discovering these elements we could build upon while shaping the story.

      You’ll find additional references throughout the subsequent issues. One particularly exciting aspect of choosing Species 8472 as the antagonist for this story is that very little was revealed about them! This allowed us to expand and elaborate on their culture and existence for Homecoming, which was incredible.