"Medics" was the third issue of John Byrne's TOS miniseries Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor. This story was a sequel to two of Byrne's previous stories, TOS - Star Trek: Assignment: Earth comic: "My Name Is Legion" and TOS - Crew comic: "Shadows of the Past", continuing the adventures of a society of Human clones sent to Alpha Tau IV by the Beta 5 computer in the 20th century and discovered by the USS Enterprise in 2248.
Publisher's description[]
- From solicitations
- A planet at war — but all is not as it seems. Especially not when Dr. McCoy finds himself face to face with someone who seems to be from the wrong century! This issue picks up threads from both the Assignment: Earth and Crew minis. Features two covers by Byrne, including a single-panel “gag” cover.
Summary[]
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References[]
Characters[]
- Christine Chapel • Cobb • Dwayne Cory • Jon Duncan • Eugene Eckhart • Eight • G15 • G17 • G23 • Kloor • Roberta Lincoln • Leonard McCoy • Number One • Gary Seven • Theela • Twelve • unnamed USS Yorktown personnel (bridge crew, briefing room officers, transporter chiefs, nurse)
- Referenced only
- Beta 5 computer • devil • James T. Kirk • Christopher Pike • Spock • unnamed Klingons (Klingon Emperor)
Starships and vehicles[]
- aircraft • Joanna • tanks • USS Yorktown (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • unnamed D7 class starships (Kloor's Klingon battlecruiser)
- Referenced only
- USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser)
Locations[]
- Referenced only
- Argus VI • Beta Trianguli • Earth • Omicron Testus IVd • hell • Talos IV
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
- Aegis • Federation Headquarters • Klingon Empire • Starfleet • Starfleet Command • United Federation of Planets
Science and classification[]
- arrow • auto destruct • biobed • bow • brllictucc powder • bullet • chemical weapon • cloning • coordinates • disruptor • distress signal • genetic engineering • helmet • impulse engine • medscanner • missile • photon torpedo • pistol • ray gun • rifle • scanner • servo • shields • technology • time travel • transponder • transporter • tricorder • warp drive • warp nacelle • weapon
Ranks and titles[]
- admiral • clone • commander • crewman • doctor • Emperor of the Klingon Empire • engineer • first officer • general
Other references[]
- 20th century • acid • assignment patch • atmosphere • backpack • bridge • briefing room • Bronze Age • century • century • chemical • corridor • crew • emotion • love • engineering • English language • Federation Starfleet ranks (2270s) • fox • gambling • grass • havlaq • helm • hound • hour • kilometer • lifeform • log • magnetic field • marriage • medical • meter • minute • mountain • orbit • outpost • planet • raktajino • rock • security • sickbay • space • spaceship • Starfleet uniform (early 2270s) • time • transporter room • tree • trial • war • war game • year
Timeline[]
Chronology[]
- Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln uncover a plot to make clone soldiers on Earth. (Year cited by Seven)
- Beta 5 computer beams 250 clones to Alpha Tau IV.
- circa 2248
- USS Enterprise discovers clone settlements on Alpha Tau IV. (20 years prior to story)
- circa 2260
- Alpha Tau IV is checked on by an Earth ship. (10 years prior to story)
- Klingons provide clones with weapons and genetically engineer females.
- Seven and Lincoln arrive on Alpha Tau IV via time travel.
- Joanna is destroyed.
- Seven is wounded by a bullet for the first time.
- Kloor dies.
Production history[]
- 9 June 2010 : First published by IDW Publishing.
- 27 October 2010 : Collected in the Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor miniseries omnibus.
- 4 June 2013 : Reprinted in hardcover in The John Byrne Collection omnibus.
- 29 December 2015 : Reprinted in paperback in The John Byrne Collection omnibus.
- 3 January 2019 : Reprinted in hardcover in the omnibus Graphic Novel Collection #53. (Eaglemoss)
Appendices[]
Background[]
- This issue was release in three covers, all by John Byrne. The two primary covers were available equally. The third cover, an uncolored version of the B cover, was available as a retail incentive. The B cover depicts a Pierson's Puppeteer from Larry Niven's Known Space series, with Niven being thanked "for the loan".
Retail incentive cover
Cover B/Retail incentive without titles
- The Aegis, Alpha Tau IV, and Omicron Testus IV's fourth moon were not cited by name. Christine Chapel introduced herself to McCoy on the last panel, but her identity was withheld until the next issue.
- Kloor chose to remove evidence of Klingon activity on Alpha Tau IV, evidence that would have proved Klingons had violated the Organian Peace Treaty. Ayelborne had recently reaffirmed the Treaty's terms in 2270 while halting a battle involving Klingons, Romulans, and the USS Yorktown, in TOS - Romulans: Schism comic: "Issue 3".
Errata[]
- In "My Name Is Legion", the Beta 5 computer claimed it sent the clones to an Earth-like world in the Vega system.
Related stories[]
- Prior stories in the clone saga:
- Prior appearances of Kloor:
- TOS episode & Star Trek 1 novelization: The Man Trap – Leonard McCoy told Gary Seven he had a friend who got bellyaches from mysteries, a confession Kirk made in this episode.
- TOS - Year Five comic: "Issue 17" – McCoy wondered if Alpha Tau IV might be the planet Seven was raised on, a place shown in this comic.
Images[]
Connections[]
| Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor stories and publications | |
|---|---|
| #1: "Weeds" • #2: "Error" • #3: "Medics" • #4: "Hosts" & "Scalpel" | |
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: Error |
TOS comics (Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor) |
Next comic: Hosts |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous adventure: Error |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Hosts |
| Previous story: My Name Is Legion |
The adventures of Gary Seven | Next story: Hosts |
| The above chronology placements are based on the primary placement in 2271. The Memory Beta Chronology places events from this story in 1 other timeframe(s): | ||
| Previous adventure: Elusive Salvation Chapter 11 |
21 December 1970 | Next adventure: Elusive Salvation Chapters 12-14 |
External link[]
- Medics article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.