An Interview With ‘Star Trek: Deviations — Evermore’ Writer Claudia Gray

All is not right on the U.S.S. Enterprise, and Edgar Allan Poe is to blame. In the latest one-shot in IDW’s Star Trek Deviations line, Evermore, writer Claudia Gray and artist Andy Price have woven a tale about Dr. Joseph M’Benga and his daughter, Rukiya, who happens to be a huge horror fan. With colors by JP Jordan and letters by Jodie Troutman, find out more about what that means for the Enterprise in this interview with Gray below:

Rachel Bellwoar: I came into this story having never watched Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (or only an episode or two, too long ago to remember) but immediately became invested in Dr. M’Benga and his relationship with his daughter, Rukiya. Were you assigned those characters or had you wanted to write a story about them?

Claudia Gray: I pitched the story! As much as I enjoyed the episode “The Elysian Kingdom,” I thought that when I was a kid, I — like a lot of other future nerdy kids — had much weirder interests than the classic fairy tales. Not that I didn’t like those too, but kids often fasten onto stories and themes that are much more individual. Also, lots of kids love the spooky stuff. So that got me to thinking about turning Rukiya’s imagination to the gothic.

Also, as someone who actually first got into Trek through the books (specifically, the 1980s Pocket novels), I was always very interested in this Dr. M’Benga who never appeared in the movies. When I realized he was going to be a part of SNW, I was so psyched! Finally, M’Benga gets his day in the sun.

Bellwoar: The premise of this issue is that the crew members of the Enterprise somehow wind up in the world of Rukiya’s favorite author, Edgar Allan Poe. Would you consider yourself a Poe fan or did you have to brush up on some of his stories for this project?

Gray: Definitely, I’m a Poe fan. In college, I took a semester-long Poe seminar. It’s interesting that, while so much other literature from that era now feels very dated, there’s still something very urgent, vivid, and intense about the best Edgar Allan Poe. (And as someone who also writes murder mysteries, I am thrilled to pay homage to the inventor of the genre.)

Bellwoar: The best part is this is all actually happening onboard the Enterprise, so they’re all these reminders that behind the gothic trimmings we’re still on a spaceship. Was that a fun mashup to play with? 

Gray: Oh, absolutely! One of the great joys of Star Trek is getting to do crazy things aboard the Enterprise. 

Bellwoar: Gone are the usual Starfleet uniforms as well. How was it getting to choose new looks for everyone?

Gray: The outfits are almost all callbacks to something in Poe — such as the sumptuous garments of the nobles dancing while the Red Death rages. The one exception, of course, is Nurse Chapel, whose outfit isn’t from Poe at all … which provides a very important clue. But no spoilers.

My favourite line in the whole script was when I told Andy that he could manage Hemmer’s top hat however he saw fit–tipped over one antenna, with holes for both antennae, whatever worked. Which sounds generous but, let’s face it, let me kick over to Andy the question of how exactly you get a top hat on an Andorian. Sorry, Andy.

Bellwoar: In terms of the language, did you find it difficult to write in Poe’s style but also stay true to the characters?

Gray: Well, the whole joy of the concept was finding the moments in Poe that were already true to something in the characters — the link might be slight, or funny, or more emotional. The only thing Pike shares with the Prince in “The Masque of the Red Death” is the fact that he’s in charge … though I guess they both love to entertain? Spock doesn’t act at all like the Poe character he represents, as a usual thing, but the issue at hand is something that goes right to the core of everyone’s favorite half-Vulcan.

Bellwoar: The layouts for this issue are out of this world as well. Had you always wanted to be inventive with the panels?

Gray: The panels are amazing! I can’t believe the sheer levels of imagination and inventiveness that Andy brought to this project. 

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Claudia!

Star Trek: Deviations — Evermore is on sale now from IDW.