R. A. Jones Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he still resides, R.A. Jones has been a professional writer and editor for more than 35 years. He first came to the attention of the comics field through the bi-weekly review column he wrote for the popular comic book fan magazine Amazing Heroes. For his work there, he was voted “Favorite Writer About Comics” by the readers of Comics Buyer’s Guide magazine. Moving into actual comics work, he was hired as Executive Editor for a short-lived but fondly remembered independent publisher called Elite Comics, working on such titles as Seadragon and Epsilon Wave. When Malibu Comics started their line, one of the earliest titles they published was Dark Wolf, written by R.A. and drawn by Butch Burcham. A prolific writer, R.A. went on to produce many titles for Malibu and contribute to several others. Among them was Scimidar; Fist of God; Merlin; Sinbad; White Devil; The Protectors; Ferret; Nightman; Prototype and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Over the course of a long career that included stints as a newspaper columnist, R.A.’s work appeared for a range of other comic book publishers, including Marvel (Wolverine/Captain America; Weapon X: The Draft); DC Comics (Showcase ’95); Dark Horse (Harlan Ellison’s Dream Corridor) and Image (Bulletproof Monk). The latter series served as the inspiration for the motion picture of the same title. Two short comics stories written by R.A. (“Cold, Hard Facts” and “Three on a Match”) were also adapted to film as episodes of the French television series Metal Hurlant Chronicles. In recent years, R.A. has focused primarily on prose fiction. Among the works he has written or co-written are three volumes of “The Steel Ring Saga.” These novels — entitled The Steel Ring; Twilight War and The House of Souls — feature the same Golden Age superheroes R.A. used in his Protectors comic book series, but reimagined and placed back in their original time period amidst the chaos of World War II. He has also written Scimidar, a new and original novel featuring the comics character he created. Other books include Deathwalker; Gun Glory; Comanche Blood; The Equation; Motor City Manhunt and most recently Bass Reeves: Frontier Marshal Vol. 3. Happily returning to his comic book roots, R.A. is now writing the vampire series Twilight Grimm for Silverline and his longtime buddy and former Malibu editor Roland Mann. Reuniting as collaborator with R.A. on the book is another old and good friend: artist Rob Davis, who not only illustrated many of the issues of Scimidar but also worked with him on such titles as Merlin and Straw Men. When asked how it felt to be thus back in harness, there was only one thing R.A. could say: “Make Mine Silverline!” R.A.’s Silverline Checklist: Cybertrash and the Dog one-shot RA’s Social Media links www.facebook.com/ra.jones.9

"Where No Man Has Gone Before" is the third episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series, Star Trek. Written by Samuel A. Peeples and directed by James Goldstone, it first aired on September 22, 1966. In the episode, after the Enterprise attempts to cross the Great Barrier at the edge of the galaxy, two crew members develop powerful ESP abilities which threaten the safety of the crew. The episode was the second pilot, produced in 1965 after the first pilot, "The Cage", was rejected by NBC. Reportedly, Lucille Ball, who owned Desilu Productions (where the pilot was produced), persuaded NBC management to consider a second pilot, thereby exercising a special option agreement it had with Desilu, because she liked Gene Roddenberry and believed in the project. The episode was eventually broadcast third in sequence, and it was the first episode to be shown in the United Kingdom by the BBC on July 12, 1969. "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was the first episode of Star Trek to feature William Shatner as Captain James Kirk, James Doohan as Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, and George Takei as Lt. Sulu (in this episode, the ship's physicist, whose character became helmsman in subsequent episodes). The episode title is the final phrase in the opening voice-over which characterizes the series and has entered popular culture Michael Jan Friedman Michael Jan Friedman is the author of nearly 70 books of fiction and non-fiction, about half of them set somewhere in the wilds of the Star Trek universe. In 1992 Friedman wrote Reunion, the first Star Trek: The Next Generation hardcover, which introduced the crew of the Stargazer, Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s first command. Over the years, the popularity of Reunion has spawned a number of Stargazer stories in both prose and comic book formats, including a six-novel original series. Friedman has also written for the Aliens, Predator, Wolf Man, Lois and Clark, DC Super Hero, Marvel Super Hero, and Wishbone licensed book universes. Eleven of his book titles, including the autobiography Hollywood Hulk Hogan and Ghost Hunting (written with SciFi’s Ghost Hunters), have appeared on the prestigious New York Times primary bestseller list, and his novel adaptation of the Batman & Robin movie was for a time the #1 bestselling book in Poland (really). Friedman has worked at one time or another in network and cable television, radio, business magazines, and the comic book industry, in the process producing scripts for nearly 180 comic stories. Among his comic book credits is the Darkstars series from DC Comics, which he created with artist Larry Stroman, and the Outlaws limited series, which he created with artist Luke McDonnell. He also co-wrote the story for the acclaimed second-season Star Trek: Voyager episode “Resistance,” which guest-starred Joel Grey. Currently, Friedman is working on a variety of projects, including a contemporary fantasy novel featuring characters and themes from mythology tentatively called Blood of the Gods, a young adult fantasy novel set in Renaissance times, the true story of an extraordinary Little League team in 1955, and an epic-scale science fiction adventure. As always, he advises readers that no matter how many Friedmans they know, he is probably not related to any of them. For more on Michael Jan Friedman and his fiction, visit his personal website, follow him on Twitter @FriedmanMJ, and like him on Facebook.