Tests of Courage

''A new ship. A new captain. A new danger. -- Collection of stories from DC Comics' second volume original Star Trek'' series.

Premise
From the collection book jacket:
 * Hikaru Sulu, newly installed as captain of the USS Excelsior, has his baptism of fire in this adventure. Joining him to solve the mystery of a vanished cache of dangerous weaponry are his old compatriots on the USS Enterprise.

Tests of Courage (originally released as 6 bimonthly issues under the title The Tabukan Syndrome) was a comic book paperback collecting six issues (#35-#40) from DC Comics' second Star Trek monthly series, spanning from September to November 1992.

It depicted the events of Sulu's first mission as captain of the Excelsior, three years prior to. The Enterprise-A and the Excelsior are assigned to help a species trying to peacefully disarm after years of war. A combined force of Maroans and Romulan conspirators led by Admiral Jaricus attempt to seize power in the sector by stealing the frighteningly violent Tabukan weapons of mass destruction. The stardates of these stories place the series shortly after. Several canon characters and concepts were included in the stories, but much of the history and details were devised solely for these stories. Oddly enough, one story detail was picked up by producers and included as a canon fact: In this comic, Janice Rand is Sulu's first officer on the Excelsior. While she was a lieutenant junior grade in Star Trek VI, her rank insignia was changed to a lieutenant commander insignia when she re-enacted the same scenes in, an apparent contradiction which made the episode match the comic.

The collected paperback was released in 1994 and featured an introduction, afterword commentary, and cover gallery from the original editions.

Creators

 * Based on Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry
 * Writer: Howard Weinstein
 * Artists:
 * Rod Whigham (pencil art - #35-36, #39)
 * Gordon Purcell (pencil art - #37-38, #40)
 * Arne Starr (inking - #35-36, 38-40)
 * Carlos Garzon (inking - #37)
 * Bob Pinaha (letter art)
 * Tom McCraw (color art)
 * Sonia Hillios (cover art)
 * Veronica Carlin (production design)
 * Editors:
 * Kim Yale (#35-37)
 * Alan Gold (#38-40)
 * Bob Kahan (collection editor)

Chapters
The collected edition printed the covers of all six individual issues in a gallery at the end of the books.
 * "My Cup Runneth Over" - Introduction by George Takei
 * Excerpt: "It's... a human drama of old friendships and the testing of new relationships, of the obsession with power and the search for the coexistence of infinite diversity in infinite combinations. And for me personally, it is an enormously satisfying tale of the emergence of the indomitable team of two starship captains working in dynamic concert with each other -- the grizzled war horse, James Tiberius Kirk, and a new leader stepping out on his own from Kirk's tutelage, Hikaru Sulu (...) Howie Weinstein is a storyteller of compelling power and delicate nuance. With Tests of Courage, he has written a rip-snorting blast of a space opera."
 * #35: "Divide... and Conquer"
 * #36: "Battle Stations!"
 * #37: "Prisoners of War?"
 * #38: "Consequences!"
 * #39: "Collision Course"
 * #40: "Showdown!"
 * Afterword
 * By Howard Weinstein.
 * Cover gallery

Characters

 * Hikaru Sulu
 * James T. Kirk
 * Janice Rand
 * Spock
 * Leonard McCoy
 * Montgomery Scott
 * Dmitri Valtane
 * Lojur
 * Pavel A. Chekov
 * Uhura
 * Martin Lukas
 * Dr. Wilson
 * Admiral Jaricus