Issue #12 - "The Flight of the Buccaneer"

The image above is the cover illustration of the 1971 Star Trek Comic "The Flight of the Bucanner". It has attention grabbing illustrations which aovid the explicit use of violence, appealing to both younger and older audiences. 

The above image shows advertisements found in this comic, marketing a diverse range of commodities which audiences of all ages find appealing. 

The Star Trek comics exemplify overlap between young and older audiences. While many teens were attracted to the comics, particularly during their rise to popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, adults constituted a large portion of the audience. This can be attributed to the attention grabbing illustrations and narratives, which followed the heroic adventures of Captain Kirk and his crew. Furthermore, the absence of the Comics Code Authority left open the potential for an audience consisting of a wide range of ages. The appeal of the space opera, a subgenre of science fiction which emphasizes interplanetary battles and adventure, particularly attracts older audiences in the context of the Vietnam War. This can be seen through the comic’s appeal to battle and conflict in quests for glory and victory. Issue #12 in particular explores Captain Kirk’s journey to defeat rogue space pirates, effectively glorifying war and conflict to younger and older audiences alike. It is important to note that while violence is present through textual representations, it is rarely present in illustrations throughout this particular comic. In fact, a review of the comic by Paul Allor expands upon how as a child,  Star Trek "taught [him] about the power of exploration, the value of kindeness and empathy, and the triumph of intelligence and logic over violence and anger" (IDW). 

The advertisements contained in Issue #12 illustrate the marketing strategy aimed towards more mature audiences, such as those individuals interested in developing personal leadership skills. Teens seem to be excluded from the attempt to sell Christmas cards, though they would most likely be interested in commodities such as footballs, phonographs, and bicycles. In this way, the Star Trek comic succeeds in the production of a marketing approach which appeals to both teen and adult audiences. Ultimately, this Star Trek issue is unique in how it is simultaneously accessible for both young and mature audiences, a characteristic many commercially successful comics seem to share.