IDW Announces Redshirt Contest Winner

And the winner of IDW Publishing’s “Be a Redshirt”/”Save My Retailer” contest is… Coarey Trim, who hails from St. Charles, Missouri, and showed his support for his favorite retail store, The Fantasy Shop, owned by Mike Brodeur. And, yes, that will be Trim and Brodeur on the cover.

In his winning essay, Trim described The Fantasy Shop as a “staple for comic book fans for decades,” praising its “wonderful selection” of books, back-issue sales, used gaming auctions, demos and “one of the friendliest staffs you could hope for.” Trim also noted that when Kansas City was struck by a tornado, the Fantasy Shop raised funds to help and also shipped games for people to play and comics for people to read. “They are a store that gives more than they take and I could not think of my life as comic book fan without them,” Trim wrote. “Would I take a phaser blast for them? You bet your ass I would.”

After receiving word from IDW that he’d won the contest, which kicked off in November, Trim – who airs his own podcast; click HERE -- had this to say: “It was a great surprise to win the contest and it's nice to be there to support The Fantasy Shop in a whole new way. Mike, Dave, and everyone there are always friendly and great just to stand around and talk to. The only thing left to say about this whole contest is... WHO SHOT ME?!”

Not surprisingly, Mike Brodeur and the folks at The Fantasy Shop were thrilled by Trim’s compliments and the fact that they shared in his win. "We are honored that Coarey boldly hurled himself in front of a proverbial phaser blast for us, a place that no man has gone before,” Brodeur said.  “On behalf of the Fantasy Shop, thank you. We're sincerely flattered."

Trim and Brodeur will be featured on a limited-edition variant cover of Star Trek, IDW's recently launched series set in the Star Trek (2009) universe, with the new crew featured in alternate-timeline versions of classic TOS storylines. IDW will produce 300 of their Redshirt cover, with 100 each provided to Trim and The Fantasy Shop, as well as 100 to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) in order to assist them in carrying on their important and challenging efforts to defend retailers everywhere. Trim will also receive the original cover art, as rendered by the Sharp Brothers.