IDW’s five-issue Klingons: Blood Will Tell miniseries, written by Scott and David Tipton, was only IDW’s second foray into the final frontier, yet it remains one of the company’s most highly regarded tales. Ever since their onscreen debut, the Klingons have been a staple part of the franchise, serving in the capacity of both enemies and allies. Klingons have appeared prominently on The Original Series, The Animated Series, and Enterprise, as well as in many of the films, with Klingon characters featured among the main casts of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Discovery.

Before the fully realized characterization of Worf made it the norm for writers to explore the culture from a Klingon point-of-view, however, most Empire-centric adventures were viewed through the eyes of the Enterprise crew. Blood Will Tell, illustrated by David Messina and Elena Casagrande, offered a refreshing change of pace. Framed around Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the story revisited four classic episodes (“Errand of Mercy,” “The Trouble With Tribbles,” “A Private Little War,” and “Day of the Dove”), showing how the Empire perceived those events from their unique cultural perspective, and how Starfleet’s actions shaped Klingon attitudes thereafter.