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Star Trek Classics #1
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Gorn Crisis
With an interstellar war raging, the U.S.S Enterprise has been assigned a sensitive diplomatic mission: to enlist aid from an alien race knows as the Gorn. But the Gorn have a crisis of their own-a brewing revolution in their ranks.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
About the author
Kevin J. Anderson
1,095 books3,209 followersYes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
January 25, 2014
The Gorn Crisis is a graphic novel by Kevin J. Andersen and Rebecca Moesta, with Artwork by Igor Kordey. It is the first in the Star Trek: The Next Generation series. It is action-packed with punchy dialogue, although it has to be said that the story is a bit formulaic.
The design of the Artwork is quite pleasing and colourful. The structures, such as spacecrafts and interiors are imaginatively conceived, and the placing of characters and close-ups for the narrative easy to follow.
However, I found the finish left a lot to be desired. Quite often there was an unfinished feel about it. Some of the watercolours were rather amateurish, and where one would expect hard line-and-wash facial features there was merely a watercolour daub. Also, in a graphic novel such as this, which tries to duplicate well-known roles from TV actors, it is difficult to capture their images convincingly. Frequently the reader is aware that the image on the page does not look anything like the actor on screen. And sometimes it just looks badly drawn.
However, it is a fun quick read. Just nothing special.
The design of the Artwork is quite pleasing and colourful. The structures, such as spacecrafts and interiors are imaginatively conceived, and the placing of characters and close-ups for the narrative easy to follow.
However, I found the finish left a lot to be desired. Quite often there was an unfinished feel about it. Some of the watercolours were rather amateurish, and where one would expect hard line-and-wash facial features there was merely a watercolour daub. Also, in a graphic novel such as this, which tries to duplicate well-known roles from TV actors, it is difficult to capture their images convincingly. Frequently the reader is aware that the image on the page does not look anything like the actor on screen. And sometimes it just looks badly drawn.
However, it is a fun quick read. Just nothing special.
March 25, 2025
I always liked the Gorn, those hulking reptiloid aliens from Star Trek: The Original Series. If I remember correctly, the Gorn only appeared in one episode ( Episode #18, "Arena"), the one in which Captain Kirk battled a Gorn. Then we never heard from them again... until this Next Gen graphic novel. This time, it's Picard and his crew who encounter the Gorn....
Note: The Gorn also appear in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Note: The Gorn also appear in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
August 28, 2017
2.5 stars - The plot was everywhere when it came to the actions of the Federation and the Klingons. Both the author and the artist thought a lot about the Gorn. The art around the Gorn was beautiful. The humanoids, on the other hand, not so much. Riker is hella ripped and Troi has a weird Lion King moment with the Gorn.
October 17, 2021
I've always been a big fan of the Gorn ever since the TOS episode, "Arena" where Captain Kirk had his famous fight with a big lizard man. However, Star Trek never followed up on the species in the main series due to the fact effects that would pass muster in the Sixties couldn't in the Nineties. The last time we ever saw one was when Captain Archer inexplicably fought one in the Mirror Universe. A very canon defying version also showed up in the 2010 Star Trek video game where everything is CGI and NuTrek Kirk killed tens of thousands of them.
This version updates the Gorn for TNG's era with the race having isolated itself for 100 years. This is set during the Dominion War and the Federation wishes to seek their aid in combating the Changelings' empire. Unfortunately, the Gorn have recently suffered a military coup de tat. The "Black Crest" Gorn have eliminated most of the political caste and seek to launch a campaign of revanchism against the Federation. So pretty much the opposite of what they hoped to do happens.
The TPB has a lot of battle scenes and combat until the end where we get Arena part II with Data vs. the Gorn ruler. I think the Gorn were portrayed as too bloodthirsty and animalistic when the whole point was that the Federation just assumed they were like this because of how they appeared. Still, a very enjoyable comic book.
This version updates the Gorn for TNG's era with the race having isolated itself for 100 years. This is set during the Dominion War and the Federation wishes to seek their aid in combating the Changelings' empire. Unfortunately, the Gorn have recently suffered a military coup de tat. The "Black Crest" Gorn have eliminated most of the political caste and seek to launch a campaign of revanchism against the Federation. So pretty much the opposite of what they hoped to do happens.
The TPB has a lot of battle scenes and combat until the end where we get Arena part II with Data vs. the Gorn ruler. I think the Gorn were portrayed as too bloodthirsty and animalistic when the whole point was that the Federation just assumed they were like this because of how they appeared. Still, a very enjoyable comic book.
April 12, 2026
It's sad that, for so long, one of the most interesting races in Star Trek was barely touched upon, relegated to brief mentions. What a surprise it was to stumble upon this comic!
To be honest, it felt mostly like an action movie... a painfully short one. Something is always happening, leaving no time to breathe. This isn't exactly a bad thing, as it's genuinely enjoyable to watch the characters fighting the Gorn, which, with a slightly redesigned, strike a balance between terrifying and cool. Special mention to Riker, who seems to be having the time of his life fighting alongside the Klingons haha.
The story isn't anything special, an average Kevin J. Anderson story, one that, while adequate, I really wish had been longer, as it would have allowed for a deeper exploration of the Gorn and their society—details that, once again, are relegated to mere hints and extra information at the end of the comic.
Additionally, the art style is simply ugly. There are moments where the faces are poorly proportioned, it's unclear what's happening on some moments, and overall it tends to break the immersion. I don't think Igor Kordey is a bad artist; having reviewed his other work, it's clear he has talent, but at least here he's very irregular.
In conclusion, a lighthearted adventure. I appreciate that things like this and the Battle of Betazed exist; they help provide a clearer understanding of what the Enterprise was doing during the Dominion War.
To be honest, it felt mostly like an action movie... a painfully short one. Something is always happening, leaving no time to breathe. This isn't exactly a bad thing, as it's genuinely enjoyable to watch the characters fighting the Gorn, which, with a slightly redesigned, strike a balance between terrifying and cool. Special mention to Riker, who seems to be having the time of his life fighting alongside the Klingons haha.
The story isn't anything special, an average Kevin J. Anderson story, one that, while adequate, I really wish had been longer, as it would have allowed for a deeper exploration of the Gorn and their society—details that, once again, are relegated to mere hints and extra information at the end of the comic.
Additionally, the art style is simply ugly. There are moments where the faces are poorly proportioned, it's unclear what's happening on some moments, and overall it tends to break the immersion. I don't think Igor Kordey is a bad artist; having reviewed his other work, it's clear he has talent, but at least here he's very irregular.
In conclusion, a lighthearted adventure. I appreciate that things like this and the Battle of Betazed exist; they help provide a clearer understanding of what the Enterprise was doing during the Dominion War.
September 21, 2026
It's a bit simplistic as a story... the painted art is gorgeous though. It was a fun enough story to read once, but I haven't figured out if it's worth purchasing for my collection...
December 4, 2022
It's interesting to put a little comic reading in with my other ST novels. The Gorn aren't one of my favorite villains, but it was interesting to see a little more about them.
August 1, 2020
A lushly illustrated graphic novel pitting the crew of the Enterprise-E against original series foes the Gorn. Set during the Dominion War, Picard and company are sent to recruit the reptilian warriors as allies but naturally it doesn't go as planned. I am more familiar with Kevin J. Anderson's work on Star Wars novels but he ably jumps into the Star Trek universe albeit with a more conflict driven story.
January 10, 2013
A good read all in all, but unfortunately it was nothing special. Simple political intrigue and battles fought in the nick of time. It did end cleverly though, with a bought of single combat to decide the war.
It was good to learn the intricacies of Gorn society and the author provides details into the thought process behind it all after the story is finished.
Now while the story itself is a little lacking in my mind, the artwork was fantastic save for a few instances where you weren't quite sure who you were looking at for the most part it was fairly easy to tell who was who and the detail was quite astounding on the whole.
Lastly, there were a couple characters that were a little too wooden to tell the truth. Actually most of them were rather one dimensional, save for certain side characters.
All in all, it was a good read but don't expect too much in the way of a compelling narrative.
It was good to learn the intricacies of Gorn society and the author provides details into the thought process behind it all after the story is finished.
Now while the story itself is a little lacking in my mind, the artwork was fantastic save for a few instances where you weren't quite sure who you were looking at for the most part it was fairly easy to tell who was who and the detail was quite astounding on the whole.
Lastly, there were a couple characters that were a little too wooden to tell the truth. Actually most of them were rather one dimensional, save for certain side characters.
All in all, it was a good read but don't expect too much in the way of a compelling narrative.
July 27, 2017
This was an OK graphic novel. The watercolor inspired art direction didn't really do much for me. It wasn't bad, it just was not something that I was drawn to as compared to other comics I've read. The story was also mediocre. I was expecting more in-depth Gorn lore, and it seemed like a very throw-away story.
April 11, 2013
Good story, nice artwork. But I'm pretty sure that Will Riker, even his wildest dreams, wasn't *that* ripped. Nice to look at, though. ;)
August 31, 2024
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Gorn Crisis - 2/5
A Trek comic that definitely feels more like a Star Wars comic, which makes sense given both author's bibliography, but kind of leaves the whole tone feeling off for me, with lots of surprisingly gory action and violence accompanied by some nods towards Trek's greater penchant for sitting around conference tables and talking sprinkled in. It's all quite surface level, resorting to KJA's usual tactic of retreading a previous story to tell this one similiarly to a number of his more rote Star Wars novels. Here for example we get and I generally really dislike that approach to tie-in media.
Also, the comic never really delves into the context and world of the Gorn or the Enterprise's situation during the Dominion War. It is admittedly fun to see some of what the Enterprise E was up to during that Dominion War period, I just wish there was far more put into what the crew think about it all. I also don't think the dialogue really captures the voice of any of the characters, all feeling fairly generic beyond the few easily insertable quirks from the show that the writers can throw in. The Gorn get a little more with their clans and isolationism post-TOS's 'Arena' being explored a little, and I enjoy this version of the Gorn more than the Xenomorph knockoffs they've kind of become in Strange New Worlds, but it's still fairly minimal, and largely carried by the designs of the artist.
The art itself is pretty decent when it focuses on the Gorn, the landscapes, and the ship designs, and at times can be fairly pretty, but when it focuses on the Klingon characters and especially the TNG cast it's pretty rough, with no one really ending up looking like their TV counterparts beyond vague similarities.
Overall, this is a fairly eh comic. It's a fun enough diversion and I like seeing a bit more of the pre-Strange New Worlds Gorn and what the Enterprise crew was doing during the Dominion War, but it doesn't really utilise those aspects in that interesting a way, restorting to lots of action and references to make up the page count instead.
A Trek comic that definitely feels more like a Star Wars comic, which makes sense given both author's bibliography, but kind of leaves the whole tone feeling off for me, with lots of surprisingly gory action and violence accompanied by some nods towards Trek's greater penchant for sitting around conference tables and talking sprinkled in. It's all quite surface level, resorting to KJA's usual tactic of retreading a previous story to tell this one similiarly to a number of his more rote Star Wars novels. Here for example we get and I generally really dislike that approach to tie-in media.
Also, the comic never really delves into the context and world of the Gorn or the Enterprise's situation during the Dominion War. It is admittedly fun to see some of what the Enterprise E was up to during that Dominion War period, I just wish there was far more put into what the crew think about it all. I also don't think the dialogue really captures the voice of any of the characters, all feeling fairly generic beyond the few easily insertable quirks from the show that the writers can throw in. The Gorn get a little more with their clans and isolationism post-TOS's 'Arena' being explored a little, and I enjoy this version of the Gorn more than the Xenomorph knockoffs they've kind of become in Strange New Worlds, but it's still fairly minimal, and largely carried by the designs of the artist.
The art itself is pretty decent when it focuses on the Gorn, the landscapes, and the ship designs, and at times can be fairly pretty, but when it focuses on the Klingon characters and especially the TNG cast it's pretty rough, with no one really ending up looking like their TV counterparts beyond vague similarities.
Overall, this is a fairly eh comic. It's a fun enough diversion and I like seeing a bit more of the pre-Strange New Worlds Gorn and what the Enterprise crew was doing during the Dominion War, but it doesn't really utilise those aspects in that interesting a way, restorting to lots of action and references to make up the page count instead.
August 7, 2022
It’s properly cool to see the Next Generation crew in the thick of the Dominion War, even if they aren’t actually facing the Dominion in this story. What’s also cool, is the Gorn. That’s it.
Nah but seriously, an instantly iconic and very scarcely seen antagonist since their appearance in TOS, that’s been dutifully reimagined/expanded on as this warrior race who’re more than happy to got toe-to-toe with Star Trek’s other premier warrior race, the Klingons. I don’t know what it is about big lizards in sci-fi that really scratches that itch for me but I feel exactly the same way about the Trandoshans in Star Wars.
Picking a main strength for the story would be how both ends of the conflict get resolved - I’ll avoid spoilers even though it’s over 20 years old at this point - as one is really smart in that Star Trek way and the other is just simply badass. The main drawbacks for me would be the slight lack of things to do for La Forge and Troi, and that the art can be a bit hard to discern at times. The colouring especially blends a bit too much together, there’s not enough contrast to define the outlines of characters.
Will I read it again? DEFINITELY.
Nah but seriously, an instantly iconic and very scarcely seen antagonist since their appearance in TOS, that’s been dutifully reimagined/expanded on as this warrior race who’re more than happy to got toe-to-toe with Star Trek’s other premier warrior race, the Klingons. I don’t know what it is about big lizards in sci-fi that really scratches that itch for me but I feel exactly the same way about the Trandoshans in Star Wars.
Picking a main strength for the story would be how both ends of the conflict get resolved - I’ll avoid spoilers even though it’s over 20 years old at this point - as one is really smart in that Star Trek way and the other is just simply badass. The main drawbacks for me would be the slight lack of things to do for La Forge and Troi, and that the art can be a bit hard to discern at times. The colouring especially blends a bit too much together, there’s not enough contrast to define the outlines of characters.
Will I read it again? DEFINITELY.
June 11, 2022
Pretty poor, the weakest of the Trek graphic novels I've read. Uninteresting plot, Klingons who are even dumber and more frustrating than normal... And it misses the point made by the episode Arena, that humans had just assumed the Gorn were bloodthirsty and violent because of how they look. Apparently the first venture into Trek writing by these authors, and you can tell - nobody acts in character and everything's dumb and predictable.
Worst of all though is the animation. It's a slightly unconventional style, which isn't a problem in itself, but it becomes a problem in a story that depends heavily on action scenes - there were several points where it wasn't at all clear what was going on.
Worst of all though is the animation. It's a slightly unconventional style, which isn't a problem in itself, but it becomes a problem in a story that depends heavily on action scenes - there were several points where it wasn't at all clear what was going on.
February 13, 2019
This one was okay. I felt that the plot was rather slow and the art work rather lack luster. I did like that Data got to be in charge for this outing, and the writers came up with some poignant dialogue for Picard to say. It was nice seeing a returning villain from TOS, as well as to see what the crew of the Enterprise-E were up to during the Dominion War. Worf does not appear in this volume, as he is presumably fighting the Jem'Hadar on Deep Space Nine; I do think that it would have been nice to have some sort of communication between him and the TNG crew, especially considering that he was one of the only characters to bridge both series (the other being Picard.)
April 8, 2019
I'm not 100% sure what the goal for these Classics comics is, but if you want a full classic Star Trek experience that feels like the shows are still ongoing, this is a great comic. This volume kicks things off by giving us a TNG-era view of the Gorn and a bit of political upheaval, at least in line with how their particular society operates. The art style is rather emotionally evocative with some ridiculous power fantasies for Riker, but on the whole it's a style that works really well for the Gorn and thus the bulk of the story.
February 6, 2026
"The Gorn Crisis" tells from a graphic novel standpoint of one mission the Enterprise-E was on during the Dominion War in an attempt to turn the tide of things. The main basis of the story is to have the Federation bring the Gorn into the war on their side; however, a coup on the home world makes that nearly impossible. Riker is also with the Klingons unaware of what is happening. Published in 2001, this graphic novel does a decent job of keeping to what was known at the time & is a nice story for anyone wondering what the E was doing.
September 16, 2019
Captain Picard and the Enterprise have a major crisis on their hands. The Gorn homeworld is engaged in a civil war and this means big problems for the Federation.
I really enjoyed this story it felt and read like a TV episode of The Next Generation. Learning more about the Gorn and their culture fills out information on the world. I enjoy seeing things that happened in TOS still having an impact on the future of the federation. A must read for fans of Next Gen and TOS.
I really enjoyed this story it felt and read like a TV episode of The Next Generation. Learning more about the Gorn and their culture fills out information on the world. I enjoy seeing things that happened in TOS still having an impact on the future of the federation. A must read for fans of Next Gen and TOS.
December 27, 2019
This was a bit slow, but not in a bad way. I appreciate the effort that went into making the Gorn a true society instead of the rubber-costume we all know (and love!) from TOS. The Riker stuff in working with the Klingons was a bit over the top, but still cool in some respects. I enjoyed the art too. I didn't care for most of Kordey's work on All-New X-Men years ago, but it works well with these types of stories.
September 21, 2025
After (finally) seeing a lot of the Gorn in the last few years with Strange New Worlds and after that plotline getting resolved in S3 this seemed like a logical next read. A radical faction of the Gorn people launch a coup and once again attack the Federation in the midst of the Dominion War. Others have said it’s by the numbers and I would agree, but it was still a good story. The artwork was definitely disappointing however.
September 27, 2019
A painted graphic novel depicting the Enterprise-E crew attempting to bring the Gorn into the Dominion War. The story is serviceable enough and the painted art is really nice at times (it makes for great full-page panels!), even if the likenesses aren't always that great. There's also a cute little guidebook in the back about the art direction for the Gorn redesign. Altogether an enjoyable entry.
December 4, 2019
It was really cool seeing Picard’s crew take on the Gorn. The art style is neat. It’s delightfully violent. Especially for the Star Trek universe. My only complaint is that it is REALLY short. This story could make an entire season of Star Trek.
Really fun and totally worth a quick read. I would mostly recommend it for die hard Star Trek fans though.
Really fun and totally worth a quick read. I would mostly recommend it for die hard Star Trek fans though.
December 14, 2025
Fully painted tng gn. Some of it looks amazing, some of it looks pretty rushed and muddy. The colors are great throughout. The plot feels closer to an episode of the show than a movie, albeit with more scale, basically a bigger tng take on the classic tos gorn episode. I wish it was both longer and had more time for the artist to work, and I'd be interested in seeing more work from this artist.
November 17, 2021
I've never see a single episode of TOS ( I know, shock horror ) so it was nice to see the Gorn in action! Artwork was nice and the storyline plausible. It would definitely make me want to read more graphic novels of this style.
January 9, 2024
Enjoyable story
The story was enjoyable and reminiscent of a Next Generation episode. I was not a fan of the art. Some pictures were nice while others seemed ill defined or muddy. Even so, I'm glad I read it.
The story was enjoyable and reminiscent of a Next Generation episode. I was not a fan of the art. Some pictures were nice while others seemed ill defined or muddy. Even so, I'm glad I read it.
July 1, 2025
Good story!!
This graphic novel was interesting to follow but it was a little predictable. The artwork was colourful and of a high quality. I enjoyed the story and it was quiet exciting. A good story!!
This graphic novel was interesting to follow but it was a little predictable. The artwork was colourful and of a high quality. I enjoyed the story and it was quiet exciting. A good story!!
July 28, 2019
A gorn faction tries to destroy the federation.
October 12, 2019
Quite good
This book is the only time that they would alliance with the Horn Empire I enjoyed this a great deal
This book is the only time that they would alliance with the Horn Empire I enjoyed this a great deal
April 29, 2020
I found the paintings at turns stunning and clumsy. Story was enjoyable, in the series's 'you won't remember this episode' way.
April 22, 2021
That was... something.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews