Star Trek: The Modala Imperative

Star Trek Graphic Novel Collection #119

by Michael Jan Friedman, Walter Koenig (Introduction)

An omnibus volume gathering two DC Comics four-issue miniseries, the first "Star Trek--The Modala Imperative" and the second "Star Trek: The Next Generation--The Modala Imperative" (both published 1991). The first miniseries follows Captain Kirk into turmoil when the Modala government uses alien technology to subjugate the population. The second miniseries picks the story up a hundred years later, when Captain Picard and his "Enterprise" crew return to the planet with Spock and McCoy aboard for the centennial celebration of the earlier adventure. The arrival of the Ferengi turns the celebration into a crisis, and the veteran officers must come to Modala's aid again. It includes an introduction by Walter Koenig who played Chekov in the "Star Trek" television show and films.

Genres: Star Trek, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Comics, Ebooks

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Michael Jan Friedman is an author of more than seventy books of fiction and nonfiction, half of which are in the Star Trek universe. Eleven of his titles have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. Friedman has also written for network and cable television and radio, and scripted nearly 200 comic books, including his original DC superhero series, the Darkstars.

Reviews

[David Sarkies · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Best of Both Generations
10 July 2017 - Perth

Wow, two comic books in as many days, but then again I am doing so because once I return to Adelaide (I'm currently sitting in a hotel in Perth), I'll be catching up with a friend, if only to offload these comic books onto him, though I'm not entirely sure if he is all that enthusiastic with me dumping comic books onto him since he isn't all that much of a collector – maybe he reads them and then moves them on afterwards, creating one huge cycle of books passing from one person to another. Actually, that is a pretty good concept, reading a book and then passing it on to somebody else, and I believe they even have libraries like that where the idea is that you take a book, but leave another book in its place. Maybe I should just do that with these comics, or some of the other books that I no longer want (there is a library like that in the Melbourne Central Shopping Centre).

Anyway, this story is sort of a cross over, to the extent that they can do crossover's in Star Trek. Mind you, since there are episodes where they time travel then having such a crossover is not out of the question, except that the prime directive applies to time travel as well as to non-space faring civilisations. Mind you, I guess that makes a pretty good reason as to why we haven't encountered extra-terrestrial civilisations yet – they have a prime directive, and we will only be approached at such a time as we prove ourselves to be worthy of entering an enlightened Federation (or such a threat that we must be destroyed). So, the idea isn't even such that space is so huge that the chances of encountering another civilised race is incredibly slim, but rather that they already know of our existence and are monitoring us from afar (though from what I remember from First Contact, it was the testing of a warp drive that alerted the Vulcan's to our presence).

Except that there are races out in the universe that couldn't care less about this stupid prime directive, and this is the case with this story. The story centres around the planet Modula which the Federation has been monitoring. So, Kirk and company are sent to check this planet out to see how it is progressing, only to discover that not only have they gone backwards, but that somebody has sold them some rather advanced weaponry which a certain faction uses to oppress everybody else. Unfortunately for Kirk and Company, when they land they suddenly find themselves on the wrong side of the law, and end up in prison. So, the trick then comes down to getting out without letting on that they are from off world.

Jump around 100 years into the future and everything has changed. The crew of the Enterprise has changed and the people of Modula are not only free, but also members of the Federation. Since it is a milestone in their history, they decide to throw a party, and invite the new Enterprise crew, and some of the original ones, back to Modula. The problem is that some races have very long memories, and debts made are debts owed, so suddenly, not only have the crew of the Enterprise found themselves thrust in another adventure, but the power that was behind the original bargains are soon revealed (and while I don't want to give too much away, it does come out a little disappointing, but that has more to do with how this particular race was originally portrayed back during the Next Generation).

I know, it is a little odd for somebody that doesn't particularly like Star Trek, namely due to it's idealism and the fact that they have pretty much solved all of our problems, to be reading Star Trek comics. Well, when you are in a comic book store and pretty much everything is priced to get it out of that door as soon as possible, and I end up spying such comics going at fire sale prices, then I'm not going to be too adverse to purchasing them. Even then, this story was quite enjoyable, and while I'm not necessarily going to read it again, it was fun.

[J-Lynn Van Pelt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was published in 1992 and I can't believe that I have missed out on reading it for the last 16 years! I loved this Graphic Novel!

The issue collects the 8 original comics about the planet Modala as well as an interesting letter from Walter Koenig who played Chekov in the original ST. Even though I consider myself a Next Generation fan, I grew up on the original Star Trek movies and a few of the original's reruns. This collection is the best of both worlds! 4 stories about the original Enterprise crew who go to welcome a planet into the Federation and then end up in the middle of a civil war. And 4 stories with the Next Generation crew along with a guest appearance by Dr. McCoy and Spock who return to Modala 100 years later to celebrate their revolution (which was encouraged by Kirk and Chekov in the original stories).

Friedman and David both should be commended for their writing. They had the characters down perfectly. From the fiesty Dr. McCoy and the cerebral Spock's never ending love-filled bickering to the ever-cool Captain Picard. The stories were action-packed and also filled with the courage that makes the shows so excellent.

Regardless of whether you are a purist or a Next Generation fan, this is one graphic novel to add to your must-read list.

[Tony Calder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable Star Trek graphic novel, this one combines two 4-issue mini-series, one featuring the original series crew and one featuring the Next Gen crew. The first story concerns the visit of the Enterprise to a planet being considered for contact by the Federation, the second is about the visit of the Enterprise D to the same planet 100 years later.

I enjoyed the irony of Kirk being so concerned about following the Prime Directive and I thought they got the relationship between Spock and Bones (who are the only characters to appear in both stories) spot-on.

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story that includes both generations of Trek. Nice to see Spock and McCoy interacting with the Next Gen crew. This must have come out before the Scotty episode of TNG because he was never mentioned.

[Jdetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember enjoying this more when I first read it. Oddly, on re-reading, the series that I feel suffers the most is the Next Gen one, which is normally my preferred series. I just don't think Peter David really has the voices of the Next Gen crew down and the issues suffer for it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I find classic Star Trek comics I feel the need to pick them up and read them. As a kid I would never do this, even though I loved Star Trek shows. The Modala Imperative is a DC comics era Star Trek comic. It had the semi realistic art you except for early 90’s comics. The writing is fun even if at times characters are being used for their catch phrases. Still it’s a fun read and an interesting way to cross over the original series and the next generation.

If you enjoy odd ball stories that take over a hundred years to play out this might be the comic for you.

[Andrew Beet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great graphic novel very quick read

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art was subpar. Story had too many filler pages.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half was great (4 stars); the latter, meh (2 stars)

[erica kruse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was genuinely shocked by how much I liked this and the quality of the writing!

[Christopher Rush · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's not much of a story here, but it works out well without one. It's a mostly fast-paced read, with a small amount of action, rapidly-developing complications, and easily-enough solutions. The original series issues are better written, which is strange considering how good Peter David usually is. David's TNG writing doesn't really sound authentic, especially for the Ferengi, which is a little off-putting, but since the read is so quick, it's not a lingering problem. Probably the most glaring aspect is Riker's poor treatment of the freighter captain, who is actually correct: the lives of millions of people on the planet who need her medical supplies should be a higher priority over Troi and Picard's safety. The original series issues feature an early point in the crew's journey, highlighting young Chekhov's solidification as a self-assured Starfleet officer overcoming a bit of Kirk-worship. The beginning of Sulu and Chekhov's friendship is also a nice touch, whether it's "authentic" or not. The TNG issues are about half-way through the series, and references a few major episodes here and there for the attentive reader and knowledgeable fan. David's knowledge of the ST Universe is good, of course, but that makes his discordant dialogue that much more strange. I'm not too sure McCoy would really prefer Spock as captain over both Kirk and Picard, no matter how anti-languorous he was feeling. The lack of a substantial story (and nicely quick resolutions to the little bit of complication and supporting character line - other than the poorly treated transport captain, what is this, 12th Night?) allows Friedman and especially David to linger in nice character moments and extended scenes. The beginning of TNG issue 2 is the highlight of the series, since it expresses exactly what we feel about the ST universe: all we really want is to spend more time with these friends. Though the final ending does not give us much conclusion as to the McCoy/Spock in the 24th century line as we may have hoped, the series as a whole gives us more time with these friends, which is good enough for us.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and brilliant- especially Peter David's half.

[Indika de Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic DC Star Trek story that extends to both TOS and TNG eras.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good yarn about the Star Trek universe. The intro by Chekov was nothing, so shoot over this dribble. The story spilts between the old Trek and TNG, so you get all your favorite characters.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the cover shows, when a planet grows a Ferengi face only Young Kirk, Old Spock, Old McCoy, Middle-aged Picard and two small Enterprises can stop it.