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Star Trek: The Next Generation (IDW) #4
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ghosts
Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise respond to a distress call and find a terribly wounded scientist aboard a marooned ship. While evaluating the planet below (and its two warring nations) for possible Federation membership, Picard discovers to his horror that the survivor of the disaster is foreseeing his death. Moreso, Picard is rattled by being identified as one of the phantoms that haunts the seriously wounded researcher they rescued!
Written by Eisner-nominated writer Zander Cannon (Top Ten).
Written by Eisner-nominated writer Zander Cannon (Top Ten).
120 pages, Paperback
First published June 22, 2010
44 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
About the author
Zander Cannon
210 books37 followersAlexander Cannon is an American cartoonist, known for his work on books such as Top 10, Smax and Kaijumax.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
March 24, 2022
i liked this graphic novel. it would've been great as an episode
February 18, 2017
Nice fun 5 issue trade comic. Very true to the TV show formula. Good read and nice artwork.
September 14, 2020
Superstition or Science?
When a simple readiness inspection for a Federation applicant goes awry, Picard finds himself caught in a bitter power struggle during a planetary civil war. At its heart: a wondrous power source and a scientist who finds himself literally haunted by ghosts. Including the ghost of Jean-Luc Picard.
The story is well in keeping with season four of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' and the characters are well defined. It is a shame, therefore, that they are so badly drawn. Worf fares best, but Riker and Troi do not look much like the actors they should be based on.
When a simple readiness inspection for a Federation applicant goes awry, Picard finds himself caught in a bitter power struggle during a planetary civil war. At its heart: a wondrous power source and a scientist who finds himself literally haunted by ghosts. Including the ghost of Jean-Luc Picard.
The story is well in keeping with season four of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' and the characters are well defined. It is a shame, therefore, that they are so badly drawn. Worf fares best, but Riker and Troi do not look much like the actors they should be based on.
January 2, 2021
This was pretty much in line with a typical standard episode of TNG.
Which is fine, but for a comic book it definitely was too "talky".
It is basically one long debate, without much action breaking it up.
It is not necessarily bad, but the plot could have been tightened and the pacing adjusted.
Which is fine, but for a comic book it definitely was too "talky".
It is basically one long debate, without much action breaking it up.
It is not necessarily bad, but the plot could have been tightened and the pacing adjusted.
January 8, 2021
"Voi potete essere uno Stato potente sul vostro pianeta, ma ha una vaga idea di chi questa nave rappresenti?"
"Ce l'ho, Federazione. Voi rappresentate una massa di bugiardi, idioti e manipolatori che se ne stanno a molte vite da noi e non hanno alcun peso sulle nostre sorti. [...] Che sia lei o il suo Capitano o il Capitano del suo Capitano, io so cosa rappresentate, Federazione. Parole. Chiacchiere e menzogne."
"Ce l'ho, Federazione. Voi rappresentate una massa di bugiardi, idioti e manipolatori che se ne stanno a molte vite da noi e non hanno alcun peso sulle nostre sorti. [...] Che sia lei o il suo Capitano o il Capitano del suo Capitano, io so cosa rappresentate, Federazione. Parole. Chiacchiere e menzogne."
January 31, 2023
Volume 16 of the Star Trek Graphic Novel Collection.
In the title story, Captain Picard and the Enterprise-D crew answer a distress call from a world petitioning to join the Federation. Soon, however, they become embroiled in the political tensions between two warring nations, both of whom are hostile to the Enterprise's presence.
The throwback story from 1972 sees Captain Kirk replaced by a malicious double sent by the Klingons.
Zander Cannon's 'Ghosts' is a respectable attempt at a full-length TNG adventure, with each of the main crew members having a role to play, as well as a mixture of politics, science and a little bit of action. Despite having a lot of the right ingredients, however, it just doesn't feel that engaging. There's no subtlety to the fact that the Juulets are clearly double-dealing and the belligerent Dorosshians were so one-note that they rapidly became irritating rather than credible antagonists (every other word from them was "Bah!").
The story definitely feels like a good swing which is nevertheless a miss.
The throwback stories from Gold Key in these Collections have never been less than weird and off-brand but the one in this book is a particularly egregious example. Not least because the artists had clearly never actually seen a Klingon or had one described to them (the TOS versions or the pasty-headed redesign).
One note of interest, however, is the scene where Kirk and his duplicate have to convince Spock which of them is real, which plays out very much like the similar scene in 'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
In the title story, Captain Picard and the Enterprise-D crew answer a distress call from a world petitioning to join the Federation. Soon, however, they become embroiled in the political tensions between two warring nations, both of whom are hostile to the Enterprise's presence.
The throwback story from 1972 sees Captain Kirk replaced by a malicious double sent by the Klingons.
Zander Cannon's 'Ghosts' is a respectable attempt at a full-length TNG adventure, with each of the main crew members having a role to play, as well as a mixture of politics, science and a little bit of action. Despite having a lot of the right ingredients, however, it just doesn't feel that engaging. There's no subtlety to the fact that the Juulets are clearly double-dealing and the belligerent Dorosshians were so one-note that they rapidly became irritating rather than credible antagonists (every other word from them was "Bah!").
The story definitely feels like a good swing which is nevertheless a miss.
The throwback stories from Gold Key in these Collections have never been less than weird and off-brand but the one in this book is a particularly egregious example. Not least because the artists had clearly never actually seen a Klingon or had one described to them (the TOS versions or the pasty-headed redesign).
One note of interest, however, is the scene where Kirk and his duplicate have to convince Spock which of them is real, which plays out very much like the similar scene in 'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
August 17, 2019
This is a really good graphic novel. The Enterprise picks up a distress call. There's a ship in trouble above a planet. It turns out the planet has two main civilizations, one being advanced and in control and the other being poor and living in somewhat primitive conditions compared to the other side.
The rich, advanced side wants to join the Federation. There is a tremendous animosity between the two sides, though, and they end up involving the Enterprise in their problems with Worf being taken captive, threats and an attack on the Enterprise and a problem with people missing and a strange energy produced from the planet's rocks.
The Enterprise has a survivor from the ship but he's missing an arm and a leg. He keeps saying that he sees ghosts that no one else sees.
It's up to the crew and Picard, especially, to try to figure out just what has happened with various people that have disappeared, how they can save Worf from being murdered by the really, really angry 'poor' side of the conflict and figuring out just who these 'ghosts' are that the alien keeps seeing.
It's really a surprisingly good story.
The rich, advanced side wants to join the Federation. There is a tremendous animosity between the two sides, though, and they end up involving the Enterprise in their problems with Worf being taken captive, threats and an attack on the Enterprise and a problem with people missing and a strange energy produced from the planet's rocks.
The Enterprise has a survivor from the ship but he's missing an arm and a leg. He keeps saying that he sees ghosts that no one else sees.
It's up to the crew and Picard, especially, to try to figure out just what has happened with various people that have disappeared, how they can save Worf from being murdered by the really, really angry 'poor' side of the conflict and figuring out just who these 'ghosts' are that the alien keeps seeing.
It's really a surprisingly good story.
September 28, 2020
What really threw me off in this comic was the artwork. What was supposed to be shadows, I think, looked more as if all of the crew suddenly had huge and deep bleeding wounds all over their faces. (Might be because I read on a black&white ereader.)
The story was ... well, a little boring. Warriors just being all about action and no thinking? Been there, done that, there was no use of that narrative again.
And ‚we wanna join the Federation, but we have no clue what that means so we go on murdering political enemies and deceiving our supposed allies‘? Yeah, we had done that as well, wasn’t it even Farpoint Station that used that plot?
So, the story was rather dull and the characters somehow off. Picard was all mopey and brooding, Worf suddenly super-religious, Riker constantly angry but not thinking clear, and everyone else had no character trait at all? I mean, finally there was no all encompassing war, but still this is no great revelation of a comic.
The story was ... well, a little boring. Warriors just being all about action and no thinking? Been there, done that, there was no use of that narrative again.
And ‚we wanna join the Federation, but we have no clue what that means so we go on murdering political enemies and deceiving our supposed allies‘? Yeah, we had done that as well, wasn’t it even Farpoint Station that used that plot?
So, the story was rather dull and the characters somehow off. Picard was all mopey and brooding, Worf suddenly super-religious, Riker constantly angry but not thinking clear, and everyone else had no character trait at all? I mean, finally there was no all encompassing war, but still this is no great revelation of a comic.
March 11, 2024
Answering a distress call on Allios IV the enterprise finds two warring sides the Juulets and the Dorossians. A lone survivor of an explosion, a scientist, lands in sick bay where he's visited by ghosts. He is missing body parts and doing well but Dr. Crusher can't understand why until Geordi finds a Zoor energy that seems to be keeping him alive.
Elders on the planet are going missing one by one. When the leader of the Dorossians goes missing his hot headed daughter blames Worf and sentences him to death. With both sides telling lies and hiding information Captain Picard needs to find the true story of this world to save Worf and learn more about the culture on Allios IV.
The survivor in sick bay seems to be the one who could help them. They finally are able to cut through to hear the ghosts with Troi's help and start to understand what is going on.
Elders on the planet are going missing one by one. When the leader of the Dorossians goes missing his hot headed daughter blames Worf and sentences him to death. With both sides telling lies and hiding information Captain Picard needs to find the true story of this world to save Worf and learn more about the culture on Allios IV.
The survivor in sick bay seems to be the one who could help them. They finally are able to cut through to hear the ghosts with Troi's help and start to understand what is going on.
September 16, 2019
When the ship responds to a distress signal they find a survivor a scientist who is missing some of his body parts. The answers would seem to lie on the planet Allios IV. Dragged into the political struggle between two groups the crew must find answers or orf will be executed for a crime he did not commit. People are disappearing into thin air and people claim to see ghosts Picard and his crew must find the connection between the two.
I liked this story but it had some of the flaws of what I saw in the show itself. The characters come of as rather bland. I don't blame the author for this he wrote them as they often were in the show. The crew always felt so perfect with no flaws and This is why it is my least favorite Trek.
I liked this story but it had some of the flaws of what I saw in the show itself. The characters come of as rather bland. I don't blame the author for this he wrote them as they often were in the show. The crew always felt so perfect with no flaws and This is why it is my least favorite Trek.
May 5, 2019
Not a bad story. Basically a story of a planet who wants to join the Federation, but there are two rival factions on that planet (basically a no-no for membership in the Federation). One side invents a device that moves you into another sub-space type of universe (basically looks like the Matrix's loading room), and people freak out. People who move into this universe are thought to be dead (they are not) and when they communicate with people in the regular dimension, those folks think they see ghosts. Interesting story. The aliens remind me of the "emperor" from StarCom.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2020
Some cute character stuff but really this was three times too long. I wanted to like it because I LOVE when the comics and novels just try to give us another TNG episode. This was just a little too unwieldy (all the religious and philosophical stuff suggested something cool but it never quite arrived for me) and repetitive. If this had been a story in the DC series, it would have appropriately been relegated to one or two issues.
November 12, 2021
Wow! I’m a fucking nerd.
This isn’t perfect, but I ate it right up.
One thing I really enjoyed about this is how all the characters are piecing together the mystery using different approaches, and how their tight communication network ensures they are all informed and can engage in synthesis of the different information. Fucking solid depiction of teamwork. This series in general is just a great example of creating three-dimensional characters through interaction with one another.
This isn’t perfect, but I ate it right up.
One thing I really enjoyed about this is how all the characters are piecing together the mystery using different approaches, and how their tight communication network ensures they are all informed and can engage in synthesis of the different information. Fucking solid depiction of teamwork. This series in general is just a great example of creating three-dimensional characters through interaction with one another.
November 8, 2018
Ghosts had a good TNG story written by Zander Cannon. It felt like a good two-part episode from the series. The story was interesting enough to keep me engaged even with some disappointing art. Can't say whether it was the pencils or the inks that caused the issues, but many of the faces were overdone. And to be sure, the frames were boring and unimaginative. The story saved this book.
January 15, 2018
Story was okay. Dragged in places, and characterization was off. Artwork really let this down. Main cast looked nothing like they should, especially Deanna. And the weird attempts at shadows looked more like random dirt and grime streaks and background ink blots. Really distracting.
February 25, 2018
A pretty poor effort. The story's verbose and lacks a strong hook, and the art gets pretty muddled the further you go along (and there are *far* too many shadows). Also, what's up with everyone saying "countrymen"?
October 14, 2017
A fun story. It matched the tempo of the show and made me want to pull up Netflix to watch some reruns. Good stuff.
August 22, 2018
I love having more adventures with my wonderful Next Generation crew that I know and love so well! Just plan enjoyable on many levels!
September 17, 2018
Stopped halfway through. Boring story, terrible characterization, and the art was inconsistent and generally unpleasant to look at.
May 10, 2019
Fun premise, simply told
September 12, 2020
mediocre, unfortunately. And the artwork was more distracting than anything.
July 23, 2022
Disappointing, characters from the standard universe are repeatedly out of character and the artwork is distractingly unlike the cast's likeness.
September 6, 2022
Three Kelvin timeline tales - one of which (the title story) stinks; two of which are very good (all three are ST:TOS referential) - and a Gold Key adventure from 1972 that absolutely rocks.
May 27, 2023
This volume is excellent. It would translate well into a “real” episode consisting of TNG themes, character motives, etc.. Sadly due to appalling art quality I can give no higher than 3 stars.
January 9, 2024
This was interesting and unexpected. The way that the author mixed the philosophical side of Trek with the action necessary to move the story along was well done. Enjoyed the read.
February 18, 2024
Pretty decent, a bit more involved than some of the other Trek graphic novels I've read - for better and worse.
April 26, 2024
A decent episode style story with iffy art.
August 17, 2020
I don't think Next Gen really lends itself to the Graphic Novel format. I found this to be wordy and dull. Not a fan.
For more on this tune in to Comic Book Coffee Break: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QucL7...
For more on this tune in to Comic Book Coffee Break: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QucL7...
August 21, 2016
Not bad at all, but the story does seem to drag a little in places. Excellent artwork. What I really liked about this book is that it's almost like watching a long lost episode. It seems to me that lots of times in the comic format (& ST comics don't always seem to be an exception to the rule) action sequences appear for merely action's sake. This doesn't happen in this story, & I liked that. I mean yeah of course if the story calls for some action then by all means yes let's see some action, but action just for the sake of action & page filler is rediculous & in my opinion subtracts from a story's quality. This is just a pretty good story that could've easily been an episode.
March 1, 2012
Here’s a completely delightful “missing episode” from the fourth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. “Ghosts” captures the tone of that point in the series perfectly, offering a politically intriguing and anthropologically fueled story about peace negotiations on an exotic world in conflict. This is smart, stylish, complex and surprising storytelling, and as such is sure to appeal to any Star Trek fan.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews