Star Trek: Masks by John Vornholt

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Masks
by John Vornholt

A grad school friend who had been a bit of a Next Generation fan in his youth passed on to me the four TNG books he owned; one of them was Masks, which I was happy to have an excuse to reread, since I remembered getting from the library a few times in my own youth and enjoying it. (Though I also remember seeing the episode "Masks" for the first time and wondering why they were so different!)

 

Published: 1989
Previously read: ??? (mid-1990s)
Acquired: October 2013
Reread: June 2023

The premise is that the Enterprise is reestablishing contact with an Earth colony settled by a mixture of back-to-nature types and theatre nerds; the constant danger of volcanic ash in the environment means that everyone wears full-face masks, and an elaborate feudal culture has built up around them. No one can be seen in public without a mask; different masks connote different roles. To wear the mask of a craftsman, for example, one must demonstrate an appropriate amount of skill or be subject to a challenge. The Enterprise is ferrying an ambassador to the planet, who bears the gorgeous Ambassador's Mask that he bought off the Ferengi, who are also interested in the planet.

Set during season two, it's a solid adventure of the exact kind you might want from a tie-in novel. Later in his Star Trek career, Vornholt would turn out some pretty mediocre stuff, but this is good: a nice grasp on the characters, particularly Picard, where Vornholt picks up on the nascent strain of romanticism that I think the tv writers wouldn't lean into much until later. Characters like Data and La Forge and Worf get some good scenes, too. The best part of the book is the culture of the planet, with its permutations and complications; the Enterprise's away teams must start at the bottom and work their way up.

I did find the middle a bit weak, as it felt like the two different Enterprise away teams were wandering around in a bit of an aimless muddle trying to find each other. I also felt that the character of the ambassador seems very important in the early part of the novel, but kind of fades away unceremoniously by the end. On the other hand, I kept thinking about how I would adapt the whole thing to be a Star Trek Adventures RPG module, which I think would work very well—which indicates to me that this book captures the Star Trek vibe exceedingly well no matter its faults.

Review: Star Trek: First Contact by John Vornholt, Terry Pallot, et al.

Perfect-bound comic, 48 pages
Published 1996
Acquired June 2019
Read October 2019

Star Trek: First Contact

Adapted by John Vornholt
Art by Terry Pallot (pages 1-36 & 40-48)
Layouts by Rod Whigham
Pencils by Rod Whigham (pages 37-39)
Inks by Philip Moy
Color Design by Shannon Blanchard

Lettered by Edd Fear

In my review of the Generations adaptation, I said the First Contact adaptation from Marvel (the last-ever adaptation of a Prime Universe Star Trek film) hadn't been collected. I tracked it down to read it and discovered that even though it's a one-shot comic... it has an ISBN for some reason. Which under my personal rules means I can count it as a book. I don't know why, but I'll take it.

If you haven't seen the film or Voyager, it's not even clear this guy is a hologram! What's an "EMH"? (art by Terry Pallot, Rod Whigham, & Philip Moy)

John Vornholt scripts; I didn't know he did any comics work, actually, as I primarily know him as a prolific Star Trek novelist in the 1990s, including the YA novels of all four Next Generation films, meaning this is one of two adaptations of First Contact that he wrote. It's an okay script. The first half captures the film well, but something is off with the pacing, and the second half gets very choppy, with a lot of the movie's great scenes cut down so much they lose their impact. The argument between Picard and Lily where he breaks his ships becomes a calm conversation; the great bit about Moby-Dick literally becomes: "You're like Captain Ahab." "Have you read Moby Dick?" "Actually, no." Zefram Cochrane is a particular victim of the condensation; the values conflict between him and the Enterprise crew doesn't come off at all.

The thing about Cochrane's music also doesn't come off in a medium that can only represent "Ooby Dooby" and "Magic Carpet Ride" with "TWANG-DA-DA-TWANG!" (art by Terry Pallot, Rod Whigham, & Philip Moy)

The art by Terry Pallot, Rod Whigham, and Philip Moy looks nice; it has that nice 1990s pre-computers style that I like, reminding me of people like Mike Collins or Matt Haley. (Which I guess makes sense, because Mike Collins worked on Marvel's 1990s Star Trek comics.) The action is often confusing, though, especially the shipboard fights against the Borg. I'm not sure a reader could follow the Dixon Hill scene if they didn't see the film. But then, who is reading this who didn't see the film? Like most film-to-comics adaptations, I'm discovering, it's serviceable, but adds little to your experience.

Next Week: From the 24th century to the 30th: I revisit Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes!