STAR TREK: PICARD'S ACADEMY--COMMIT NO MISTAKES - graphic novel


 We look back at the Academy days of Jean-Luc Picard and see that he's quite the loner, focused solely on doing well and getting ahead. But his instructor, Mr. Spock, informs him that getting to know the people on his team is important when making leadership decisions and orders Cadet Picard to attend a party with his fellow cadets. Well ... Spock can order him to attend but there's nothing that says he has to enjoy it or participate in shenanigans!

Through a series of incidents, young Jean-Luc discovers that there's more to being command than simply giving orders and knowing 'the book' backward and forward.

This is a pretty simple story (hard to believe it makes up six issues of a comic) and frankly pretty obvious. I never felt like we were following the same Jean-Luc Picard who would go on to captain the USS Enterprise or become a Starfleet Admiral. That's not to say I think we are the same at age 19 as we are at 50. Of course we learn and grow, but I don't see anything of the Picard we know in the television shows and movies in this comic/graphic novel.

Because it's a graphic novel, the art is just as important in telling the story as is the writing (otherwise why not just make it a novel?) and the art here is ... I suppose 'cartoony' is the best way to describe it.  If we weren't introduced, by name, to Jean-Luc Picard or Mr. Spock, I'd never know that's who we were looking at. 

This style works in some graphic novels, but I definitely don't feel like it enhances the story in any way.  This looks like a Veronica and Betty style comic meant to appeal to sixth graders.

Which brings me to: Who is this for?  Based on the simplicity of the script, the whole 'academy days' (ie being in school) and the over-the-top message, along with the artwork, this looks like the target audience is middle schoolers and younger.  But do these kids know Star Trek: The Next Generation?  Why not a story using the more recent Star Trek series' characters?  Did Janeway (featured in the animated Star Trek: Prodigy) learn some important lessons about getting to know her crew?  What about Michael Burnham? Based on her current character she had to have had some hard lessons in the academy.

I enjoy reading new stories and adventures featuring my familiar Star Trek 'friends' (they often feel like friends when you've watched the episodes over and over) but when they no longer look or feel familiar but instead are used to make a moralistic message to kids (who probably don't know them at all), I don't feel good about the book.

Looking for a good book? The graphic novel Star Trek: Picard's Academy--Commit No Mistakes written by Sam Maggs and illustrated by Ornella Greco, doesn't feel at all in line with the Star Trek universe.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars

* * * * * *

Star Trek: Picard's Academy--Commit No Mistakes

author: Sam Maggs

artist: Ornella Greco

publisher: IDW Publishing

ISBN: 9798887241210

paperback, 144 pages

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