Star Trek 1106: The Price of Freedom

1106. The Price of Freedom

PUBLICATION: Star Trek: The Modala Imperative #3, DC Comics, August 1991

CREATORS: Michael Jan Friedman (writer), Pablo Marcos (artist)

STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last issue)

PLOT: Inside the Modalan prison, the rebels ask Kirk to be their new leader, but he appoints the young buck who tried to nominate him. The rebels fall in line and their new leader manages a prison break. Unfortunately, it disrupts the Enterprise's just found transporter lock on them. Just outside, Spock and McCoy, staking out the location, are arrested in the wake of the escape, and Spock didn't have time to ditch his communicator...

CONTINUITY: Mr. Kyle now has blond hair again.

DIVERGENCES: Exhaust seems to come out of the ship's nacelles.

PANEL OF THE DAY - Kirk's puns
REVIEW: Pablo Marcos' art reverts to its usual scratchy look, which for some reason, draws attention to his overly theatrical poses, but it's still fluid and dynamic. Good likenesses of the main characters too. As for the story, it's the third chapter and it shows. Just as with many classic Doctor Who 4-part serials, the third chapter is the one where nothing much happens, or the situation is reset somehow. That's what's happening here. Kirk and Chekov escape from prison, but Spock and McCoy are arrested. That's not really advancing the plot. Before they're grabbed, they basically just sit around and stare at the prison. Inside, Kirk continues to influence an alien culture, while still thinking he's upholding the Prime Directive. Nothing new. There are some nice character bits between the particulars, especially in the way Chekov's confidence gets a boost, but otherwise, the series could have been cut down to an efficient three parts.