There are a few different types of Voyage to the Stars fans. There’s the podcast fans, the sci-fi comedy fans, and then there are folks like me who never even heard of the series, but fell in love with the first issue. The second issue is out this week and things are getting complicated for the crew as they’ve kinda sorta just killed the only hope life in the universe has to stop the Nothing.
As the cover reveals, the Exemplar is dead, but being swung around Weekend at Bernie’s style to avoid being murdered by folks who have waited many years for him to show up. If you missed the last issue, you’re going to be fine as there’s a nice recap page catching us up on the bigger story and the more recent activities of the crew. Writers Ryan Copple and James Asmus dive right in where we left off as the Knights of Exemplar have shown up to get their orders from the now very dead Exemplar.
The characters continue to be a delight with big emotion and funny hijinks showing off their fast-thinking solutions that are less than stellar. They work in part since the Knights of Examplar are so unaccustomed to wacky, inefficient behavior. The characters use sci-fi tech to convince the Knights that their Examplar isn’t dead, just a bit odd in the way he does things. This takes up much of the narrative of this issue as the crew attempt to not get in trouble.
Gotta love a good recap page.
Credit: IDW
Meanwhile, Captain Tucker Lentz, the guy who actually killed the Exemplar, accidentally has a side plot of sorts as he’s thrown into a cell. His narrative adds some nice cut-away humor as he attempts to escape and make right the situation he’s put his crew. Mixed in with these plots is Stew, who is recording a podcast while all this goes on. One can assume this is a bad choice since listeners might be able to figure out what is going on. This character helps flesh out the Knights of Exemplar’s mission and how they’ve been waiting.
Art by Connie Daidone is bright and cartoony, which works with the hijinks and reactions in the narrative. The crew in general are super over the top and that humor works thanks to the Knights of Exemplar being so serious and shocked by the crew’s nature. Characters like Tucker and Stew have a unique nature to them and Daidone helps pull off their personalities well. There is also some good physical humor at work with Exemplar’s dead body that will crack you up.
This issue does seem to spin its wheels a bit, moving the plot forward ever so slightly but really recycling the Examplar being dead gag for too long. There isn’t as much laugh-out-loud content as in the first issue, and in general, this issue could have used more scene changes or a bigger subplot. Tucker escaping his cell isn’t quite enough.
Voyage to the Stars #2 is a good second issue that moves the plot forward, but more importantly lets readers enjoy the characters who are the stars of the comic. Poking fun at overly serious sci-fi narratives, Voyage to the Stars is a delightful escape with comedic results.
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