“Space…the final frontier.” Those words have defined the Star Trek universe for decades, but in Star Trek: Lore War #1 the final frontier is no more. Due to the machinations of the mad android Lore, reality has literally been shattered and remade in his own image. As Lore forces his “brother” Data to continue maintaining the order of his new reality, pockets of resistance spring up. One of them is former Klingon emperor Kahless, who seeks out the one person that can help him: Benjamin Sisko.
Lore War is the payoff of plot threads set up through Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing’s Star Trek run, and Christopher Cantwell’s work on Star Trek: Defiant. The trio gathers together to write Lore War, putting fresh spins on characters from across the Star Trek universe. Instead of the bridge of a starship, Sisko has his feet firmly planted on the Earth. Worf leads a more militaristic version of Starfleet that’s traded exploration for conquest. And there’s even more surprises packed into this pages, including a twist I never saw coming.
Kelly, Lanzing and Cantwell slowly dole out these revelations across the course of Lore War #1, taking full advantage of the extra pages to showcase how this universe has truly changed. It allows the big reveals to hit as hard as they do, but it also lets the quieter moments sing too. A great example comes after Sisko has recovered his memories – he’s ready to help stop Lore, but he also needs time because in this world, his late wife Jennifer is alive and they’ve reunited with their son Jake. This might be a reality constructed by a power-mad android, but that emotional connection is no less real.
IDW
Lore War really sings thanks to Davide Tinto’s artwork. Tinto is able to capture the likeness of multiple Star Trek characters, but also has fun illustrating them in wildly different situations. Worf’s new Starfleet uniform is jet black with a solid gold bandolier, giving him an air of regality. Sisko, disturbingly enough, sports hair throughout a good chunk of the issue. Even more disturbing than that is a series of temples designed to worship Lore, as Tinto draws one of these temples with a wide open mouth, making it look as though Lore is swallowing his congregation whole. Lee Loughridge also deserves credit for giving the vast amount of environment their own visual appeal; Earth is cold and rainy, space is jet black except for the golden beams of phaser fire cutting through the abyss, and another scene bathes the page in hellish red light.
The standout sequences feature Lore himself, as he lords over Data and his new reality. Tinto applies a unique approach to this sequence, showcasing four different versions of Lore pacing around what amounts to a giant circuit board that’s awash in blues, greens and pinks thanks to Loughridge. As if that wasn’t enough, Tinto draws a variety of expressions on Lore’s face, ranging from smugness to surprise to flat out rage. The only thing that would make this comic better is if Brent Spiner acted it out.
Star Trek: Lore War #1 separates itself from other major comic book events by taking its time to explore its new reality, though it still features the character work and gorgeous art that make IDW’s Star Trek comics such a great read. Trek fans will definitely want to pick this issue up, and the rest of the crossover as this only scratches the surface.
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