The battle against Lore begins in IDW Publishing’s Star Trek: Lore War #1. Where the previous comic book event, Day of Blood, was the culmination of the first year of the IDW’s Star Trek comic universe, in many ways, Lore War is a sequel which continues the plot threads and character arcs from this story.
What began with the return of Benjamin Sisko from the Celestial Temple of the Prophets (on a mission to save the gods of the Star Trek universe) ended with the defeat of Emperor Kahless II on Qo’Nos. Kahless was using the newly recovered Bajoran Orb of Destruction to power his goal of ridding the universe of god-like beings. After his defeat at the “Day of Blood,” Data’s brother Lore escaped Starfleet custody along with Klingon scientist Korath. The recent issues of Star Trek have centered on Lore and Korath’s plan to build a bomb with remnants of the Orb of Destruction that would allow Lore to mold reality in his image. Captain Sisko and the crew of the Theseus failed to stop Lore, and the universe was rebooted by Lore. Before he succumbed to Lore’s weapon, Sisko, using the power of the Emissary, chose Kahless II to be his champion and free of Lore’s influence.
Lore War #1 takes place sometime after Lore has rebuilt reality with the begrudging assistance of his brother Data. Christopher Cantwell (writer of Star Trek: Defiant) and Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing (writers of Star Trek) have created a fascinating alternate reality setting. In this reality, Lore is considered a god and is worshiped throughout the galaxy. With Data’s help, Lore maintains complete control of every aspect of his creation. It is a lot of fun to see familiar characters acting in a different light. And even some long-dead characters are still active in this new reality. I don’t want to ruin any of these surprises for the reader and take away any of the joy of reading this issue. I’ll just say that every era of Star Trek is covered, including characters introduced in IDW’s Star Trek comic series. And I’ll also add that not every character is necessarily worse off in Lore’s universe – a fact that may lead to some of our favorite characters potentially siding with Lore.
Lore War #1 serves as a broad introduction to this new universe while at the same time continuing the story of Sisko and Kahless from Star Trek. We are also given hints of a massive conflict to come in future issues that, for now, Sisko and Kahless are unaware of, involving more familiar faces. Sisko and Kahless’ unexpected pairing is great, and this issue sees both characters face their past actions while still finding common ground and moving forward. Sisko’s journey is particularly poignant here, as longtime fans will fully appreciate the weight of his actions.
Davide Tinto is the artist on this series, and he perfectly captures each classic character. Thanks to this alternate universe story, Tinto provides several great alternative designs for classic Star Trek vessels. The series opens with a scene on Earth that, thanks to Tinto’s pencils, instantly conveys to the reader that something sinister has happened to this world. The Lore-dominated Earth is dreary and claustrophobic, perhaps a reflection of Lore’s hatred for humanity. Tinto also creates monumental architecture that was built to worship Lore and perfectly reflects his narcissism.
Lore War has the feel of a massive comic event: high stakes, seemingly insurmountable odds, and a giant cast of fan favorites. Cantwell, Kelly, and Lanzing have done an admirable job steering IDW’s Star Trek universe for more than two years, and this has the makings of their biggest story yet. It is a testament to the writers that this first issue is so new-reader friendly, something very few grand comic events can claim. All that’s needed is a love for Star Trek. It’s rare for a book to exceed my expectations like this one did. Lore War feels like the beginning of something special, and I can’t wait to see where it leads. A must-buy for any Trek fan.
Creative Team: Christopher Cantwell, Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing (Writers), Davide Tinto (Artist), Lee Loughridge (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)
Publisher: IDW Publishing
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