Review - Star Trek Green Lantern: Stranger Worlds Volume 2 #1 (@IDWPublishing @DCComics)

The crew of the Enterprise has seen their fair share of diverse alien races, colossal space battles and everything in between. Despite all that, encountering members of the Lantern Corps still brings with it a little bit of surprise. IDW Publishing and DC Comics teamed up again in Star Trek Green Lantern: Stranger Worlds Volume 2 #1 to explore that mystery further. The issue is written by Mike Johnson, illustrated by Angel Hernandez, colored by Alejandro Sanchez and lettered by Andworld Design.

Captain Kirk and Hal Jordan lead the combined might of Starfleet and the Lantern Corps on an all-new adventure against new foes from both franchises! Don't miss the crossover event of the 21st Century...and the 23rd!

Johnson writes most of the issue with new readers in mind, seeking to elucidate the events that got Star Fleet and the Lantern Corps in the same reality. His approach in the issue is one that does more in the way of getting the events set up for the series to progress. In fact, much of Johnson's dialogue seems to eschew character development for plot development, assuming the reader already knows about the characters. It's not necessarily a bad thing per se, but it does lend a somewhat erratic pace to the issue where Johnson doesn't really find a natural ebb and flow to the story. Sinestro's role is interesting (and a natural leap) though and provides Johnson with a foil very much in line with other Star Trek villains.

The art style by Hernandez does a solid job of blending the two worlds together. The Lanterns are illustrated with a superhero flair that DC Comics has built their legacy on while Hernandez presents the Star Fleet crew with a nod to their most recent film counterparts. Hernandez also fills in plenty of wide, sweeping shots of space that frames the characters interacting with both one another and the surrounding planets/stars. There are some instances where the characters come across as a little too over the top--for instance, Sinestro especially looks like a caricature resulting from Hernandez trying to blend two styles together. And for a book featuring colored Lanterns and the Star Fleet shirt coloring system, the colors by Sanchez are a little drab and reflective more of space itself than the diversity of the characters featured.

Star Trek Green Lantern: Stranger Worlds Volume 2 #1 is a follow-up to last year's crossover and seems to be picking up right where it left off. Sinestro has found a new culture to subjugate and bend to his will, while the various other Lanterns are teaming up with Star Fleet to figure out what's going on. Johnson knows the story he wants to tell and sometimes glosses over detail with the idea that the reader has a good idea of what's going on. The artwork by Hernandez is pretty solid and mixes the two properties together well, although there are some issues with an appearance that's a little too cartoonish. Star Trek Green Lantern: Stranger Worlds Volume 2 #1 is a fun crossover though and will definitely lend itself to enjoyment by fans of both series.

Star Trek Green Lantern: Stranger Worlds Volume 2 #1 is available now.