Author Archives: Bria

Review: Darth Vader #24

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Darth Vader #24 goes by fast. And I mean really fast.

Look, there’s nothing that you can’t see coming in this issue. Or at least the general ideas of it. No wait, I take that back. The last page made me go “Oh snaaaaaaaaaaap” and then made me cranky that I don’t have Issue #25 in my hands right now. If you think I’m going to spoil that ending for you here though… boy oh boy are you looking at the wrong review.

One of the best things about Kieron Gillen’s work on this book has been how he hasn’t shied away from the Prequels. It’s news to no one that the Prequels are controversial and there is a subset of fans who enjoy yelling about how bad they are and how they should be ignored. Delightfully, Gillen does the opposite and godamn it could not be clearer that Darth Vader definitely used to be Anakin Skywalker and still is at his core. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t still be haunted by the memories of Obi-Wan and Padmé. Despite those internal struggles, Darth Vader is still a force to be reckoned with. Cylo may have activated the kill switch in the suit but it is a gesture that is insignificant against the power of the Force.

There’s not much more to say here. Again, it’s a good issue that is a very fast read. Salvador Larroca does some neat stuff with a page full of lightsaber dueling but beside that… everything’s leading up to the final issue. Everything. How can we possibly wait patiently for that last issue when we know SO MUCH IS GOING TO GO DOWN?

Darth Vader #24: Kieron Gillen/Writer, Salvador Larroca/Artist, Edgar Delgado/Colorist, Joe Caramagna/Letterer, Jordan White/Editor, Heather Antos/Assistant Editor

Review: Darth Vader #23

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Do you know what I love about this Darth Vader book? Kieron Gillen never fails to surprise me. He doesn’t surprise me with how Vader always survives no matter what anyone throws at him. Obviously that’s a given. No, how Gillen surprises me is with what he throws at Vader and that’s truly the joy of this book. (Okay, it’s the second biggest joy of the book. Obviously Aphra and the Murder Bots are the biggest joy.) What’s that saying? It’s not about the destination but rather the journey? It’s perhaps the most apt way I can think of to describe this current Darth Vader arc. We as readers know that Cylo’s attempts to stop Vader are going to fail no matter how many arrogant idiots he throws at him but the payoff… oh man the payoff.

If the ending of this issue doesn’t get people talking, I don’t know what will.

One of the things I’ll definitely miss about this book is when Gillen figuratively steps back and lets Larroca have at it for an entire page or, even better, a full spread. I could stare at the ships and beautifully colored space background pages for ages. Bonus points if the aforementioned page also includes Vader because daaaaaaang.

Aphra Watch 2016: Got to breath easy for one (1) issue

Do you really need to ask if this book gets a strong recommendation from me?

Darth Vader #23: Kieron Gillen/Writer, Salvador Larroca/Artist, Edgar Delgado/Colorist, Joe Caramagna/Letterer, Jordan White/Editor, Heather Antos/Assistant Editor

Review: Star Wars #21

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The main Star Wars book never shines more than when Jason Aaron just goes for it and that’s exactly what he does here with the kick off of the much awaited stormtrooper arc.  Making his return is Sergeant Kreel from Luke’s misadventure on Nar Shaddaa except now he’s in command of Scar Squad, a group of very deadly Special Commando Advanced Recon stormtroopers.  (Bless comic books and their acronyms.)

If you enjoyed the Republic Commando books from Legends, you’ll almost definitely like this issue.  They may not be a bunch of Mandalorian raised clones but they are a fairly tight-knit band of extremely deadly men (and possibly women.)  The Rebels never stood a chance.  Aaron continues the work laid by other Star Wars creators and gives a more human face to the Empire.  Between this issue and books like Lost Stars, it’s not hard to understand why someone would be such a fervent believer in the Empire.  It’s stability, it’s an opportunity.  The Rebel Alliance is either a bunch of freedom fighters or a terrorist organization… all depending on your point of view.

Jorge Molina gets to have some fun on the art front and draw a bunch of different stormtrooper variations.  Visually, it’s a neat shorthand to show how elite Scar Squad is– not everyone gets to have their own unique kits.  The Molina/Milla team works very nicely for this book and fits right in with the other artists they’ve had on the different arcs so far.  And shout out to David Aja for the rad cover!  I’ve missed his work on Hawkeye so this is a nice little gem.

Been holding off on diving into the Star Wars comics?  Star Wars #21 is the perfect issue to jump in with!

Star Wars #21: Jason Aaron/Writer, Jorge Molina/Artist, Matt Milla/Colorist, Chris Eliopoulos/Letterer, Jordan White/Editor, Heather Antos/Assistant Editor

Review: Aftermath: Life Debt

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Life DebtLook. I enjoyed the first Aftermath book well enough and it held up favorably during a second reading but Life Debt blows it out of the water. Maybe it’s the broader scope of the story, maybe it’s the inclusion of more familiar characters, maybe it’s the story itself. I don’t know. Point is: Life Debt is one hell of a fun read. Continue reading →

Go/No-Go: Life Debt

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nasa-mission-control-3Welcome back to Go/No-Go, Tosche Station’s regular feature where we offer our spoiler-free opinion as to whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on a book, film, or other entertainment. Today on the launch pad: Star Wars: Life Debt.  The second in our first post-Return of the Jedi trilogy, it’s a book that’s certain to get a lot of chatter over the next few months.  We here at Tosche Station all rather enjoyed Chuck Wendig’s first Aftermath book but how do we feel about the second?  To mission control for the verdict!

Continue reading →

Broaden Your Diversity Horizons

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Insisting that only women/creators of color should write women/characters of color is part of the problem.

It’s an inevitable protestation brought up every time a comic company announces a new comic about a character that’s not a white guy. Most recently, the internet is all aflutter because Brian Bendis (who happens to be white) is writing Riri Williams, the black teenage girl who’s going to be the new Iron Man. Some parts of the internet want to see a WOC on the book instead. While I can most certainly appreciate the sentiment behind the movement, I find it to be a little more harmful than helpful for two very big reasons.

First, it sends the message that only women should write women or POCs should write POCs. For some books, having creators who have had the same life experiences as the characters is absolutely invaluable. Very few people would disagree that the life experiences of Sana Amanat and G. Willow Wilson do not play a fundamental role in creating Kamala Khan. Ta-Nehisi Coates also brings a unique point of view to his Black Panther book. So yes, there are absolutely some books that require a creative team with that intimate knowledge and strongly benefit from it. Every book doesn’t. In a way, it’s almost insulting to those everyone involved. Writers are supposed to have imaginations. If they only wrote about things they specifically experienced, fiction would be terribly boring.

Second, I truly believe that it actively discourages white male writers from creating characters of color. Bendis and artist Stefano Caselli get credit for creating Riri and hey, this is hardly the first time Bendis has created a young black character to take over the mantel of a white guy… Miles Morales anyone? Objectively speaking, why would someone want to create a diverse character when they know they’re just going to be faced with backlash for wanting to write a character they’ve made? I’m not saying we need to give white guys a gold star for making diverse characters but maybe a little credit or a nod of appreciation wouldn’t hurt.

The solution isn’t to stop asking for more women and minorities to get jobs creating comics (and everything else) we love so much. Instead, the solution is to ask for it more broadly and praise it when it happens. We should celebrate the work of Marjorie Liu on Han Solo and Becky Cloonan on Punisher a hell of a lot more than we do. To me, assignments like those are more groundbreaking than if Liu had been asked to write a Rey book or Cloonan a Wasp book (although I would not object to either of those.) Start bringing up the names of female and POC creators on your wish lists for books like Batman and Wolverine and not just Wonder Woman and Spider-Woman. And yes. I hope that in fifteen years, there’s going to be a young black woman writing the adventures of Riri because the character inspired her as a kid.

But (and this is a big but) let’s not pigeonhole or discourage writers from writing diverse experiences. We should absolutely continue to make our voices be heard in asking for more diversity amongst both the characters and creators. Change happens because people speak up and show that there is a demand for a certain type of story or character. Hold companies accountable but do so broadly and not just in a narrow lane.

Review: Poe Dameron #4

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The egg is hatched and now Black Squadron is in prison.  Yep, that about sums it up.

It’s really neat how Marvel is tying not just their same-era books together but also their Original and Sequel Trilogy era books.  First seen back in the main Star Wars book, Grakkus the Hutt makes his return in a storyline that feels very organic while also being a wink to those of us who read all the books.

There’s a lot that goes on in this issue–so much that it feels like it was double sized.  The prison arc gets set up and started and I’m enjoying it for so many reasons so far but what really struck me were the squadron focused bits.  One of the appeals of the Poe Dameron book was how we’d get to know the pilots from The Force Awakens a little better.  Pilots are fan favorites not just because they’re flashy flyboys and flygirls but because of how creators flesh them out further in the expanded universe.  Jess, Snap, and Karé are already starting to feel more real even though we’ve only seen them in a few issues.  Heck, I’m already on board with Snap/Karé as a ship!  Marvel really couldn’t have picked a better group of characters to focus on in this era.

On the art front… yeah look: you already know how I feel about Phil Noto’s work.  I don’t need to repeat myself: he’s fantastic.  But ohhhh baby.  That cover for next issue.  *fans self*  Poe, I’m gonna need you to keep that smolder under control.

Poe Dameron #4: Charles Soule/Writer, Phil Noto/Artist, Joe Caramagna/Letterer, Jordan White/Editor, Heather Antos/Assistant Editor

Review: Han Solo #2

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Come on: you didn’t really think that this secret Rebel Alliance mission was just going to involve a high stakes space race, did you? Of course, the Dragon Void race is no mere race. Anakin Skywalker may have won the Boonta but I think even he would have a little trouble here. Marjorie Liu is most certainly committed to making sure that we get more than just the cocky smuggler side of Han Solo; something that more than a few writers have forgotten to do. And sure: Han is definitely cocky and brash but he’s also a pretty smart guy as evidenced by how he figured out the trick to the race’s opening—something that only one other pilot realized.

Something I’m definitely enjoying about this comic is how it’s helping broaden the universe.  Now we’re getting to see folks who don’t quite fall into the Underworld categorization but they’re still from the less civilized part of the galaxy and they’re really excited about this race.  The spectators have such a great ‘normal citizen’ feel and just like so many normal citizens in our world, they want to get autographs!  In the grand scheme of the story, it’s not a very big thing but it’s something that really stuck out to me nonetheless.

Mark Brooks (with some help from Sonia Obark’s colors) continues to be a delight on art. The highlights from this issue would definitely be the costume design for a female Falleen and the more humorous Chewbacca facial expressions.  Chewie can be a tough cookie to crack when it comes to artist renditions but I’m definitely enjoying Brooks’ take.

Han Solo continues to be a really fun book and I can’t wait to see where the Imperial entanglements take us in Issue #3.

Han Solo #2: Marjorie Liu/Writer, Mark Brooks/Artist, Sonia Oback/Colors, Joe Caramagna/Letterer, Jordan White/Editor, Heather Antos/Assistant Editor

Review: Darth Vader #22

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Aphra Watch 2016: Still not dead. Also still smarter than you.

Darth Vader #22 picks up right where Issue #21 left off: with Vader facing off against a cyberanimate rancor. Oh and it all happens on a whale-ship. Honestly, that tells you everything you should need to know about this book because Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca make some crazy magic happen. Science is nothing compared to the power of the Force and the force that is Darth Vader.

Cylo, on the other hand, is proving more resourceful and perhaps a little bit smarter than I’d given him credit for. He’s making very strong forward moves in the ‘take down Emperor and Vader’ direction even if we all know it won’t end well. It’s just a matter of how many other people he can take with him.

In a continuing ode to Doctor Aphra… we may not get very much of her in this issue but what we do get reinforces that she’s still alive (despite working for Vader) because of how damn smart she is and how fast she can think on her feet. Whether it pans out remains to be seen but it’s incredibly awesome to see such a capable woman not just wait around to be rescued… she does something about it.

As a part of the aptly named End of Games arc, Darth Vader #22 continues to raise the stakes and will keep readers on the edge of their seat as we march towards the end of this exciting book.

Darth Vader #22: Kieron Gillen/Writer, Salvador Larroca/Artist, Edgar Delgado/Colorist, Joe Caramagna/Letterer, Jordan White/Editor, Heather Antos/Assistant Editor

Review: Han Solo #1

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han solo coverA lot of people are kvetching over Han Solo getting a limited series comic book because OH NO he’s already getting an origin film. Those people should hush for a moment and read a very fun issue of Star Wars comics called Han Solo #1.

As our first female writer for this new batch of Star Wars comics, expectations were (unfairly) going to be high for Marjorie Liu but she rises to the challenge and delivers the set up for an all around fun story. More than any of the other books so far, this feels like a Star Wars book. A lot of that has to do with the fantastic artwork by Mark Brooks with an abundance of alien life forms in the background of every cantina scene. Every limited series has had its own unique vibe and I am digging this one so far.

This is a Han Solo who’s not quite feeling himself. He’s being overly careful when it comes to smuggling and he takes a dangerous mission when a Princess asks. We’re used to seeing this cocky and confident captain so it’s refreshing to see one who second-guesses himself even a little bit. What makes this book such a joy though is that it’s still distinctly Han Solo. Harrison Ford’s voice popped into my head at more than a few lines. Liu also has a good handle on Leia. One of the more delightful scenes involves Leia and Cracken arguing like Han’s not even in the room and it all just feels right.

On the art front, it’s nice to see another female colorist join the Star Wars family and it’s equally nice to see some Mark Brooks interiors especially after so many of his great covers on the Kanan book. He can convey a lot about the characters with just a few panels an facial expressions and his work really helps bring the book together.

I think it’s saying something that my biggest gripe with this book is that Airen Cracken has graying brown hair instead of graying red hair. Do you really need me to tell you that this was a great start to another series and to go pick the book up?

Han Solo #1: Marjorie Liu/Writer, Mark Brooks/Artist, Sonia Oback/Colors, Joe Caramagna/Letterer, Jordan White/Editor, Heather Antos/Assistant Editor