Author Archives: Bria

Review: Darth Vader #16

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Have we all recovered from Vader Down yet? No? It’s okay, me neither. This week, Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca take us on a brand new adventure to the planet Shu-Torun where the ore barons are rebelling and being very inconvenient for the Empire. Who else would the Emperor dispatch to deal with the situation but Darth Vader?

While it’s probably not completely mandatory, I strongly suggest picking up and reading the Darth Vader Annual before delving into this arc as it provides all of the backstory. The dynamics between Vader and Queen Trios are what really make this issue stand out to me. In a way, it’s like a mirror to the dynamic between Vader and Palpatine in that you have an individual who is used to having power and to having their orders obeyed who is then faced with a stronger individual that they must defer to. I’m curious to see how far it’s taken and how far Trios and Vader can push each other before one of them snaps.

The shift from Skywalkers to royalty is certainly a welcome one at this point in the series. It’s a nice change of pace in the book’s second year before that storyline became stale. Plus, Shu-Torun also gives the creative team a chance to expand the universe and create another monarchy for a particular brand of Star Wars nerd to geek out of.

Of course, this review wouldn’t be complete without expressing A LOT OF CONCERN IN REGARDS TO THE SAFETY AND WELL BEING OF DOCTOR APHRA. (I’ve got my eye on you, Gillen. I’ve read too many of your comics to think she’s safe!)

Oh and also? The cover of this issue by Mark Brooks along with the one teased at the end of the issue is drop death gorgeous.

Darth Vader #16 is a worthwhile follow up to Vader Down and I’m excited to see where the story goes!

Millicent the Cat Has a Secret

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Millicent the Cat

Despite dozens of people saying otherwise, the theory that Snoke is actually Darth Plagueis continues to live on even though so many of us wish it would just die. Fear not! I come before you with a new theory… one far younger and more powerful. Per interviews with Andy Serkis, we know that Snoke is actually a brand new character for the Sequel Trilogy. Thus far, most of the Snoke Theories have ignored this.

Star Wars fans were recently alerted to the existence of a new character this weekend… Millicent the Cat. Millicent is a bit of an oddity. Not only does she belong to General Hux but she also has a litter box in Kylo Ren’s torture room. This is no mere kitty. She is Millicent, Daughter of… some other cat. You owe her your allegiance. Therefore, I feel that it is my obligation and my sworn duty to present to you a theory backed by what I consider to be irrefutable evidence: Snoke is actually Millicent the Cat.

Fact: No one has ever seen Millicent and Snoke in the same room.
This is indisputable. Throughout the entire film, Snoke and Millicent the Cat never appear in frame together. Now, of course, one might argue that Millicent never appears in The Force Awakens period but that certainly does not take away from the fact that you never see them together. There’s definitely a reason why.

Fact: We’ve only see Snoke as a hologram.
Millicent is one smart kitty. She knew that she’d never have a chance for galactic domination as herself so she found another plan of action. The giant Snoke hologram on a throne is merely a digital projection created entirely by computers that Millicent is clearly controlling. (Pay no attention to the cat behind the curtain.)

Fact: Cats are assholes. Just like Snoke.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a cat, when given the opportunity, must be in want of being an asshole. What could be more asshole-ish than corrupting a kid to the dark side and encouraging him to kill his father?

Fact: Kylo Ren puts his helmet in Millicent’s litterbox.
Do you think the Master of the Knights of Ren would put his helmet just anywhere? Of course not. Obviously Millicent is no mere cat and Kylo should feel lucky to temporarily place his helmet where Millicent’s *ahem* business also goes. And honestly, do you think that any mere cat, even one owned by General Hux, would have a litterbox in such an important place?  (Although I suppose there’s room for an argument that this is just another way for Millicent-Snoke to exert her dominance over Kylo.)

Fact: Neither Hux nor Kylo appear to have any cat hair on them.
As anyone who owns a pet or has spent any time around hairy mammals can tell you, this is impossible. I don’t care how many lint rollers you have or how religiously you use one, some hair will always escape your efforts. Millicent must have supernatural powers if she’s able to keep her two humans and their very dark clothing from perpetually having orange hair on it.

Fact: Snoke intends to complete Kylo Ren’s training.
This entire line is a bit of misdirection on Millicent’s part. She orders Hux to go collect Ren from the blood and snow heap because she wants her humans in one piece but she also tells them to come to her. She doesn’t want to let them on the secret just yet so this is her keeping up the charade. The hologram can still be used wherever Hux and Ren have to go. She’s clearly very serious about training Ren though. His temper tantrums keep destroying computer consoles and do you know what warm and lovely spots those are for sleeping? Especially in freezing cold space? He must be trained to stop such destruction. Plus, every credit redirected towards repairs is another credit that won’t be buying her treats or catnip which is just rude.

Fact: Supreme Leader is exactly the smug sort of title a cat would come up with.
“Emperor” is just so three decades ago. Also, Supreme Leader is gender neutral and Millicent is all about gender equality. Species equality will be at the top of her list once she achieves galactic domination.

You may laugh but prepare yourself to be astounded and amazed when this theory is revealed as fact in Episode VIII or Episode IX. Or perhaps Pablo’s Twitter. The ramifications of something like this may be too dangerous and blow theatregoers’ minds if seen on the big screen. Just wait.

Hail Supreme Leader Millicent!

Art by coattailsofdoom on tumblr. That is the face of a cat with an evil plan and a mission.

Review: Obi-Wan and Anakin #2

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Do you know what would have been a better title for this lovely comic by Charles Soule and Marco Checchetto? “Obi-Wan and Anakin and HOLY CRAP PALPATINE NO!”

After crash-landing on Carnelion IV, Obi-Wan and Anakin find themselves pulled into the middle of an intense battle between the Open and the Closed. It’s not long before it becomes clear that there’s more going on here than either group is letting on. In the past, young Anakin pays a visit to Chancellor Palpatine.

I wish that I could focus my musings on this issue to be more about the Carnelion IV parts but everything Soule is doing with Palpatine is incredible and he’s not even doing that much. Palpatine’s page time in this book is short but a combination of Soule’s writing and Checchetto’s art packs a hell of a punch. There’s a page that got an honest-to-goodness audible reaction from me and that doesn’t happen every week with comic books.  If Soule wasn’t already lined up to write Poe Dameron after this, I’d be clamoring for a Palpatine book from him.

That’s not to say that the main story isn’t good. I’m curious to see both where it goes and who exactly sent the distress call. There’s also clearly a ton of history between the two people that could likely make for a fascinating tale all on its own. It’s also fun getting to see Master and Padwan work together but also have their moments to shine.

The best compliment that I can pay this comic so far is that it’s not quite what I expected but it’s definitely something that has me impatiently waiting for more every time I finish an issue and if that’s not a solid recommendation from me, I don’t know what is.

Rebels Review: A Princess on Lothal

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rebels logoHere comes the General! No wait, that’s not quite right… here comes the Senatorial Aide-Princess of Alderaan! This week, Rebels finally brought in the one character I’ve been hoping for since the show was first announced? How’d they do? Not too shabby.

The Rebels and the people of Lothal need help and Bail Organa is hardly one to turn a blind eye so he sends his daughter to the planet with three ships. One problem: the Ghost’s crew has to make it look like they’re stealing the ships so no one can suggest that Alderaan is aiding the Rebels. They’re going to have to come up with a really good plan to pull this heist off even with a Princess on the inside.

It’s impossible to discuss the episode and not talk about Leia first. I love that we got to see her in the show and that it didn’t feel forced. Like many have said, she’s the easiest film character to fit into this storyline without making it feel like a stunt casting. However, I was left wanting far more from her by the end. This is the story I want to hear more about because this is a 15-year-old girl who routinely leads these sorts of missions and faces down Imperial officers like it’s nothing. That said, I wish this had been a higher profile mission and not something that felt like a tool for convincing the Governor to come out of his exile and join the Rebellion. It also seemed a little odd that not a single one of the crew reacted to her title. Obviously I want the core crew of the Ghost to stay the stars of the show but I think we could’ve seen more of her interact with the crew in a bigger story and it’s too bad this is the only time we get to see her this season.

The episode did give us a lot of fun chances to compare and contrast Leia and Ezra. They’re the same age and yet their maturity levels couldn’t be more different. They may both be talented with the Force but they approach problems very different ways. There was an especially nice moment with them where he asks why she helps the Rebellion and her answer is a textbook perfect example of using privilege to the advantage of others.

I do have to note that this episode did two things very well. First is the score. Kevin Kiner always does a good job but he especially knocked it out of the park during the final battle scenes. Second is that this was an episode which really showed the crew as a team. While Ezra and Kanan still got a bit more screen times, the entire crew had to contribute in a meaningful way to their victory. It’s something that the second season has been sorely lacking in many episodes this season and I hope we continue to see more of it.

A Princess on Lothal was a fun an enjoyable episode but ultimately one that could have been a far better showcase for Princess Leia Organa.

Review: Star Wars #15

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It’s never easy to follow up an amazing crossover event and so Star Wars wisely chose to include another entry from Obi-Wan’s journal before moving onwards. It’s something I was hoping Marvel would do and I definitely hope that they continue to do so. However, I’m a little conflicted by Star Wars #15 by Jason Aaron and Mike Mayhew.

I enjoyed the issue but something about it just didn’t quite click like the previous one did. Let’s start with the good things. The issue lets readers get to see what Luke was like as a child and how Obi-Wan continued to watch over him from afar. Getting to see a relatively young Luke with his enthusiasm for flying and already strong desire to get off that desert rock is neat as heck and not just because of the easy Anakin comparisons. It’s also cool to see Owen and Kenobi actually interact even if the depth of Owen’s anger seems rather extreme when compared to his personality in Attack of the Clones and A New Hope. That said, it’s not something bad. People can change a lot over the course of two decades and it would be interesting to see the evolution of Owen Lars.

What didn’t quite work for me was the artwork. I like Mayhew’s work well enough and really dug what he did with Dark Horse’s The Star Wars but it felt too clean and too pretty for this sort of story. The previous Kenobi story had art that felt rougher and more appropriate for a backwater planet like Tatooine. Story-wise, this also didn’t have quite the one-shot umfph that the other did as it feels too open ended. It would’ve been better as a part of an arc.

End of the day? More Obi-Wan is always a good thing.

Review: Star Wars #14

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The enemy of my enemy is my friend… or just not my enemy right now and maybe we’ll work together for a few minutes and try not to die? You know, I’m not entirely sure who the Rebels can rely on this issue except themselves because there are now a lot of interested, violent parties involved. Out today is Star Wars #14, the last contribution to Vader Down by Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato. This issue, more than the previous ones, is about the match ups: Chewbacca versus Krrsantan, Vader versus Commander Karbin, Luke versus a lot of stormtroopers.

The sentiment that the current Star Wars wants to brush the Prequels under the rug has been circulating through fandom lately and the current state of the comics couldn’t prove that feeling more wrong. Commander Karbin versus Darth Vader is the next generation version of General Grievous versus Obi-Wan Kenobi. It’s a What If? situation that not only makes perfect sense but gives us a little more insight into Palpatine. It shows that he’s willing to try a similar approach again and see if the results differ. Perhaps he’s the real mad scientist.

This is also the issue that made me realize that although Leia hasn’t had the biggest role in this crossover, this is certainly as much her story as it is anyone’s. Han may have the more flashy part and Vader may be in search of Luke but more than anything, this has felt like a faceoff between Vader and Leia and I can’t wait to see how this concludes.

Star Wars #14 is yet another strong part of the Vader Down story and gets a solid recommendation from me. Why aren’t you reading this yet?

Review: Obi-Wan and Anakin #1

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Hallelujah we’re getting back into the Prequel Era! And not only that: it’s a largely unexplored area of the Prequels. Set several years after The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan and Anakin #1 by Charles Soule and Marco Checchetto takes a closer look at the master/padawan team during a time when Anakin’s struggling to fit in to the Jedi Order and Obi-Wan’s struggling to do right by his young padawan.

There are some spoilers in this review.

Continue reading →

Review: Passenger

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You know how sometimes you’ll pick up a book you only know a tiny bit about but expect to be enjoyable? And then you start reading the book and realize that it’s so much more than you expected and that you’re having too much fun to put the book down? That’s how Passenger by Alexandra Bracken was for me. I’m always down for a fun, time travel story back to Colonial times (blame it on Felicity being my favorite American Girl growing up) but this gave us time travel through a lot of time periods and a pair of throughly enjoyable protagonists.

But let us backtrack for a moment. Passenger is about a violin prodigy named Etta Spencer who gets thrown not only backwards in time but also into a family conflict that spans thousands of years. Whether she likes it or not, she’s now on the hunt across the ages for a very powerful object with only days to find it and her only help is from a man named Nicholas Carter who may or may not be on her side.

Etta’s realistic attitude towards being trust into this mess is refreshing. She’s not immediately an expert at whatever time she finds herself in and her initial reaction to finding herself on a ship in Colonial times immediately after experiencing a tragedy is refreshingly honest. Her friendship with Nicholas evolves naturally as does their romance. (Speaking of which, there are no love triangles here!) Nicholas is another well-rounded character.  He too feels out of place but for reasons that are most definitely framed within his time period. Bracken doesn’t brush all the prejudices against Nicholas under the rug but rather uses them to influence what sort of person he is.

Another thing that makes this book so fun is that I never knew where (or when) Etta and Nicholas might find themselves next. The story isn’t restricted to just the Western World and actually peaked my interest in these other areas of history.

Fair warning! Passenger ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and, if you get as caught up in the story as I did, you’ll likely lament that Wayfarer isn’t in your hands yet. And if that’s not a sign of a good book, I don’t know what is.