Category Archives: Comics

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!

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.

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.

New Poe Dameron comic coming in April!

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USA Today announced yesterday that a Poe Dameron ongoing, written by Charles Soule and art by Phil Noto, will begin in April. And there was much rejoicing at Tosche Station! It’s described as a Mission: Impossible style story, with Poe on his mission to find Lor San Tekka, and will feature BB-8 and some of the other X-wing pilots we saw in The Force Awakens. Since it’s an ongoing, can we expect to see the story go past the events of TFA?

(In case you were wondering, yes, this is the way to get Nanci interested in subscribing to an ongoing comics series.)

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: Chewbacca #5

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The solo adventures of everyone’s favorite wookiee wrap up this week with Chewbacca #5 by Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto.  The series conclusion does a lovely job of wrapping up the small scale story that Duggan and Noto have been telling for the last few weeks.

When last we saw Chewie and Zarro, they’d been captured and sent up to the Imperial Star Destroyer via the same ship upon which they’d hidden a bomb-filled droid!  It’s a tricky situation to say the least but, luckily, our heroes figure a way out of it.

One of the neatest things about this book is how well both Duggan and Noto have been able to portray Chewie’s point of view and what he’s trying to say despite only using the usual wookiee roars.  (Still not sure if those were incredibly fun or just a pain for letterer Joe Caramagna…)  It’s a huge part of what has made this fun little story work.  The other part, of course, was Zarro because who doesn’t love getting to see a kid run circles around the Imps and the local bad guys?

Chewbacca #5 was a great finale to what has been a fun series that’s worth your time and money when the trade comes out in a few months especially if you’re a big fan of Chewie.

Our 2015 Superlatives – Comics Edition

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It’s the end of 2015, which means it’s time for Best of Lists! Here at Tosche Station, we thought we’d break up our lists into categories, and post a different topic per day.

In this installment, we discuss our favorite comics of 2015.

Shoshana: There were a lot of comics I really enjoyed this year, many of which are aimed at younger audiences. As far as continuing traditionally published comics go, Lumberjanes continues to be one of the most fun and diverse adventure comics around and Ms. Marvel is still as great as ever. There were a lot of great new comics, too, with the magical girl series Zodiac Starforce really standing out with its fun writing and art and memorable characters. Other new comics I had a blast with this year include Squirrel Girl, a very fun and wonderfully silly comic following the exploits of a superhero who can talk to squirrels and who absolutely beat Doctor Doom in her first appearance, Jem and the Holograms, the comic reimagining of the 1980s cartoon, and Raven: Pirate Princess, a spin-off of the also wonderful comic Princeless that follows Raven, a lesbian pirate princess seeking to build a crew and reclaim the fleet that her brothers stole from her.

On the webcomics front, this year I discovered the joy of Band Vs Band, about the two very different lead singers of two very different bands, neither of whom seems to have quite figured out that they’re totally into each other, and the wonderful pain of Witchy, following a young witch who tries to hide her long hair in a magical kingdom where hair length equals magical power and too much power equals a potential threat to authorities.

Bria: I could talk about Ms. Marvel or Saga (which are both fantastic) but those are on everyone’s best of lists.  So instead, let me just put in some applause of Sam Humphries’ Planet Hulk which featured GLADIATOR CAPTAIN AMERICA RIDING A T-REX and also the newly started Doctor Strange by Jason Aaron.  I’m also mourning the loss of the fantastic Elektra which lasted only a dozen or so issues.  2015 was the year when I finally got to start reading Gillen and McKelvie’s Wicked + Divine and it blew me away.  Also on the indie front, Monstress and Invisible Republic rock my socks more than I could possibly say.