Star Wars #1 by Brian Wood was somewhat of a lackluster first issue in my book, but how does the second issue fare?
The review and spoilers loom under the cut!
Category Archives: Comics
Word on ‘Thor 2’: Marvel’s Phase 2 takes shape
Warning: the links in this post contain spoilers for the movie.
Now that we’ve all enjoyed The Avengers, it’s time for Phase Two of Marvel’s grand plan to take over the world comic book movie-verse, and Yahoo! weighed in this morning with news from the sequel to Thor. Rather than sticking with elite Shakespearean director Kenneth Branagh, who directed the first movie, Marvel has chosen to go with Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor.
Investigating the Yahoo post shows that this is old news, according to Collider’s official synopsis. Still, with an even more incredible cast than the previous incarnation and Taylor directing, Thor: The Dark World looks like it’s going to be an incredible movie.
Thor: The Dark World will be released November 8, 2013.
Review: Star Wars #1
The much-hyped and long awaited Star Wars #1 by Brian Wood is out today! Much has been said about this new comic and what it means to the characters and to fans, but how does it stack up?
Spoilers loom below, so read the summary and my take under the jump!
Will the Star Wars Comic Rights Be Reverting to Marvel?
One of the questions surrounding the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm and today’s rumor mill of the day has concerned the future of Star Wars comic books with Dark Horse. Many people have predicted that Star Wars will return back to Marvel (Disney’s in house comic company) and rumors today put that return date to be sometime in 2014. However, Randy Stradley, VP of Publishing for Dark Horse, commented on the Dark Horse messenger boards recently and said “don’t believe everything you read on the internet” indicating that the previous rumors are likely false.
There does, however, remain a decently strong chance that Marvel could reacquire the rights to publish Star Wars comics at some point within the next several years. I’m going to make it clear that this is all speculation on my part based upon rumors and the current state of comics. So what would that mean for the books themselves? First and foremost, the fate of the current or forthcoming books that Dark Horse is putting out could possibly be in limbo. Judging by the interview with CBR, both Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman seem to have at least a year’s worth of issues and story lines planned out if not more for the brand new Legacy comic. If Marvel does reacquire the Star Wars IP, will comics like Legacy or Agent of the Empire or the new Original Trilogy era comic continue under Marvel editors or would they be halted completely or halted and relaunched with completely new creative teams?
It would also bring the fate of the various creators into question. It is possible that some of these writers and artists could have exclusive contracts with Dark Horse therefore stopping them from making the change along with the Star Wars IP. If they don’t have exclusive contracts, it’s possible that some of these titles could simply seamless continue and just change editorial staffs. More likely than not though, you would probably see at least some creative team shifts but predicting those would be nigh impossible especially since it’s almost equally as impossible to predict what books sales might look like in 2014.
On the other side of things, some people have looked at Marvel’s current line up of writers and artists and become excited about the prospect of something like Bendis, Fraction, DeConnick, Remender, or Hickman writing a story set in the Star Wars universe. As far as artist goes, I know that I would personally love to see Skottie Young give some of the Star Wars comics and characters his baby treatment or Phil Noto or Jerome Opeña drawing a Star Wars book. Unfortunately, I honestly do not see that happening especially given the current book assignments and Marvel’s current tendency to double ship many of their more popular books. For those who don’t know what double ship means, it refers to a comic having two issues published each month instead of one. Obviously double shipping requires a very strict creative schedule and usually a fair bit of planning so each contributor can meet his or her deadline. Looking at the current and upcoming Marvel NOW schedule, it is very unlikely that most of the big name writers would have time to add another Marvel book to their schedules in addition to their own creator owned projects. That’s not saying it’s impossible (because let’s be honest: after the Episode VII announcement, nothing is impossible anymore) but it’s unlikely. This could potentially give some of the lesser known creators for Marvel a chance to shine or even some new talent to emerge.
On the other hand, there is also the chance that Marvel might not have any immediate interest in working on Star Wars comics in the immediate future especially given their current projects. Star Wars could possibly have a longer future with Dark Horse than most people anticipated. At the very least, given Stradley’s comment, it does not look likely that Dark Horse will lose their contract within the next few years.
At the end of the day, we really still don’t know anything for sure about whether or not Dark Horse will be losing the rights to Star Wars once their current contract is up. Once again though, we’d like to remind you that nothing is officially confirmed as being true until it is announced by StarWars.com.
New ‘Legacy’ Writers Discuss Ania Solo
Over at Comic Book Resources, new Legacy comic writers Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman stopped by to discuss the new series and all-new protagonist, Ania Solo:
The lead character of this adventure is the great-granddaughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa. Beyond that, what can you tell us about her?
Hardman: As far as her actual lineage goes and exactly how she’s related to Han and Leia is something that is a little bit of a mystery and we’re not going to be paying off anytime soon. A lot of the “Legacy” era has been about these larger-than-life Emperors and royalty — we’re taking this down to much more of a ground level. Ania Solo is somebody that is not a part of that world, and she doesn’t have a personal connection to it. She may have even turned her back on it.
Bechko: She’s living in a backwater, Outer Rim system. She runs a junkyard and she doesn’t have that many prospects, and that’s where we start things. Our story takes off there.
Hardman: That’s where the big change in her life is going to happen. She’s launched into an adventure that involves much bigger stakes than anything she’s been up against before.
Bechko: She’s certainly brash enough to recognize an opportunity when she finds it. It’s not necessarily bravery, but it’s maybe not something a wiser person might do.
Now is Ania a Jedi? She is from a pretty powerful lineage so it makes sense that she’d be carrying on that important legacy in some …
Hardman: She finds a lightsaber.
Awesome. Does she know how to use it?
Bechko: No, absolutely not. [Laughs]
Hardman: We’re so far out in the middle of nowhere that they’re not even entirely sure what it is when they find it. She’s not overly Force-sensitive. She’s a character that relies on her wits, and when she finds this lightsaber, it really just gets her into trouble and draws some seriously unwanted attention that launches her into this story.
Okay. I love this. This is the sort of character I’ve been lobbying to take the lead of an Expanded Universe plot for ages and for the first time, I’m legitimately interested in picking up a Legacy comic.
Further Adventures into Independent Comics
Last week, Bria put up a post regarding independent comic books. For those of us who are tired of the gimmicks and the ploys that the major publishers use to draw in readers but who still want that classic superhero feel, we still have options. Bria hit on some of them already, like the perennial favorite, Watchmen. I’m going to hit on some of the others that I consider to be my personal favorites.
Gail Simone leaves Batgirl; Comics Weep
I don’t read a lot of comics. I never really have, but when a friend started me reading comics, she reached into her long box, pulled out a long run of Gail Simone’s Birds of Prey and said, “Here, read this. It’s awesome.”
I now have a long box full of Birds of Prey. But only as written by Gail Simone. When she left Birds of Prey, I read a few issues, then was so disgusted with the way the story was going, I gave up. That was okay, though. Because then she started writing Wonder Woman. And all of a sudden, Wonder Woman was interesting! She was more than the pontificating diplomat. I didn’t buy a lot of Wonder Woman because I’d hit that graduate school stage of broke, but I got copies however I could. And then she was back on Birds of Prey and all was right with my world. Yes, I read other Batfamily comics, but that was only to get the context of the rest of universe in which Birds of Prey existed.
Oh, wait. Then DC rebooted. And we were losing Oracle, who I loved, and who Simone wrote so incredibly well. We had a character who was disabled and who still kicked butt, and we were losing that little bit of diversity. But Simone was going to write Batgirl, so that soothed the soul a bit.
Until today, when we discovered that DC fired her from Batgirl, leaving their most well-known female writer out in the cold.
I don’t know what to make of this. The Wired article I linked above points out that DC’s had plenty of problems with gender issues of late. What I am, however, is incredibly disappointed, because the woman who got me–and a lot of other girls–into DC comics–and who kept me interested in them over the last ten years–is no longer associated with them, and I see no good reason for it.
I don’t have a lot of analysis for this, partly because I don’t have a lot of insight into DC’s internal workings right now. But this decision hit me right in the feels, and I can’t imagine I’m the only one. Gail, have you thought about writing Star Wars comics?
So You Want To Get Into Comic Books
So you want to get into comics… but you don’t want to read about the superheroes of the big two companies. That’s okay because comics can be about so much more than just superheroes! In fact, there are even more comic book publishers than just Marvel and DC such as Dark Horse, Image, Top Cow, and countless other independent publishers. The following recommendations are mostly the products of a DC Comics offshoot publisher called Vertigo and represent a range of genres. They are not, however, the only books in the game. I also avoided recommending any tie-in comic books but if you are a fan of something like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Star Wars, you could always begin with picking up those comic books as a way to see if you like the medium. Although I’ve only included a few, I’ll also suggest that if you enjoyed a film or a TV show that was based upon a comic book that you pick up the first volume of that comic and give it a try.
Long story short, comics are great and are about so much more than just the Marvel and DC Superheroes. There really is a book out there for everyone! With that said, I’ll just get on with some of my own recommendations.
Watchmen
[Amazon – Comixology]
This is a very predictable way to start the list but Watchmen isn’t one of the best selling comics of all time for nothing. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons did some amazing work when they created this book. It’s a sort of alternate history where Nixon never resigned and costumed vigilantes began popping up in the 1940s and 1960s. The story opens with the investigation into the death of one of those costumer heroes, the Comedian. Rorschach, a former teammate, figures out that someone is trying to kill their entire team and takes it upon himself to warn them and the tale progresses from there. Not only is the book a critique of the concept of superheroes but it also presents readers with a few ethical dilemmas and you have to ask yourself if the villain is really a villain or perhaps actually the hero of the piece. It’s certainly a darker comic than some of the others in this article but oh man is it worth it.
In all honesty, Watchmen is probably one of those comics that you will have to read at some point during your comic reading career because it is just that iconic. I’ll even go so far to say that this book is essential reading even for people who aren’t into comics. And then you get to walk around for a week afterwards asking yourself, “Who Watches the Watchmen?”.
So You Want To Get Into Marvel Comics
So you want to get into Marvel Comics but don’t know where to start. Well kids, pull up a chair and listen to your Auntie Bria because there are absolutely some good places to begin reading comic books and you won’t even have to go all the way back to the 1960s!* Will you likely want to jump on Wikipedia and do some research about some aspects of the history of these books or characters? Probably. It’s impossible to jump into a medium with such a long history as comic books without there being at least some sort of background you’d like to know more about. However, I think that each of these suggested titles can be picked up and read with minimal confusion. Each of these suggestions also takes place in the main Marvel Universe which is also referred to as the 616 verse. I also tried to refrain from any company wide arcs for reading ease.** With that, enjoy these suggestions and feel free to ask any clarification questions you might have in the comments.
Astonishing X-men
[Amazon – Comixology]
I have fondly referred to this book as my gateway drug to Marvel Comics. Not only have I used this book to get tons of my friends into comics but I consider it to be one of my favorite runs of all time. Written by Joss Whedon and with art by John Cassaday, Astonishing X-men takes the X-men back from the black leather street looks (thanks for that, X-men films) and back to their spandex superhero roots. Mutants have always been treated with at least some fear and distrust by the public and the X-men want to fix this.
Whedon brings together Cyclops/Scott Summers, Emma Frost, Wolverine, Beast/Hank McCoy, and Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde, a group of characters who certain have issues with each other but work together as a team because they have to astonish the world. It’s a story that not only can stand on its own but also one which will introduce you to the characters in a way that will leave you wanting to know more about them. Although Whedon’s run concluded back in 2007, it’s certainly a book worth reading if you’re interested in the modern X-men. Plus, as an added bonus, Whedon introduces us to some awesome new characters, namely Hisako Ichiki/Armor and Abigail Brand. If you have any interest in the X-men at all, this is the book to start with.
Cover for Star Wars Issue 2 features X-Wings and Leia
I meant to post this a few days ago, but with the whole Episode VII-becoming-reality-thing, it got lost in the drafts. In any case, artist Alex Ross has released the cover for issue two of the new Star Wars comic:
We’ve got some X-Wings, the Falcon, Slave I, Luke, Wedge, and Leia. Well this should be fun!