Category Archives: Reviews

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.

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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.

Review: The Force Awakens Novelization

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star-wars-force-awakens-official-posterA novelization can be a tricky thing. After all, it’s not creating its own story but adapting someone else’s (which is a whole ’nother battle than coming up with a plot.) The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster not only has to face that complicated task but also gets to follow in the wake of the best Star Wars novelization ever. Released in ebook on December 18th and in hardcover on January 5th, The Force Awakens is an enjoyable but not groundbreaking read.

First and foremost, the novel is definitely no substitute for watching the film and there are certainly aspects lost in translation. The charm of John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, and Oscar Isaac just doesn’t make it on to the page all of the time. In all fairness, capturing that much charisma would have been a near impossible task for almost any writer. Foster’s also not one of those writers who writes amazing starfighter battles and thus what were exhilarating moments on the screen come off as a bit dry on the page especially without a John Williams soundtrack to back them up.

What this book does do a good job of is help expand upon the new galactic status quo. It fills in some of the gaps that the movie did not, like giving us Lor San Tekka’s name for one along with some tantalizing hints about his past. Additionally, Foster gives us more Leia, something that’s always a positive. Perhaps most interestingly, the book shows readers how Poe escaped—something well suited for inclusion in the novel where it can’t impede the dramatic effect of the X-wings’ arrival.

Perhaps more than anyone, Kylo Ren benefits from the transition to the page. Not only are his speech patterns more elegant (think Vader’s slaughter on Mustafar in the Revenge of the Sith novel) but readers also get into his head at some of the key character moments, potentially shedding a brand new light on some of his actions and reactions. Han Solo and Rey are two other characters that readers really benefit from getting inside of their heads. The fast-formed bond was one of the highlights of the film and it’s almost sweet to see Han’s side of it before they go into Maz’s cantina. Follow that up with an incredibly sweet moment between Rey and Chewie at the end that mirrors a more bittersweet one from the start and you’ve got some great character bits in here. It’s in the character moments where the novelization does its best.

As a note, the hardcover does include eight pages of color photos from the film—a little bonus for those who waited for the hardcover that wasn’t printed until after the film was released.

Is The Force Awakens novelization an essential read for any Star Wars fan? No, but it is still fun and can provide fans with more of the galaxy far far away.

Thank you to Del Rey for providing us with a copy of the book for review purposes.

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.

Review: Darth Vader #14

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Look.  Do you know what’s not okay?  That cover to the right by Mark Brooks because MY HEART STARTED POUNDING WHEN I THOUGHT THAT JUST MAY HK-47 WAS BACK BUT NOOOOOO IT’S JUST SOME OTHER RANDOM DROID.  *breathes*

Vader Down is back this week with Darth Vader #14 by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca.  When last we left our heroes, Leia was facing off against Darth Vader… which always goes well for people.

Despite this issue being action packed, it felt a little bit slower in comparison to the last few.  That’s not a bad thing though because honestly? I can only take Vader terrifying me so many times in a row.  What Darth Vader #14 does do really well is put some solid character moments into the mix.  I recently read an interview from Gillen where he mentioned that Vader Down is testing out how some of the characters react to each other in this three year gap between films and no where was it more evident than with Leia and Vader.  Not only is there a difference between how they react to each other now but this is an incredibly telling moment for Leia.  In just a few pages, her commitment to the Rebel Alliance coupled with the permanent weight of Alderaan that she carries around have never been more evident.  It’s very well done.

The levity breaks are still around in this issue.  As per usual, the Murder Bots are turning out to be worth their weight in gold and poor Threepio is going to need a vacation after this.  Gillen did a good day’s work when he came up with the idea for Dr. Aphra and the Murder Bots.  (That’s the name of my cover band, by the way.)

Vader Down continues to be fantastic and I can’t wait to pick up the next issue!

Bake It So: Come to the Dark Side – We Have Waffles

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This review provided by our friend Raul.

With what started as a harmless Facebook “Share” from my sister not so long ago for a holiday not that far away, I was gifted my very own Star Wars Death Star Waffle Maker[1].  As it was a early Christmas present, and given the permission to use it as soon as it arrived, I armed myself with my trusty box of Jiffy baking mix (which, in my opinion, makes excellent waffles and hotcakes) I did what any self-respecting gay does on a Sunday: Brunch.

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