It’s taken a while but we finally got our Sabine episode! And it wasn’t just a Sabine focused episode; it was a Sabine backstory tease episode!
Spoilers after the jump.
Category Archives: Reviews
Review: Kanan #8
Kanan #8 by Greg Weisman and Pepe Larraz is out today and– yeah, you know how this goes.
Review: Vader Down #1
Hooolyyyyy crap.
Yeah. That’s the best way to describe the opening issue of Vader Down.
Story Time! At Dragon Con this year, I was lucky enough to partake in one of the last panels of the convention titled ‘Palpatine’s Plan’ in which we discussed… you can figure that one out. During the course of the panel, I found myself having to continuously defend Darth Vader and the fact that he is powerful as hell and a serious force to be reckoned with. If I had had this comic issue on hand, pulling it out would have been the equivalent of a mic drop because holy hell is Vader a powerhouse.
It’s not like we the fans don’t know (for the most part) that Vader is strong in the Force and terrifying to many a person. It’s not like we don’t know that Vader/Anakin is an amazing pilot. Jason Aaron takes both of those facts and reminds you in a way that you will not be forgetting any time soon. You do not mess with Darth Vader whether he’s in a TIE or on the ground.
When you take a step back, Vader Down is certainly a set up issue but it never feels like it while you’re reading. So yes: Vader, Luke, Leia, Han, and Aphra are all being maneuvered on to Vrogas Vas but this is explosive exposition. It’s a great hand off to Kieron Gillen and I absolutely cannot wait to see how these two gentlemen handle the next five issues of this story.
Mike Deodato knocks it out of the freaking park with his art on this issue and uses his four two-page spreads incredibly strategically and for great dramatic effect. Some of these would look amazing as full sized posters. Deodato also draws a pretty fantastic Han Solo. I hope we see more of his work in the Star Wars universe.
This is definitely one of my favorite single issues from the Marvel Star Wars team thus far and you should absolutely pick it up and the rest of the storyline.
Review: Star Wars #12
Let me start with a note that you should definitely read this before you read Vader Down #1 as this is an arc wrap up before getting into the crossover.
Star Wars #12 by Jason Aaron and Stuart Immonen is a nice little wrap up to the second arc. We get a final-final answer to the Sana question, Luke gets rescued, and there’s some really freaking cool stuff in the middle. Some spoilers are going to follow.
Rebels Review: Wings of the Master
This episode of Star Wars Rebels was made for me.
After three episodes with cameos from The Clone Wars and not much for Hera to do, Rebels came back and reminded me why I love this show so much. This isn’t to disparage the other characters, but I much prefer Rebels when the show is an ensemble cast rather than Ezra’s story. If they are going to focus on Ezra for a few episodes, then they have to give the same amount of time to the other characters.
Just as I was grumbling about “Where’s Hera?” Rebels said “don’t worry; we got this” in the best possible way. Introduction of the B-wing? Check! A fantastic Mon Calamari engineer who’s a tribute to Ralph McQuarrie? Check! Rousing music by Kevin Kiner in honor of James Horner? Check! Hera musing about her love of flight and being the best damn pilot in her corner of the Rebellion? Check!
Review: Darth Vader #12
You know what’s a good sign that a comic book is awesome? When you turn a page and audibly say “OH $#!*” Darth Vader #12 by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca not only has one of those moments but it’s a sequence that would make the Battlefront game jealous.
It’s difficult to point to one element that makes this book work more than any others. Is it Gillen’s great grasp of Vader? Is it the supporting cast of characters? Is it Larroca’s artwork? Is it how Palpatine’s manipulating hand can be felt in so many of the pages? Is it how badass Vader is? Is it Dr. Aphra’s ridiculous facial expressions when things aren’t going the best?
Darth Vader has been a beautiful example of how an entire team can come together to make a book gel. I’ve been remiss in mentioning everyone on that team in the past so let’s rectify that now and give some accolades to Edgar Delgado on colors, Joe Caramagna on lettering, and the editing skills of Jordan White and Heather Antos. This is the last issue before Vader Down kicks off and it feels like a good time to look back and appreciate how virtually flawless this book has been.
This issue may not have had the emotional impact of the ones where Vader realized Luke was his son but it certainly packs a punch. All the pieces are moving into alignment and, like I said before, it’s hard not to see Palpatine sitting back to see what all of his pawns will do next. I’m particularly interested to see how things go with Thanoth and to see if he’ll eventually become wise to Vader’s plan.
Darth Vader #12 is another well-down issue by the entire team that perfectly sets up the forthcoming crossover and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Oh and those pages. Those amazing four pages. You’ll know them when you see them.
Review: Chewbacca #3
The Star Wars offices of Marvel must have Phil Noto locked away and drawing at the speed of light because we’ve got another new issue of Chewbacca out today. Gerry Duggan’s story of everyone’s favorite wookiee on his own continues after an explosive end to the last issue.
Chewbacca is a miniseries that’s far harder to comment on each individual issue as it’s more so one continuous story than the Leia book and less happens than in the Lando one. Consequently, that makes reviews trickier. In lieu of saying more of the same of what you’ve read for the past two issues, let’s go with a short assortment of observations.
- I love that people say things like “We just sarlacc’ed them.”
- Apparently not everyone in the galaxy knows what a wookiee is.
- Why did it have to be bugs?
- There seems to be an effort to show more people in Star Wars with a disability that isn’t just magically fixed like Luke’s hand or Han’s eye that one time in Legends.
- Is Zarro the only kid who is stuck in these mines?
- And just how old is she anyways?
- Phil Noto’s art, man. HIS ART.
- Okay but now I’m curious. What exactly does sarlacc’ed mean? Because ‘eaten alive and digested for a thousand years’ is oddly specific and really doesn’t seem to apply to this situation…
End of the day, Chewbacca continues to be a fun read and it’s nice to see him take center stage for once.
Review: Star Wars #11
The latest issue of Star Wars by Jason Aaron and Stuart Immonen is out this week or, as I prefer to call it, “The One Where Everyone Gets Beat Up.” Or: “The One Where Everyone Gets Beat Up Except For Leia Who Continues To Be The Queen And Have No Time For Everyone’s Bull$#!).”
Aside from our heroes having a really rough 20 pages, the other big theme of this book seems to have been Questions and Answers. We do finally get the answer to the question we’ve been asking about Sana Solo for months now which is about what many of us suspected. (Side note: can the Sana+Han=Finn people cut it out now?) In its place, we have new questions such as… wait can droids feel pain now without having special programing? Just who is this Gamemaster fellow? How does one go about acquiring Jedi bones? And most importantly… is Dengar actually Roose Bolton?!?
Stuart Immonen’s work continues to be impressive as hell. Not only does he draw a great Luke Skywalker but his Chewbacca is also pretty awesome. And heck, I’d love to see him draw a book that’s just about Han and Leia doing their bickering/working together thing. His work on the action scenes in this book, especially those with Luke, particularly good. You can feel the movement within the panels. Static has no place in combat!
All of this makes Star Wars #11 a fun and fast paced read that manages to do, well, just about everything. Aaron’s ability to keep readers on the edge of their seats is nothing less than impressive. I’d like to have Issue #12 now, please and thank you.
Review: Battlefront: Twilight Company
War isn’t glamorous. War isn’t fun. War isn’t something that everyone survives. Several years after the destruction of the first Death Star, the galaxy definitely remains at war. Out today, Battlefront: Twilight Company follows the eponymous Rebel Alliance company as they fight the Empire on fronts that Alliance leaders have likely only heard of in briefings. Star Wars veteran Alexander Freed doesn’t pull any punches in his first novel as he takes readers to the front lines of the galactic war.
Rebels Review: Always Two There Are
It’s another episode of Star Wars Rebels as Season Two kicks into another gear with the introduction of not one but two Inquisitors. One of Rex’s potential bases checks out as possibility and so Hera sends Sabine, Chopper, and Zeb on a mission to go check out the abandoned medical stations and retrieve any medical supplies that might’ve been left behind. Ezra tags along setting up what at first seems to be another humorous (if spooky) episode like Fighter Flight until the arrival of the two new Inquisitors.
There will be some spoilers for the episode in this review. Continue reading