Category Archives: Reviews

Review: Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #2

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Serenity 2 coverRunning out of money.  Running out of time.  They’re running out of places to hide, and they ran out of friends a long time ago.  And now, Malcolm Reynolds and crew are finding themselves not only between the proverbial rock and hard place–but between the hard place and the vacuum of space.

On the heels of Leaves on the Wind #1, things are just getting worse for Serenity‘s crew, and now Mal’s having to make decisions that will leave readers shocked–and that’s not even the worst part.  Old enemies have returned.

If possible, the writing has gotten even better in this issue, and Zack Whedon has a plot that will keep you hooked on every issue moving forward.  I’m still not a fan of the art, but there are panels that look much better than in the first issue, so it’s also improving.  But while I’m not a fan of the art, the writing Whedon is doing is amazing enough that I would pick this up even if it was drawn with stick figures.

Review: Star Wars: Legacy #12

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Ania’s been kidnapped by someone she thought was a friend!  Issue #12 of Star Wars: Legacy by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman is out today and now almost everyone in the galaxy is looking for one Ania Solo.  (Honestly, can this woman’s life get any worse?)

Betrayed by her friend Ramid, Ania Solo finds herself stuffed unceremoniously into a storage locker with no comlink and therefore no way for her real friends to track her.  Ramid, on the other hand, is holding a grudge against her for leaving him for dead outside a prison camp and he’s happy to hand her over to the Triumvirate in exchange for a sizable bounty.  Across the galaxy, Master Val learns that he’s not in nearly as much trouble as he expected for his actions on Dac and that the Imperial Knights have a new mission he doesn’t quite agree with.  Meanwhile, Jao, Sauk, and AG-37 are doing everything they can to find Ania and get her back but they aren’t the only ones in pursuit.

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Review: The Star Wars #5

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After a month off, Rinzler and Mayhew are back with the next issue of the adaptation of George Lucas’s original screenplay.  The Star Wars #5 hits shelves in a local comic store near you today as our heroes find out whether or not Kane Starkiller’s sacrifice was worth it.

There are some spoilers for this issue in the review.

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Review: Maul: Lockdown

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MaulLockdownCoverIt’s a dark side sort of day with the first Expanded Universe book release of 2014.  Out today is Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber. What happens when you send one of the most dangerous beings in galaxy on a do-or-die mission?  A heck of a lot of carnage for starters.

Cog Hive Seven has a new inmate: Darth Maul.  Sent by his Master Darth Sidious to infiltrate the prison and find the elusive Iram Radique, a legendary arms dealer.  What might seem like a simple task is layered in complications.  No one’s actually seen Radique and lived to tell the tale.  Some think he’s just an urban legend.  On top of his mission, Maul must survive the nightly fights to the death organized by the warden and the gamblers across the galaxy want to see their newest champion fight.

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Go/No-Go: The Jupiter Pirates: Hunt for the Hydra

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It’s hard to write a review of Jason C. Fry’s The Jupiter Pirates that isn’t just me saying “It’s really fun! Go read it!” But that’s the truth. It’s really fun. You should go read it.

In case you’re not willing to blindly follow my recommendations (and why not?), allow me to describe the book a bit more.

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Review: Catching Fire

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catching-fire-posterHow do you successfully follow one of the most well-received films of the year?  With a continuation of the series obviously!  Catching Fire, in theatres today, does not disappoint as either an adaptation of a popular novel or as a follow up to the incredibly successful and well-received Hunger Games.

This review contains mild spoilers but likely nothing you wouldn’t have guessed from the trailers and promotional material.

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Review: The Star Wars #3

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It’s a Desert Ambush as the cover proclaims in Issue #3 of The Star Wars, out in comic book stores today.  Jonathan Rinzler and Mike Mayhew continue to adapt the original draft of A New Hope in an action packed issue with more sass than you could possibly imagine.  (And hey, I can imagine quite a lot.)

Darth Vader searches for the royal family of Aquilae, hoping to complete the Empire’s victory and a new player joins the search: Prince Valorum; a Knight of the Sith.  Meanwhile, See Threepio and Artwo Detwo disagree about how to handle being stranded in the Dune Sea only to both end up being found by Annikan and Leia as they hurry back to the hidden fortress to the Palace of Lite.  With the King dead, Leia is now the true Queen of Aquilae but for her safety, Queen Breha orders General Skywalker to take Leia and her younger brothers to the Ophuchi system.  But first, they must get safely past the Empire’s army on planet.

For an issue that starts with the droids being stranded in the desert, this issue certainly isn’t lacking for action and goes by so quickly that readers will likely find themselves surprised when they reach the last page so soon.  Rinzler definitely knows how to keep readers coming back for more.  The weirdness of how some of the names are spelled has yet to wear off and I suspect I’ll never be able to type Artwo correctly on the first try but the weirdness is honestly a part of the book’s charm.  It’s difficult to find a reason to complain about Rinzler’s grasp of dialogue and pacing.  Again, his use of lines from the film invokes smiles instead of eye rolls and that is absolutely a good thing.

One of the best things about this particular issue was the banter between different pairs of characters.  To put it simply: the sass levels were off the charts.  I frequently found myself chuckling at Artwo’s lines and downright laughing when Threepio puts an end to the argument.  This version of Princess Leia continues to take none of anyone’s crap.  Some things stay true no matter what alternate universe they are in.  She also has quite the mind for retaliation tactics.

I’m also still not over Mike Mayhew’s artwork.  It’s absolutely gorgeous.  Mayhew also continues to excel at costume design.  The official royal regalia that Princess Leia and Queen Breha wear in the throne room are truly magnificent.  I haven’t the faintest idea how Leia can sit with that headdress much less stand but wow does it have a visual impact.  Another strength of Mayhew’s artwork is the facial expressions of the characters.  At times, it feels like some of the panels don’t even need the dialogue bubbles for the words to get across.

The Star Wars #3 has elevated this book from a ‘pick this book up if you’re intrigued by the concept’ to ‘you should definitely give this book a try’ so run out and go find the first three issues!

Review: The Haynes Death Star Owner’s Technical Manual

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Death Star manualLet’s just get this out of the way. The Haynes Death Star Owner’s Technical Manual by Ryder Windham, Chris Reif, and Chris Trevas continues right where the Millennium Falcon manual left off. Suffice to say, if you enjoyed that book, you’re going to enjoy this one just as much.

The text is a fun in-universe affair. It should be said that this book isn’t exactly the sort of oil-stained Haynes manual your father kept in the garage to do self-repairs on the old Datsun pickup truck that he just refuses to get rid of. This is less of a book of diagrams and more of a history text and reference book. You’re not going to find out how to repair a deactivated tractor beam (though there is a nifty labeled diagram), but you will learn a great deal about the key minds behind the Death Star and just what all those little details on the surface of the station are.

Some of the neater sections are memos and letters from characters in the Star Wars universe discussing the Death Star. In particular are the Personal Data Journal Entries from Grand Moff Tarkin that discuss various key elements of the battle station. You gain insight into his mindset and why he wanted specific things. More interesting, they detail why his specific needs for the Death Star wound up being its downfall.

There’s a host of new artwork within the pages of this reference book. Personally one of my favorite illustrations was the Death Star cross section early on in the book. It really gives scale on just how massive that superlaser was. Throughout there are a multitude of cutaways, diagrams, and new illustrations that shed a lot of light on just how the Death Star operated and functioned.

The end of the book looks briefly into the second Death Star. Once again, the art is incredible. I would gladly pay for a print of the comparison chart showing the size differences between a Star Destroyer, a Super Star Destroyer, the first Death Star, and the Second Death Star. For that matter, there’s a lot of art in this book I’d love to get as a print. The Death Star Cutaway in particular would look great in any geeky office or bedroom.

At 122 pages, there’s a whole lot to sink your teeth into. It’s the perfect size and the perfect material to make a great geeky coffee table reader. For a casual fan, there’s all sorts of neat trivia that will keep anyone’s attention. For a fleet junkie, the book is a huge wealth of knowledge that you’ll come back to scan again and again. The Haynes Death Star Owner’s Technical Manual is a fun and brilliant read. Go pick it up.