Category Archives: Star Wars

Review: Darth Vader #9

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Not content with all the new Star Wars material we got on Force Friday? Good because Marvel has plenty more to share. Out today is Shattered Empire #1 (which we’ll be reviewing once it’s collected in November) and Darth Vader #9. Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca return to the adventures of Darth Vader, Doctor Aphra, and the two lovable murderbots.

Vader is still under the thumb of Admiral Tagge after his failure at Yavin 4 and must work with Thanoth instead of devoting himself to his own side project. Thankfully, he has (for now) an ally and useful tool in the form of the one and only Aphra who is running down some leads for him at a very expensive rate…

And then Kieron Gillen dropped the f*$&ing microphone. Thus ends the review. Dear Marvel: Give me issue #10 right now.  Please.

(No seriously. That’s all this review is going to say. Go buy Darth Vader #9 either at your local comic store or through a digital shop right now. Trust me.)

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REVIEW: LEGO set 75099 – Rey’s Speeder

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Even though my LEGO preferences tend to lean more towards the larger, more complicated sets (the UCS Slave I is currently sitting just to my left), one of the “Force Friday” The Force Awakens sets I was most looking forward to was the relatively tiny Rey’s Speeder (75099). I liked the look of the vehicle from the two teasers we’ve seen so far, and the set itself looked like a solid, satisfying build — not huge or intricate, but well-designed and fun to put together, much like the Inquisitor’s TIE set (75082) from back in January. That wound up being an extremely satisfying build, despite its small size — does this new (even smaller) offering from LEGO follow suit? Read on to find out!

(Minor spoilers/speculation for The Force Awakens, I guess)

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Review: Aftermath

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AftermathIt’s our first new taste of post-Return of the Jedi galaxy. Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig hit bookshelves and eagerly awaiting hands at midnight. No fear though: this review will be spoiler free.

It’s been several months since the Battle of Endor and now the Rebel Alliance is attempting to establish itself as the New Republic. Wedge Antilles goes on what should be a simple scouting mission but soon finds himself captured by the forces of Admiral Rae Sloane as he stumbles into the location of a high-level Imperial summit. The only person to hear his distress call is Norra Wexley who just wants to be reunited with her son but she can’t abandon one of her fellow Rebellion pilots no matter how dangerous this new rescue mission might be.

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Star Wars Releases New Footage, Afternoon Productivity Shot

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star-wars-force-awakensTo celebrate Instagram’s new format change, the official Star Wars account released a very short (15 seconds) clip showing old and new footage from The Force Awakens. Among the old footage includes the reverse shot of Starkiller Base, first seen in the Korean TV spot, as well as Kylo Ren igniting his lightsaber from the first teaser. The new footage includes a shot of Rey, looking very distressed, with BB-8 in the background, and FINN IGNITING THE SKYWALKER LIGHTSABER AND PRESUMABLY FACING OFF AGAINST KYLO REN!

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Ahem, sorry guys, that just makes me really excited.

Watch the clip on repeat here.

Review: Lando #3

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Lando #3 by Charles Soule and Alex Maleev definitely left me wanting more when I turned the final page… and I’m not entirely sure that’s a good thing. (Which in itself is about to be a confusing statement because I did enjoy the issue.) Heyyyy did you all see the rad cover with Lando Draper? (Dunnna Dunnnna Dunnn.)

This was clearly not Lando’s best-planned heist. They got the ship, sure, but that was the easy part. Now the twins are fighting two Royal Guards and Lobot’s down for the count and uhhh… what exactly is on the Emperor’s private yacht?

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The Expanded Universe Should Only Expand, Not Change

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I love the Expanded Universe. I love that it exists. I love that there are books and comics and even video games to fill up my Star Wars obsessiveness in the absence of film and TV shows. I love that Heir to the Empire jump-started the fandom way back in 1991. I love that the barrage of books and comics kept the fandom going strong during the 1990s. I love that the EU always drove the Star Wars story forward, no matter what was happening onscreen. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: without the EU I would not have become a Star Wars fan.

I don’t always like the way people treat the Expanded Universe. I hate that people look down upon it. But I also dislike when fans treat it as just as important as what’s onscreen. This might seem odd, coming from an EU fan like me, but it’s true. I hate when people take something that happened in a book and assume it will have huge consequences for the Sequel Trilogy. Yes, everything is canon now, but that doesn’t mean every story holds the same weight.

Nor should they.

(spoilers for Star Wars #6 and #8 under the cut)

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Review: Star Wars #8

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Star Wars #8 is out today. The bad news is that we don’t get the answers we’ve so anxiously been awaiting. The good news is that Stuart Immonen took over art duties and rocked the hell out of it.

Luke’s journey to Tatooine wasn’t as fruitful as he’d hoped. His next plan for learning how to be a Jedi is about to take him to a hive of even more scum and villainy. Meanwhile, Han and Leia find themselves caught between an Imperial patrol and a woman named Sana Solo who says she’s Han’s wife and hardly seems to be his biggest fan.

Somehow, Jason Aaron manages to keep a reader’s interest throughout an issue where we don’t get the answer we’ve been so desperately wanting for two months now. Actually, I may be even more confused as to who Sana Solo was than I was before. Is she actually his wife or not? Maybe next issue we’ll get some solid answers?

Character-wise, the two who stood out to me this issue were the Skywalker twins. Aaron really nailed how impetuous Luke can be at times especially right after he leaves Tatooine. On the flip side, we get to see Leia’s very no-nonsense attitude that rears its head so frequently when Han Solo is involved. I’m very impressed by how both writers Marvel has tapped so far have seemed to really get all aspects of Leia’s character.

Unsurprisingly, Stuart Immonen rocks his first issue on Star Wars especially when paired with Justin Ponsor’s colors. Everyone’s body language tells just as much of the story as the dialog bubbles which makes for a more dynamic book. Can we keep him on this book forever? I’d especially like to see him do an arc where he gets to do all of the artistic set up and come up with what the planet looks like and also what Leia’s outfit of the day is. (So sue me, I’m a geek with a weakness for fashion and costume design.)

Overall, Star Wars #8 was an enjoyable issue with some great art that has left me wanting it to be September already so I can have #9 in my hands. No seriously: who the heck is Sana Solo?

Tsar Wars: Return of the Alderaanians

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Welcome to the final part of our royal team up with Eleven Thirty-Eight.  Jay and I have already discussed monarchy as a whole, Naboo, Hapes, and now it’s time for Alderaan.

Bria: I’d like to start by blaming YOU AND YOUR EMPIRE FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF A PEACEFUL PLANET, YOU JERK.

Jay: it’s not my fault! It’s not my fault. It was all Tarkin’s doing. Seriously, if you don’t believe me, check out the old Radio Drama — Vader told Tarkin not to destroy Alderaan and basically said the Emperor wouldn’t approve, and Tarkin did it anyway. I’m super curious to see if Alex Bracken will use that part of the audio drama in The Princess, the Smuggler, and the Farm Boy because I *NEED* it to still be canon, otherwise I will hate myself.

Bria: She probably won’t just to spite you.  Yes, specifically you.

Jay: Considering how many people enjoy specifically spiting me, it wouldn’t surprise me. But I have hope yet, she’s a nice person. :p If not, well, um…. are you guys taking defectors or do I have to wait for the fall session?

Bria: We’ll look into seeing if we can arrange you non-explosive transportation.  Before it was so rudely and cruelly blown up, Alderaan actually seems to have had one of the more traditional monarchies in the Star Wars universe; at least in Earth terms.

Jay: Traditional, if confusing as heck. Under the EU, the Organas were the royal family of Alderaan. Bail Organa was the viceroy (which… doesn’t make any sense, as a viceroy is a monarch’s representative but words don’t mean anything in space I guess) and so his adopted daughter Leia was the Princess of Alderaan. Breha, who wasn’t Breha yet, was the Minister of Education. Until ROTS, when it turned out that *she* was the Queen of Alderaan and Bail was prince consort. Luckily for us, the EU already had the “Alderaanian Ascendency Contention” from the Zahn books and… Bria, this is getting complicated, isn’t it? Continue reading →

Review: Lando #2

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If you want a book that has twists a plenty, Star Wars: Lando should do the trick. Lando #2 by Charles Soule and Alex Maleev is out today and boy have Lando and company gotten into a lot more trouble than they figured. After all, who would have suspected that the yacht they stole was Emperor Palpatine’s and that he’d send three Star Destroyers after them? (Lando should’ve guessed. Only his luck would be that bad.)

This review has minor spoilers for the issue.

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