Thirteen might be an unlucky number for some but it’s definitely a lucky one as far as the Poe Dameron comic is concerned. In fact, this just might be one of the best issues of the comic thus far. There’s action, there’s humor, there’s comradeship, and droids get stuff done. In short, it’s never been clearer that this comic book is one of the spiritual successors to the X-Wing books from Legends and around here? That’s a very high compliment.
Spoilers after the jump…
This is the issue that Charles Soule and Chuck Wendig teased back at New York Comic Con in the fall: Mister Bones makes an appearance! If you’re like the rest of us who read Empire’s End, you’ve likely spent the last month or so wondering how exactly that was going to work out. Turns out Snap has a copy of Bones’ code and carries it with him for good luck and it comes in very handy on this particular mission. (If that’s not adorable, I don’t know what is.) I won’t spoil it all for you but I am not ashamed to admit that I giggled with glee at the Bones bits. It was perfectly done. Artistically even.
Honestly, it’s easier to list off the ways in which this issue doesn’t feel like an old X-Wing book than to list all the ways that it does. It’s quite uncanny. What’s most striking this time around though is that Black Squadron reminds us that loss is a part of war and that it doesn’t restrict itself to killing the nameless extras. In a book like this, every member of the squadron is a character that we the readers are lived with for over a year and that we have at least some emotional attachment to. Judging by both the cover for the next issue and Soule’s comments on Celebration panels, the comic won’t just be brushing the loss under the carpet either. It’s moments like these that make the book even more meaningful.
There’s more to love about this issue than just Bones and sadness though! It’s a delightful end to the story arc that both wraps things up and leaves readers wondering what might be next for some of the characters. This is most definitely a turning point for the comic and I personally cannot wait to see where the team goes with it. (Even if I will miss Phil Noto’s lovely artwork on the interiors.)
What? You don’t need me to tell you to go read this book. You already know that.
Poe Dameron #13: Charles Soule/Writer, Phil Noto/Artist, Joe Caramagna/Letterer, Jordan White/Editor, Heather Antos/Assistant Editor
