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.