Alert, alert! This is not a drill: we finally did get to meet Han Solo this time. Issue #4 of The Star Wars by Jonathan Rinzler and Mike Mayhew is out in comic stores everywhere today as the race to escape Aquilae before the Empire can find them continues.
Luke Skywalker, Annikin Starkiller, and Agent Whitesun try to successfully complete their mission and get Princess Leia and her two little brothers off Aquilae safely. Stormtroopers are everywhere they turn but somehow, they make it to Gordon Spaceport. Enter everyone’s favorite guy to help our heroes: Han Solo who is now 300% greener and more alien than ever before. Han Solo isn’t the only surprise in this issue because General Starkiller also makes his return. But even with both Solo and Starkiller there to help, they’re still going to need the Force on the side and a fair bit of luck to escape the Empire.
Rinzler and Mayhew continue to impress. Mayhew’s art is absolutely perfect for this book. The panel where our heroes are overlooking the Gordon Spaceport could be right out of the film. He’s also the master of facial expressions even when they’re partially cut off or are in the background. It’s that attention to detail that really helps take the visual part of this book to the next level.
Rinzler’s no slouch when it comes to writing either. Again, since I haven’t really looked at the original script so it’s hard to say how much of the dialogue is from George Lucas and how much is from Rinzler but either way, it’s incredibly enjoyable. Readers really get to know these alternate universe versions of the characters that they already know and love. He’s also figured out how to make us care about them and the relationships that they all have with each other which leads me to my next point.
When I first started reading this comic, I wasn’t expecting much but was soon pleasantly surprised by how fun it was. What I definitely wasn’t expecting was to feel emotionally impacted by the characters in the way that I was in this issue. (My reviews generally don’t include spoilers but you’ll know it when you read it.) Needless to say, the moral here is ‘Well done, Rinzler and Mayhew, well done.’
The Star Wars #4 gets a 4/5 from me along with a strong recommendation that you pick this book up.
