Tag Archives: Marvel Comics

Review: Darth Vader #1

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The Second Marvel Era continues on Wednesday with the release of Darth Vader #1 by Kieron Gillen with art by Salvador Larroca. Gillen leaves no time for readers to wonder “Well what happened when—” as this ongoing Vader story picks up not just shortly after the Battle of Yavin but directly from the pages of Star Wars #2. Long time Star Wars comic readers have seen Vader on the page plenty of times but how does Gillen handle one of the most iconic bad guys?

One of the neatest things about the Lucasfilm Story Group is that it’s giving readers experiences like this and rewarding those who swing by their local comic store every week. Again, this book ties in directly with the first two issues of Star Wars and yet provides enough context that a reader wouldn’t be lost if they hadn’t read the other book. That said, Gillen’s certainly telling his own story here. He’s writing a Vader who’s definitely a man in the doghouse with the Emperor and who needs to solve the mystery of the Rebel pilot. He’s also writing a story that takes into account the galactic political ramifications of the Death Star’s destruction, something that I hope continues in future issues.

It’s difficult to discuss the storyline without delving into spoiler territory. Gillen doesn’t have the same cliffhanger flair as his fellow Star Wars writer Jason Aaron but he does leave enough hints throughout the pages to keep readers intrigued. I didn’t find this to be the strongest #1 especially in the wake of some other books that Marvel’s released recently but I definitely enjoyed it. Regardless, I’m interested to see where Gillen takes this story and whether or not Vader will continue to weave in and out of the main book especially once he discovers Luke’s identity. I’m also interested to see whether Palpatine continues to play a role in the book and whether it will expand.

On the art front, I really enjoyed Larroca’s work and have been a fan of his ever since his work on Invincible Iron Man. Having to routinely draw an outfit like Darth Vader’s isn’t the easiest of tasks (Iron Man must’ve been good practice.) but he does it well. Larroca also draws a particularly great Emperor Palpatine   Edgar Delgado’s colors are a nice compliment to Larroca’s lines. Another highlight of the book is when Gillen’s writing steps back and lets Larroca’s work do the storytelling on its own for several pages. Clearly this is a writer/artist team that collaborates well together.

Darth Vader #1 is a solid start for the Sith Lord’s ongoing series and gets a recommendation from us. You can preorder the comic from Marvel here for its release on February 11th.

Thank you to Marvel for providing us with a copy of the issue in advanced for review purposes.

Review: Star Wars #1

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The era of Star Wars Marvel has begun (okay; returned) and they’re leaping forth from the gate with blasters blazing. Star Wars #1 by Jason Aaron and with art by John Cassaday comes out on Wednesday, January 14th and picks up shortly after A New Hope. The question of the day though isn’t “Will our heroes survive?” but rather “How does this new series hold up?” and it is in response to that question that I have some good news for Star Wars fans.

Right from the start, Aaron and Cassaday make the book feel like Original Trilogy Star Wars. (Let me suggest queuing up the main title as you open the book. It put a huge smile on my face as I began to read.) This gives readers a chance to pick up a book that can be enjoyed whether they’ve only watched the films or if they obsessively read every Legends story. It’s also clear from the get-go that this is a labor of love from all involved. The basic premise of the story is something that will feel familiar to Star Wars readers (Rebels have a chance to move against the Empire and Han somehow gets roped into helping) but Jason Aaron writes in a way that will keep readers intrigued and flipping the page for more. He also strikes a nice balance between action and non-action scenes and knows the right moment to interject a bit of levity, something that’s crucial when it comes to Star Wars.

Another strength of the book is that Aaron certainly has a great grasp on all of the main characters. At times, it was difficult to NOT hear the actors’ voices inside my head reading the lines. I was particularly happy with his portrayal of Leia especially since he didn’t fall back on the Action Girl ™ method like some writers have in the past. Even Luke seems to be pretty spot on during this odd transitional phase from farmboy to Jedi Rebel.

Cassaday’s artwork on the book is solid as expected. My only issue was with one very fast costume change between pages. In the interest of staying spoiler free, I’ll leave it there but it just felt rather abrupt especially on the first read through. For those familiar with his art, Cassaday’s usual facial expressions are in full force here which, when you’re drawing Leia Organa dealing with Han Solo, are perfect. Cassaday also has a neat way of drawing lightsaber action which I haven’t previously seen in a Star Wars comic. And, of course, we the internet will be forever grateful to him for the panel of Leia punching an Imperial panel that made its way on line several weeks ago. That alone is worth the cost of admission.

Overall, this first oversized issue does a great job of setting the stage and establishing how this comic series will go. Within moments of finishing reading it, I immediately wanted the next one. I’m extremely interested to see how the first arc progresses and then where Jason Aaron takes the story beyond that.  For me, that will be the real deciding factor about how much I’ll ultimately enjoy the series but they are certainly off to a good start.

I give Star Wars #1 a 4/5 along with a recommendation to go pick it up. You can pick up a copy of Star Wars #1 from your local comic store or online here from Marvel.

Thank you to Marvel for providing us with an advanced copy of the comic for review purposes.

My Hopes and Dreams for Princess Leia

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Leia_Dodson1Or more specifically: My Hopes and Dreams for the Star Wars: Princess Leia comic by Mark Waid.

When Joe Quesada announced the three new Star Wars comic books at San Diego Comic Con the other week, one series in particular thrilled me more than the others.  We were finally going to get a book staring Princess Leia!  Mark Waid was instantly a choice that I approved whole-heartedly of to write my beloved Leia Organa and that was even before I saw his interviews talking about the book. Terry Dodson on art just made it even better.  They are both perfect choices for a Leia story.  Dodson is perhaps the easier to immediately see.  I’ve never found a reason to complain about his art style and judging from the cover we’ve seen?  We’ll get to see some pretty neat outfits on everyone’s favorite princess that are all logical for her to be wearing.  Dodson also draws a killer action scene so we’ll undoubtedly have a few of those to look forward to.

Waid, on the other hand, might be a little tougher to get.  For me, the gut reaction of perfect! came from his work on Indestructible Hulk over the past few years.  Bruce Banner can be a tricky character to get right but it wasn’t his great work with the Hulk that got me.  No, it was how he handled one Maria Hill who is not a character that all writers get right.  They might get the ‘bitches-get-stuff-done’ aspect of her but miss that there’s more to her than that.  Mark Waid, however, nailed writing her hook, line, and sinker.  Factor in his solidly good work on Hulk and Daredevil in recent years and I was sold.

What doubly sold me were his interviews.  In an interview with StarWars.com, he describe Leia as

I think that she is often misunderstood as short-tempered or what have you, and I think that’s unfair. She’s direct. She’s not necessarily impatient, she’s just exasperated easily by people who are not as smart as her. She’s not bossy…well, okay, alright, she’s bossy. But she is a princess, after all, so you have to allow her a little bit of that.

…and I let out a giant sigh of relief.  It’s these aspects of Leia’s personality that are so important to who she is and how she reacts to situations.  Reading what he had to say about what sort of person she is at her core made me even more confident about how he’ll handle writing her.

Continue reading →

SDCC 2014: Marvel Takes Back Star Wars

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Just as expected, the Marvel Cup O’Joe Panel at San Diego Comic-Con gave us our first real look at what Marvel will be doing once they take back the Star Wars license in January.

First up, (and to me, the most exciting!) we’ll be getting a miniseries titled Star Wars: Princess Leia with script by Mark Waid and with art by Terry Dodson.  The first issue will be released in March.

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We’re also getting two ongoings of which is the first is the expected ‘Star Wars‘.  That will have Jason Aaron on script and John Cassaday on art.  The first issue hits in January and will feature our usual suspects amongst the main cast.

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And finally, there will also be a Star Wars: Darth Vader ongoing series written by Kieron Gillen with art by Salvador Larroca.  (Note that the cover below is by Adi Granov.)  The first issue will be released in February 2015.

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The two ongoing series will take place concurrently as they will back up after the Battle of Yavin.  Apparently the Vader series picks up right after Vader’s fighter goes spinning into space while Star Wars picks up two weeks later.  Jordan White will be the editor for all three books.

One of the questions at the panel did ask whether we’d be seeing Expanded Universe characters in the comics and the answer is that it is up to the Lucasfilm Story Group.  Apparently we will also see Boba Fett at some point but it’s a tricky time period.

The Official Site has interviews up with all three writers of the new books.

As for other questions from the panel, someone asked if characters from the old Marvel comics might show up.  The answer was that Jason Aaron will try but Jordan White might stop him.  The Marvel crew found Patton Oswalt’s Star Wars pitch hilarious but don’t think they have the rights to make that into a comic.  Also apparently Axel Alonso is trying to make ‘The Punisher Kills The Star Wars Universe’ a thing that happens.

Marvel Officially Taking Over Star Wars Comics In 2015

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Screen Shot 2014-01-03 at 1.09.21 PMIt was just a matter of when rather than if but today, Disney announced that Marvel Comics will take over the publication of Star Wars comics and graphic novels in 2015.  Marvel takes back the license from Dark Horse Comics which has held it and consistently published Star Wars stories since 1991.

“Dark Horse Comics published exceptional Star Wars comics for over 20 years, and we will always be grateful for their enormous contributions to the mythos, and the terrific partnership that we had,” said Carol Roeder, director of Lucasfilm franchise publishing, Disney Publishing Worldwide. “In 2015, the cosmic adventures of Luke, Han, Leia and Chewbacca will make the lightspeed jump back to Marvel, to begin a new age of adventures within the Star Wars universe.

“We here at Marvel could not be more excited to continue the publication of Star Wars comic books and graphic novels,” said Marvel Worldwide Publisher and President, Dan Buckley. “The perennial brand of Star Wars is one of the most iconic in entertainment history and we are honored to have the opportunity to bring our creative talent pool to continue, and expand Star Wars into galaxies far, far away.”

You can read the full press release over at Marvel.com.

UPDATE: We just received this press release from Mike Richardson, the founder of Dark Horse.

The End of an Era

All things come to pass. So too, do all licensed deals. I am sad to report that Disney, the new owner of Lucasfilm, has notified us here at Dark Horse of their intention to move the Star Wars publishing license to another of their recent acquisitions, Marvel Comics, beginning in 2015. This will end a partnership that has lasted more than two decades.

For those who are new to the industry, Dark Horse revolutionized the treatment of comics based on films. After a history of movie properties being poorly handled with little regard for execution and continuity, Dark Horse took a new approach, carefully choosing licenses and approaching them with excitement and creative energy. Our goal was to create sequels and prequels to the films we loved, paying careful attention to quality and detail, essentially treating those films as though they were our own. Star Wars has been the crown jewel of this approach. We began chasing the title as far back as 1989, and with the launch of Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy’s Dark Empire, a new era in comics was born. I’m not ashamed to admit that we were Star Wars geeks, and we have been determined to spare neither effort nor expense in the pursuit of excellence.

It is ironic that this announcement comes at a time when Dark Horse is experiencing its most successful year ever. For obvious reasons, we have prepared for this eventuality by finding new and exciting projects to place on our schedule for 2015 and beyond. Will they take the place of Star Wars? That’s a tall order, but we will do our best to make that happen. In the meantime, 2014 may be our last year at the helm of the Star Wars comics franchise, but we plan to make it a memorable one. We know that fans of the franchise will expect no less. The Force is with us still.