Star Wars, Geek Culture, and Power Converters
If Rebels has figured out how to do anything, it’s making bottle episodes supremely entertaining.
Let’s just get this out of the way. This episode really didn’t add much in way of the show’s lore and didn’t exactly push the plot along. It’s very much like the X-Files monster of the week episodes that showed up between the main plot episodes. Interesting, entertaining, but not exactly groundbreaking. That disclaimer out of the way: this episode is one of the most fun episodes of Rebels yet.
The latest issue of Star Wars by Jason Aaron and Stuart Immonen is out this week or, as I prefer to call it, “The One Where Everyone Gets Beat Up.” Or: “The One Where Everyone Gets Beat Up Except For Leia Who Continues To Be The Queen And Have No Time For Everyone’s Bull$#!).”
Aside from our heroes having a really rough 20 pages, the other big theme of this book seems to have been Questions and Answers. We do finally get the answer to the question we’ve been asking about Sana Solo for months now which is about what many of us suspected. (Side note: can the Sana+Han=Finn people cut it out now?) In its place, we have new questions such as… wait can droids feel pain now without having special programing? Just who is this Gamemaster fellow? How does one go about acquiring Jedi bones? And most importantly… is Dengar actually Roose Bolton?!?
Stuart Immonen’s work continues to be impressive as hell. Not only does he draw a great Luke Skywalker but his Chewbacca is also pretty awesome. And heck, I’d love to see him draw a book that’s just about Han and Leia doing their bickering/working together thing. His work on the action scenes in this book, especially those with Luke, particularly good. You can feel the movement within the panels. Static has no place in combat!
All of this makes Star Wars #11 a fun and fast paced read that manages to do, well, just about everything. Aaron’s ability to keep readers on the edge of their seats is nothing less than impressive. I’d like to have Issue #12 now, please and thank you.
War isn’t glamorous. War isn’t fun. War isn’t something that everyone survives. Several years after the destruction of the first Death Star, the galaxy definitely remains at war. Out today, Battlefront: Twilight Company follows the eponymous Rebel Alliance company as they fight the Empire on fronts that Alliance leaders have likely only heard of in briefings. Star Wars veteran Alexander Freed doesn’t pull any punches in his first novel as he takes readers to the front lines of the galactic war.
It’s another episode of Star Wars Rebels as Season Two kicks into another gear with the introduction of not one but two Inquisitors. One of Rex’s potential bases checks out as possibility and so Hera sends Sabine, Chopper, and Zeb on a mission to go check out the abandoned medical stations and retrieve any medical supplies that might’ve been left behind. Ezra tags along setting up what at first seems to be another humorous (if spooky) episode like Fighter Flight until the arrival of the two new Inquisitors.
There will be some spoilers for the episode in this review. Continue reading
It’s release day for Chewbacca #2 by Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto. What adventures does everyone’s favorite wookiee get up to this week?
Zarro escaped from the mines but had to leave her father and the rest of her people behind as slaves to a gangster named Jaum. Luckily, she ran into Chewbacca who’s not terribly fond of slavers himself. She convinces him to help her but unfortunately, as most plans do, things don’t go quite as planned…
Phil Noto is absolutely the star of this book. His artwork is already fantastic to start with along with being universally loved by the Star Wars fandom. So much of the storytelling in this book is done through the art, especially through the facial expressions on Chewbacca and Zarro. Often times, they make speech bubbles unnecessary. I’d also like to add that it’s nice to see a relatively young teenage girl be portrayed as such in a comic and not be overly sexualized.
One of the coolest things about this issue is how we get a little tease into Chewie’s history. It’s not much and we probably could have guessed it but it’s always neat to see. It feels like, in Star Wars past, we’ve always thought about Chewbacca’s past in terms of when he was freed by Han (if that’s even the case anymore) so it’s nice to see someone think further before that.
As I said before, Chewbacca is entertaining and I definitely enjoy the artwork but this still isn’t my favorite of the Star Wars books. Given how quickly things have progressed, I’m intrigued to see how this story is going to go for another three issues. That said, this does seem like it’s going to be a story that reads very well in trade form so if you’re still questioning whether to pick it up, perhaps wait for the trade in a couple of months.
Right so let me explain to you a thing: Kieron Gillen is clearly in league with Chuck Wendig to give me multiple heart attacks in the space of mere minutes while reading their work. Darth Vader #11 by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca is out today and is definitely a high stakes and stressful ride.
With each passing issue, Darth Vader shows itself to be more and more of a character study; taking it up a notch from a book that could’ve just been Vader killing things for 22 pages every month. Gillen highlights Vader’s strengths and his weaknesses without hitting readers over the head with it. This current arc has been reinforcing that while Vader is smart, he’s not the smartest person in the room and it’s only a matter of time before that has consequences… consequences that he may or may not have to personally pay the price for.
On the other side of things, Dr. Aphra continues to be a fantastic addition to the Star Wars universe and Triple Zero and BeeTee are delightful despite being homicidal. There’s just something about them being in a book as a contrast to Vader that works incredibly well. It would be interesting to have seen more of Aphra from before she started working with Vader and see if this is how she’s always worked and been. I suspect the answer is yes but still. She’s smart and she can adapt to a situation fast. It’s a good combination but I can’t shake the feeling that it will also contribute to her eventual downfall
There’s nothing new to say on the artist front because clearly Larroca is still rocking it. He did, however, draw the BEST Dr. Aphra facial expression ever a little less than halfway through the issue. If that face doesn’t show up as at least one person’s Twitter icon within a week, I’ll be shocked.
Darth Vader #11 gets another Hell Yeah! on my new sliding scale of enthusiasm.
Right on the heels of the Lando finale, Marvel launches its next limited series in the Star Wars book. Chewbacca #1 by Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto launches today, giving readers one of their first looks at a Chewie adventure without his sidekick Han Solo.
First, it definitely should be said that Duggan choosing to leave Chewbacca’s dialogue untranslated to readers was a bold choice. Selling readers on a book where you can’t actually understand what the main character is saying is tough. To help counter this, Duggan introduces a young girl named Zarro who can fend for herself but needs Chewie’s help to save her father from the mines. It’ll be interesting to see how the pair end up working together in future issues.
The lettering work of Joe Caramagna (who has lettered most of the other Star Wars books) definitely should be called out here for what a lovely job he’s done. You can definitely tell that he had fun with finding ways to communicate Chewbacca’s wookiee roars.
Because of how the story’s told, Phil Noto’s art definitely has to do a lot of the heavy lifting. If for no other reason, the book’s worth picking up for his art which is, as always, gorgeous. He’s able to do a heck of a lot with Chewie’s body language and facial expressions.
All of that said, Chewbacca #1 is far from being my favorite Star Wars comic. It just didn’t grab me like so many of the others have thus far. But then again, not every comic is going to be everyone’s preferred cup of tea and I strongly suspect that plenty of other people (especially the big Chewie fans) will get a real kick out of this book. Was it enjoyable? Yep. Life changing? Nah. Should you pick it up? Sure, why not? Marvel’s done a darn good job with their Star Wars stories so far including pulling more than a few surprises out of the bag. It’s certainly worth reading this one to see where they go.
Following up on last issue’s mic drop, Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca show no signs of slowing down or lessening the quality of this great book with the release of Darth Vader #10 today.
Darth Vader #10 is the issue that really lets Dr. Aphra shine. Readers have certainly gotten to know her for the last six or so issues but this is the one where it really made sense to me why she is the way she is. Or, in other words, why she continues to work for Vader. We’ve known that her character was grounded in the idea of a darker version of Indiana Jones but never has it been more evident than here. Not only do we get some of her backstory but we get a little more clarity into how she views the galaxy. Her conversation with Than is absolutely fascinating. My only question is how Commodex Than knows everything that he knows. (It’ll make more sense when you read the issue.)
Larroca clearly had a ton of fun with getting to design a Naboo house and it makes me wish we could see more of the planet more often. My only artistic complaint is that there’s one really weird panel with Aphra’s butt that just looks… odd and unnecessary? Oh. And I’m pretty sure that taking selfies is canon in Star Wars now unless I interpreted a panel completely wrong. So that’s cool. (Not a complaint, just a comment!)
The issue isn’t all Aphra though. Inspector Thanoth is going to be a problem and that in turn is going to be a problem for him. Just wait… I can feel it.
Gillen and Larroca continue to knock it out of the park and #10 gets a very strong recommendation from me this week.
Welcome back to Go/No-Go, Tosche Station’s regular feature where we offer our spoiler-free opinion as to whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on a book, film, or other entertainment. Today on the launch pad: Star Wars: Rise of the Empire. It’s a unique book we’re looking at today as its a compilation of A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller, Tarkin by James Luceno, and three brand new short stories by Miller, Melissa Scott, and Jason Fry to link them all together. We’ve reviewed both books in the past but is this compilation worth your money? To mission control for the verdict!
Bria: First things first, this book is huge. It’s about the size of Game of Thrones for reference but it’s absolutely worth every page. One of the complaints I’ve seen about the new canon is that nothing really links together. The three short stories in this book should remove that complaint as one could easily sit down and read Lords of the Sith, the entirety of Rise of the Empire, and then Aftermath and it would flow awesomely. Can we discuss how rad it is that Rae Sloane has become the cohesive glue that ties together to many of these stories in addition to being a kickass character? Reading about her at the Battle of Endor was just spectacular. Melissa Scott does a great job of writing a younger Hera who’s not quite the confident rebel we know from A New Dawn and Rebels but definitely shows her leadership potential and doesn’t forget about her amazing pilot skills. I even found John Jackson Miller’s story about Tarkin and Vidian to be delightful in its own way. It’s like watching a chess match between two very confident chess masters from different schools of strategy. The book is absolutely a must buy if you haven’t picked up one of the two novels yet but is it worth it if you already have? I say yes. Not only its it a nicely put together compilation but the three short stories are just so fun. It’s a strong GO from me.
Nanci: Disclaimer: I have not read Tarkin, nor do I have any plans of doing so soon. (There are way too many other books I haven’t read yet before I play catch up.) A New Dawn is excellent, though, enough to warrant picking up this bind-up if you don’t already have a copy. The short stories, though, are what make this book worth the price of admission. “Mercy Mission” by Melissa Scott ties more into Lords of the Sith (another book I haven’t read, oops), than either of the novels in this bind-up, but it features a young Hera learning the importance of working for the good of the galaxy. You can definitely see how she becomes the young revolutionary we see in A New Dawn and the awesome pilot we see in Rebels. “Bottleneck,” by John Jackson Miller, features characters from both novels forced to work together against their will. Miller does a great job with both Tarkin and Vidian; I found I liked the latter character a lot more in this story than I did in A New Dawn. (Also, the cameo from another A New Dawn character made me very happy.) Last but not least, “The Levers of Power” by Jason Fry makes this book an insta-buy. Rae Sloane at the Battle of Endor is everything you ever expected: bad-ass, in charge, and taking no shit from anybody. Definitely GO and get it, now.
Brian: Right from the start, let me say that if you don’t have either A New Dawn or Tarkin in your library, you should pick up this compilation. That said, I imagine most folks who are reading this review are far more interested in the all-new short stories that are appearing in the book. Mercy Mission is a solid look into a much younger Hera. While there were points where it felt like an incomplete short story that was taken from a larger work, it was still an engaging read. Bottleneck, however, was classic John Jackson Miller. It’s really the Tarkin and Vidian buddy cop story you never knew you needed in your life. The real winner though, and the reason this book is worth every penny, is Levers of Power. I’ve made no secret that I think that Jason Fry is one of the best talents creating Star Wars literature these days. Now, combine that with one of the greatest characters to appear in the new literature canon in Rae Sloane. This is an incredible short story, and it’s one you’re definitely going to want to read. The book would get a go from me just for that, but when everything else is factored in it’s a huge GO.
Flight Director’s Verdict: Rise of the Empire is GO for launch!
I’m not the biggest fan of Han Solo.
It’s not that I don’t like Han. He’s a great character. As a viewer, I appreciate his humor and his cynicism. I appreciate his smuggler with a heart of gold characterization. I appreciate his relationship with Leia and, even more, his relationship with Luke. As an author, I like that he provides shades of gray and an excellent voice. But it’s no secret that Luke Skywalker captured my heart way before Han Solo could ever have a chance, and I never “grew up” to like Han, as many other people did.
So among the three “Journey to the Force Awakens” young reader novels, Smuggler’s Run was the one I was least looking forward to. I saved it for last, even though people said Moving Target would spoil the end. All that said, I still had good expectations for this book.
I was pleasantly surprised, because Smuggler’s Run is an amazing romp, super fun, and has absolutely fantastic characterizations.
