Tag Archives: Star Wars

On the Importance of Dr. Aphra

Posted on by

dr-aphraThis week? This week is a good week because we get Dr. Aphra #1.

Aphra’s been a lot of firsts since we initially met her in Darth Vader #3 in March 2015. She was the first significant new character we met in the Star Wars comics. She was one of the first (alongside Sabine Wren) Asian characters to have a leading role in the Star Wars universe. And Wednesday? She’s going to be the first female character to get a Star Wars ongoing title and one of the first characters unaffiliated with the films or TV shows to headline her own comic or book.

Short version? She’s a big freaking deal.

(And not just because she survived a Kieron Gillen book which is really admirable on its own.) Continue reading →

Rebels Review: An Inside Man

Posted on by

rebels logoThis week it’s a return to Lothal, and yet another return to Ezra, kiddo, why are you like this?  All up, An Inside Man is a pretty classic undercover episode with Kanan and Ezra infiltrating an imperial factory on Ezra’s home world with the assistance of Ryder Azadi. Fulcrum has told the Ghost crew there’s a new weapon being developed and it’s up to them to find out more. Unfortunately for Ezra and Kanan, the malfunctions caused by rebel sympathizers at the factory haven’t gone unnoticed, and Thrawn has come to find out why.

Continue reading →

Review: Star Wars Annual #2

Posted on by

In a shocking turn of events, it’s looking like the Star Wars Annuals might actually be Annual! I hope that they continue to be (and that they continue to be standalone stories with characters who appear in the book later.)

Excitingly, we get to add another woman to the list of female creators for Star Wars as Kelly Thompson takes on writing duties. Marvel fans will know her from A-Force and she’s a great pick for a story that centers around two women. The story centers around Pash Davane (aka Bash) who used to be an underwater engineer but is now stuck lugging around crates. She’s not terribly fond of the Rebellion and yet she still finds herself helping the one and only Princess Leia out of a very tight corner. For some reason.

Thompson tells a fun and engaging story that gives us a better idea of how the normal person might see the war between the Rebellion and the Empire. That’s something that Star Wars in general has been striving to do more of with the new canon and I like it. Pash is likeable and believable. Thompson also rights a pretty darn decent Leia. I’d definitely be interested to see more of her Star Wars work.

Unfortunately, I have mixed thoughts on Emilio Laizo’s artwork. While I love that Pash breaks away from the standard one female body types and that she actually looks like a big, muscular woman, Leia’s tragically subjected to a few too many awkward poses that are clearly intended to be sexy. It stands out just a little too much especially in comparison to the rest of the art on the Star Wars line. On the other hand, it’s wonderful to see Rachelle Rosenberg doing colors on a Star Wars book again though! Her work on Legacy Volume 2 was lovely and continues to be so here.

But hey! There’s a nice little nod to Firefly on the very first page which is always fun and there are even art cameos by the esteemed editors of this book. How can you not appreciate this book just for those?

Star Wars Annual #2: Kelly Thompson/Writer, Emilio Laiso/Artist, Rachelle Rosenberg/Colors, Joe Caramagna/Letterer, Editor/Jordan White, Assistant Editor: Heather Antos

Knights of the Old Replay: Daze of Hate through Vector

Posted on by

One of the fun things about doing this retrospective is that a creator just might pop his head up with some commentary. Last post, I mentioned that Days of Fear/Nights of Anger felt like one big story. Turns out that they are! Those two arcs plus the first two I’m covering in this post are just all one big story split into bite sized chunks for the retailers. (Thank you to the esteemed John Jackson Miller for this insight!) It’s a shame that the entire story couldn’t be in the same omnibus but that’s the way of comics, I suppose.

Daze of Hate
Script by John Jackson Miller, Art by Bong Dazo, Colors by Michael Atiyeh, Lettering by Michael Heisler

I will not ship Alek and Jarael I will not ship Alek and Jarael I will not ship Alek and Jarael I will not— damnit. Here’s the thing: I’m fairly sure that I didn’t have any strong, ship feelings about these two when I first read this comic. I don’t know what changed now unless JJM has some magical ability to go back in time after making me fall for Hera/Kanan to make me fall for another ship? (I used to live such a happy ship-free life, kids.)

 Continue reading →

post

Review: Catalyst (audiobook)

Posted on by

We’re less than a month out from Rogue One and discovering just what a non-Saga, “anthology” Star Wars film looks like. Lucasfilm seems to be dipping its toe in the non-Saga pool gently, giving us a story — the theft of the plans to the first Death Star — separate from but still intrinsically linked to the original Star Wars film. In the meantime, to whet our appetites and give us some backstory for the characters we’ll meet in the film, Legends and Tarkin alum James Luceno has brought us Catalyst, the story of Galen Erso and Orson Krennic (Mads Mikkelsen and Ben Mendelsohn in the film, respectively) and how their unlikely friendship led to the development of the galaxy’s most powerful weapon.

Random House has consistently released audiobook versions of the novels in the new canon, and Catalyst is no exception. Catalyst is performed by Jonathan Davis — not the lead singer of Korn, but the veteran of more than four hundred(!) audiobook recordings, over of thirty of which were under the Star Wars banner.

So, how does Catalyst work — as a stand-alone novel, as a film prelude, and as an audiobook production? Read on to find out! Continue reading →

Rebels Review: The Wynkahthu Job

Posted on by

rebels logoGary Whitta is, without a doubt, living his best life.  He not only wrote the forthcoming Rogue One but now he’s also responsible for two episodes of Star Wars Rebels this season.  Add all of that to how his episodes have featured Wedge Antilles AND Hondo Ohnaka and…well… Four for you Gary Whitta!  You go, Gary Whitta!

The Wynkahthu Job starts as most Hondo episodes do: he has a job for the crew of the Ghost.  It’s a job with the potential to leave him rich and the Rebellion with a lot of bombs.  The only catch is that they’re also going to have to work with Azmorigan.  (Yeah you remember: the squat red alien who tried to buy Hera.)  Needless to say, Hera’s not pleased by this turn of events (which Ezra was aware of) and, for some reason, doesn’t immediately go get another tray but instead puts Zeb in charge of the mission.  It’s not surprising that Ezra’s not happy and that the mission goes far less smoother than expected.  This is Star Wars after all. Continue reading →

Review: Star Wars #25

Posted on by

The Last Flight of the Harbinger draws to a close today with the release of Star Wars #25. It’s been an… uneven arc. Perhaps uneven’s not quite the right word but the tone of each issue has felt wildly different. We went from the super serious stormtrooper focused issue to the very flirty Han and Leia one to this serious yet humorous battle one. I’ve enjoyed the ride but admittedly, I’m not sure how I feel about the book as a whole.

By far and away, Sana Starros is establishing herself as one of the best parts of this book. (Apparently November is the month when I fistpump and cheer on awesome ladies.)   Since her introduction many arcs ago, it’s been a delight watching her develop into being so much more than an old compatriot of Han’s. The insanity of the Rebels is start to rub off on her and holy hell SHE IS A BADASS. Everything about her duel with the stormtrooper is just fantastic especially with their banter. She has very quickly become my favorite part of this book and I hope she continues to stick around and maybe even guest stars in the Dr. Aphra book one day?

Jason Aaron definitely does take advantage of getting access to Vader again and I believe he’ll continue to do so. (No spoilers… you’ll just have to read the last page.) I’m also hoping that we get to see more of Sergeant Kreel’s squad… the book certainly seems to hint that we might. They didn’t get to do quite enough this book to fully establish themselves as the badasses that they were in the first issue.

I sound moderately down on this issue but that has more to do with not being quite as satisfied with the arc as a whole. The fight scenes in this one are definitely fun. It just wasn’t my favorite story line thus far. But hey! This issue does also include a short little comic at the end about Artoo by Chris Eliopoulos and Jordie Bellaire and it’s the CUTEST THING.

Star Wars #25: Jason Aaron/Writer, Jorge Molina/Artist, Matt Milla/Colorist, Chris Eliopoulos/Letterer, Jordan White/Editor, Heather Antos/Assistant Editor

Review: Han Solo #5

Posted on by

An issue like this one never fails to be bittersweet. On the one hand, it’s a very satisfying ending to a great book. On the other hand… the book’s ending. That’s the downside to these miniseries. I’d love to see books like this, Princess Leia, and Obi-Wan & Anakin go on for arc after arc but instead we only get 5 issues. Treasure them while you can.

This book is just so damn pretty. I suspect that some Star Wars fans who don’t have as strong of a comics background don’t know how damn lucky we are to get Mark Brooks doing interiors on this book and Sonia Oback’s colors just make the pages pop ever more. This book was a goddamn gift for the artwork alone and Marjorie Liu’s script makes it doubly so. Why hasn’t this book get more appreciation than it does?

So many things about this book have just been so darn fun. It was definitely a character study for Han but plot line about the mission for the Rebel Alliance and the race were definitely enjoyable to follow. I especially loved how the race announcer narrated this issue. The stakes were high (in more ways than one) but that never stopped this book from being fun.

As mentioned in previous issue review, this was definitely an uncertain Han Solo that we’d never really seen before and Liu deftly takes him more towards the certainty that we’re used to. It’s such a natural progression. The “mirror made up of others” line may have been a bit on the nose but Han might be the one character for whom it really works. Sometimes you just need to smack that boy over the head with an idea for him to get it especially when there’s a rebellion or a woman involved. Speaking of ladies, the final page with him and Leia is so note perfect that it hurts.

If you’ve been holding off on this book for the final verdict, wait no longer. Han Solo is definitely cleared for take off. Pick up the floppies, pick up the trades in a few months; whichever. But definitely make sure you read this book.

Han Solo #5: Marjorie Liu/Writer, Mark Brooks/Artist, Sonia Oback & Matt Milla/Colors, Joe Caramagna/Letterer, Jordan White/Editor, Heather Antos/Assistant Editor

Knights of the Old Replay: Homecoming through Nights of Anger

Posted on by

The Awful Adventures of Zayne Carrick continue and, well, we actually get a really neat mixture of stories and character backstories. I might be doing this whole thing backwards though because I’m pretty sure I wrote the most about the shortest arc this time around. Oh well?

On with the KOTOR!

Homecoming
Script by John Jackson Miller, Art by Brian Ching, Colors by Michael Atiyeh, Lettering by Michael Heisler

Homecoming is really the only thing that this standalone issue could have been called. Lucien and the other Masters return to Coruscant to report back to both the Jedi Council and their manipulators: Lucien’s own mother (Krynda) and Haazen (a failed padawan.) We get a hell of a lot of backstory and our very first encounter with the person who will become Revan! Continue reading →

Review: Catalyst

Posted on by

catalystIf you were amongst those who were disappointed that the first Aftermath book wasn’t a more direct prequel to The Force Awakens, Catalyst will most definitely scratch that itch for you for Rogue One. Set during the Clone Wars and the early years of the Empire, Catalyst dives into the long history between Orson Krennic and Galen Erso. I obviously haven’t seen Rogue One and only know what the trailers have told us but after reading Catalyst, I can’t help but feel that this book is a must read for any Star Wars fan who really wants to enhance their first viewing of the film next month. That’s just one of the reasons why I absolutely recommend picking up Catalyst by James Luceno today at your earliest convenience. Or right now. Now would be good too.

If you’re a Luceno fan, you’ll definitely enjoy this book. The writing style is less dense than Tarkin and will appeal to more people but you’ll probably still learn a new vocabulary word or two. Luceno does a wonderful job of weaving the tale of the slow burn manipulation of Galen Erso across the years without ever leaving the readers lost and wondering exactly when we are. (An impressive feat unto itself.) Primarily, Catalyst is told from the point of view of Lyra Erso, Orson Krennic, and a smuggler named Has Obitt but very rarely from Galen’s. It may seem an odd choice but it works oh so well especially since it can so often be a struggle to get Galen out of his own thoughts and scientific musings.

Although Catalyst is very much a character showcase, it also serves to show a different side of a story than what we already know along with expanding the galaxy a little. What was the last time we got the scientist’s point of view during a war? Catalyst may lack the grand battles that so many assume are synonymous with Star Wars but more than makes up for it with its characters. It’s a big galaxy so it’s nice to see its other facets.

While the book establishes Krennic as being someone you definitely don’t want to cross, the real standout here is Lyra Erso who is also the hero we need and deserve. While some may be disappointed that she’s not a scientist like her husband, she is most definitely her own person and a complex character. We spend a lot of time in Lyra’s head and it is absolutely to the book’s benefit. While yes, the book revolves around Galen and Krennic’s slow manipulation of him, Lyra has agency and keeps trying to do what’s best for their family. She doesn’t just sit there and fret about Galen or just let things happen. She plays an active role in trying to get to the bottom of just what Krennic’s ultimate plan for Galen is. Lyra is exactly the sort of capable female character we need to see more of in Star Wars because she shows us that strength isn’t found in combat alone.

Catalyst will definitely raise your excitement for Rogue One to critical levels. Luceno has done such a wonderful job of weaving together bits and hints of Rogue One into this prequel while also telling a complete story that can stand on its own merits. This is definitely one that Star Wars fans should pick up soon.

Thank you to Del Rey for providing an early copy of the book for review purposes.