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Star Wars #38 marks the first issue of the series written exclusively by Kieron Gillen, a writer who has already written his fair share of Darth Vader and Doctor Aphra. With the main title now under his control where could he possibly be taking our beloved characters? Jedha!
So what’s it about?
Read the preview!
Why does this matter?
Still taking place between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, the latest from the Marvel run of Star Wars appears to be going back even further to a planet made famous by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
I love the use of title cards to set up each scene.
If you liked Rogue One you’re going to need to read this. It features familiar characters, a full page spread of what is left of the planet, and brings interesting pre-established comic characters into direct opposition of our favorite Rebels. It’s comics like this that make me wonder how Gillen plots them because it manages to name drop, weave into the films and also blaze its own trail. Those damn kyber crystals are still a hot Empire commodity it seems and Luke, Leia, and Han are working to making it harder for the bastards to acquire it.
Aside from this issue dropping some fun winks and nods to the films it also establishes Leia’s role as leader and the two big bads that’ll be making her life harder. Think of them as intergalactic Trump cronies and you get the idea. They’re at Jedha to do some mining and they’re willing to break a few eggs to get the resources. And by eggs I mean skulls.
The art by Salvador Larroca continues to be very good when necessary. Ships, Empire armor, and aliens look fantastic. Take a look at the four-legged beast Luke is riding below and you’ll see what I mean. It’s incredibly alien but realistic and functional. The full page spread of Jedah from afar is also incredible in scope and detail. The introduction of the villains is incredibly striking as well due to their lifelike faces. Honest to god it looks like a photograph!
Before ‘Empire Strieks Back’ Luke learned how to ride on one of these.
It can’t be perfect can it?
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The opening scene takes place during a sandstorm which makes the action muddy and hard to follow. Aside from some laser blasts, it’s difficult to even tell how much danger the heroes are in and that reduces the drama of the scene. There’s also quite a lot of talking to set up the characters and plot which makes the overall experience slow and a tad cumbersome. The striking images here and there mixed with the connections to the films should get most folks through it though!
Is It Good?
Though somewhat slow I’m on board for what Gillen and Larroca have in store for readers. The story weaves into Rogue One very well.
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