CREDIT: Marvel
Rating: 5/5 – A Star Wars Comic That Feels Like It Stepped Right Off the Screen.
by ComicSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas.
There’s a lot of hype and news around the new Star Wars launch at Marvel, and to Marvel’s credit they’ve handled this launch extremely well. First announcing the partnership between LucasFilm and Marvel to publish new stories set in the Star Wars Universe in January of 2014, there’s been a slow trickle of news that ramped up at the San Diego ComicCon in July when Marvel announced three all new series, with the first titled simply Star Wars. Marvel and retailers then announced a slew of variant covers that resulted in over 1 million copies of the first issue being printed. With this first issue being put into so many people’s hands there’s a lot of pressure to deliver. Thankfully Marvel does so with a simple to follow story, wonderful art that nails the look of the characters, and a surprising last page that adds a new chapter to the Star Wars canon.
It’s been a little while since I’ve last seen artist John Cassady’s work in Uncanny Avengers in 2012 and 2013. His art in this first issue absolutely shines. Marvel was smart by choosing an artist that can capture the looks of these characters the way they appeared in the movies over thirty years ago. Cassaday not only delivers on the look of the characters, but on the technology as well. The ships, blasters and lightsabers all feel as though Cassady put the time into making them all appear like they came right out of one of the movies. Although at times Vader can look a little stiff, it’s a nitpick in an overall beautiful book.
Writer Jason Aaron does a fantastic job of keeping the story simple and including all the major characters. Each character has their own moment to shine. Taking place right after the first Death Star has been destroyed, Han, Luke and Leia act as an envoy for Jabba the Hut negotiating terms to deliver supplies to an overworked, and seemingly overly stretched Empire. Aaron does his best to make this fist issue accessible to the millions of fans who’ve seen the movie and for the most part he succeeds. This first issue was so much fun with action, realistic with the character’s personalities as established on screen, and exciting with it’s last page conclusion that should make for an even better second issue. A number two issue which Marvel claims it has already 200k orders for. A huge drop off from the 1 million of #1 which was fueled by variants, but still enough to keep it at the tip top of the sales charts.
Simply put, Marvel made the most out of their opportunity. They delivered a fun and exciting story with characters that so many fans hold in such high regard. From all different standpoints, this first issue is a success. Editorially, Marvel put together the right team to have this issue succeed on many levels. I’m looking forward to future stories in this series, as well as Marvel’s upcoming Darth Vader and Princess Leia titles. If this first issue is any indication of what we can expect going forward, then the Force will be strong with this line of books.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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