There are many, many comics in the world of Star Wars. The ones I have here vary in era, art, publication date, publisher, and style, but they are all interesting releases both to the old Expanded Universe as well as the new canon. They are listed in order based on the Battle of Yavin. Just remember, this is a highlight on a small fraction of a larger whole.
Star Wars Vector Vol 1 (3963, 19 BBY)
Publisher: Dark Horse (5 Issues)
Writer: John Jackson Miller, Randy Stradley
Artist(s): Joe Pimentel, Dan Parsons, et. al.
This is a unique collaborative volume that contains volume five of Knights of the Old Republic and volume three of Dark Times. Both are put together in one volume with a story woven around a Jedi introduced in the next installment of KotOR, Celeste Morne. Zayne gets mixed up on a mission with her to retrieve an ancient Sith artifact that can control the beasts of the Rakghoul Plague. On a side mission to eliminate Zayne, Celeste realizes that he is a better man than she thought. When she sacrificed herself to save the Mandalorians from the plague, she is thought dead. The Mandies now owe Zayne for warning them of the plague on their planed, but he leaves with a heavy heart.
In the next section of the volume, Darth Vader is seeking a casket found deep in the ice on a barren planet. Within the casket is Celeste and the Sith icon that Vader seeks. With her, she brings a return of the Plague. While Captain Heren’s crew and Vader’s troopers aim to avoid the plague and the death is will surly bring, Vader and Celeste battle one-on-one, Celeste opting to give in to the Sith lord controlling the ancient item, giving her the ancient one’s power.
This was an interesting collaborative piece that worked well together. I have not read the Dark Times arc yet, and I didn’t need to to know that this volume was vastly interesting. While the art for the KotOR piece is pretty bad, the shift in style to the Dart Times volume is absolutely gorgeous, and the two stories focus around Celeste and can be a stand-alone piece featuring her.
Star Wars The Clone Wars Vol. 7: When They Were Brothers (20 BBY)
Publisher: Dark Horse (7 Issues)
Writer: Haden Blackman, Miles Lane (“Brothers in Arms”)
Artist(s): Brian Ching, Nicola Scott
This volume contains “Obsession” issues 1-5 and the short “Brothers in Arms.” Obsession was an iconic piece in seeing more of Obi-wan and Anakin’s relationship. While Anakin claims to have killed Ventress on Coruscant, Obi-wan is positive she is still alive and asks Anakin to help find her. When they do, she is in a bacta tank, fully recovered by Dooku’s aid. When she fails yet again to kill Obi-wan, Dooku has one of his droids end her for her failures. Obi-wan finds that he has been able to reach a speck of light within her just before she dies, and aims to take her back to be with other fallen Jedi. “Brothers in Arms” shows the built relationship of Obi-wan and Anakin as two comrades in battle. When they storm Dooku’s palace, they find a horde of droids, but they also find that they will always have each others backs, despite Anakin’s hard-hardheadedness.
The art in “Obsession” is sharper than some of the previous Clone Wars volumes, the characters looking somewhat more realistic, especially with their facial features. The story was focused on Obi-wan’s obsession with Ventress, a correlation between two characters in the Clone Wars that has always been interesting to look upon and analyze. It is also five months before the Jedi purge, which makes me curious as to how the Clone Wars will fall into place just before that iconic event occurs.
Star Wars: Han Solo (0 ABY)
Publisher: Marvel (5 Issues)
Writer: Marjorie Liu
Artist(s): Mark Brooks, Lee Bermejo
Han Solo is asked by Leia to use his ship in a dangerous race, while the race is actually a cover to pick up three rebel spies, one of which is a traitor. Many of the racers don’t respect Han as a pilot in that he is a smuggler, but despite the mission, he is determined to win the race. Many obstacles get in the way, including the Empire. When one of the rebel spies is killed aboard his ship, the other agents find themselves staking out the one who has been feeding information to the Empire.
The art was a bit different in this graphic novel, sharper and more angular than some of the other new Marvel line. The story sounded kind of bland, but it was interesting in that we get to see an extra mission between Episodes IV and V, as well as meeting someone who was once an enemy of Han and Chewbacca. It was a decent stand-alone piece and had the thrill of excitement that any intense race would have, along with high stakes.
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (33 ABY)
Publisher: Marvel (6 Issues)
Writer: Chuck Wendig
Artist(s): Luke Ross, Marc Laming, et. al.
This graphic novel is an adaptation of the movie and parallels the events of the movie. Scavenger Rey and deserting Stormtrooper Finn find themselves on a mission to escort a BB-8 unit back to the Rebel Alliance. BB-8 holds the key, the final piece of the map to finding Luke Skywalker. Along the way, Rey learns of her force powers, encounters Han Solo and Chewbacca, and fights Kylo for the sake of good.
Overall the adaptation was an enjoyable read. The art is pretty sharp, and when going from motion to still, adjustments must be made to get that motion across. Some of the fight scenes or other action bits, while drawn well, do not have the same impact as seeing it on the screen. Regardless, reading and looking at an adaptation of something you know and love is always a good experience to see something from a slightly different perspective.
Teresa Crider, Review Writer 