Despite its occasionally clunky dialogue and inconsistent artwork, I felt Star Wars' return to Marvel Comics was a solid effort. At its best, the characters and overall tone were nearly perfect. If that level of quality can be maintained, the series would easily warrant a monthly purchase.
Now that the second issue is out in the wild, we may as well dive in to see how it stacks up. Let's grab a nice cool glass of blue milk and check out Marvel's Star Wars #2!
I loved that the first issue began with a movie-style opening crawl, but I fear having one every single time might diminish the appeal. As you can see, the initial run makes up the Book I: Skywalker Strikes story arc. Though a great device for making sure the reader is up to date, a single intro at the beginning of each "Book" would probably suffice.
I know I'm being super nitpicky, so let's just move on.
We pick up right where we left off, with the woefully unprepared Luke Skywalker facing off against Darth Vader. Our protagonist goes full Inigo Montoya mode. If this scene were in a movie between Episode IV and V, it would make their classic Empire Strikes Back showdown fairly redundant. An earlier meeting between the two sounds great in theory, but I'm not sure that it really benefits the overall story.
Even so, I actually laughed out loud at Vader's retort. I doubt that was the intention, but there's something oddly hilarious about the legendary Sith Lord being such a bastard. Fortunately, there's plenty more where that came from. Over the course of the issue, he creates a complete epidemic of what are essentially gigantic fuck-yous. The only downside is that many of these moments flounder in the midst of cumbersome dialogue. "Very many fathers" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.
The dramatic irony-ridden father/son skirmish is quickly interrupted by Han and Leia piloting an AT-AT Imperial Walker. While the day is saved for Luke, they pretty much guarantee a swift death for the newly freed slave workers. This is one of the issue's biggest problems. If you're not sure what AT-AT stands for, it's "All Terrain Armored Transport." That last part is critical.
*Glasses push*
While their frighteningly powerful laser cannons are of great use on the battlefield, one of the primary functions of AT-AT walkers is to carry personnel. Their central compartments are sizable enough to hold forty troops and several small vehicles. There should be more than enough room for the workers, but the issue shows the majority of them following behind on foot.
The logic here is bad enough, but it also makes for a nasty continuity error. Han is shown commanding the slave workers to board the AT-AT in the previous issue. It's pretty clear the decision to mysteriously have them still running around willy-nilly was made just so they could be dispatched by Vader and his Stormtroopers. The writing could have used a lot more thought.
I also have a wealth of other problems with Jason Aaron's work on this issue, but I'd rather the review not devolve into a huge list of pedantic complaints. The book is far from perfect. Let's just leave it at that.
At the very least, the unnecessary slaughter opens the book to a big ol' roller coaster of an escape scene. Luke commandeers a speeder bike, Vader takes on Han and Leia's AT-AT, and C-3PO struggles to get the Millennium Falcon prepped for take-off. (Chewbacca is unfortunately absent.) There are some really fantastic scenes in there. I almost felt myself getting invested.
I feel incredibly conflicted overall. While a lot of this issue rubbed me the wrong way, there were still a handful of legitimately wonderful moments. I can easily see how this series could be amazing with a little more care given to the dialogue and story developments. John Cassaday's erratic handle on the character likenesses have turned out to be the least of its worries.
I may give the next issue a shot, but hesitantly so. Star Wars #2 was unfortunately a big step down from the debut. But hey, I'm sure some of you out there might find it absolutely perfect. I'd be tempted to say it's a "love it or hate it" affair if not for having fallen so harshly in the middle.
For more Castle Geek-Skull madness, follow along on Twitter & Facebook!
No comments:
Post a Comment