Star Wars: Issue #1

Star Wars

Issue #1

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Writer: Jason Aaron

Artist: John Cassaday

Rated: T/Teen

Genre: Sci-Fi

Price: $4.99

Time for a sneak peak at issue number one of the upcoming Star Wars title from Marvel Comics. Due to be released on January 14^th I was fortunate enough to come into a copy early. This series will be taking place between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, and it's important to remember that most of the previously published Expanded Universe (EU) content is not considered canon. That is to say that those stories exist separately from what is accepted as the actual Star Wars story. If you, like myself, were a fan of the various books, comics, and games that have been released over the years that brought additional detail to the universe you will need to set aside your preconceived notions of what took place between, before, and after the movies. Settle in and enjoy the fact that every bit of new Star Wars media that you consume is now officially part of the story.

On to the comic! These are the characters you've known and loved for a large part of your life. The feel of the universe is nearly spot on, it just feels like a Star Wars story from the start. Cassaday's art fits in well with the story, and the characters look the way I want them to look for a comic. Some panels seemed to be lacking in detail though, almost like the action was taking place against a back drop in a studio instead of in a galaxy as vibrant as the one we've come to expect. I also felt that it was a strange design choice to have the characters all dressed in outfits very reminiscent of those we've seen elsewhere in the trilogy. I was expecting something that felt a little more different than what we've already seen. I can buy that Han basically dresses the same every day, but Luke is wearing his award ceremony get-up from A New Hope and Leia is dressed practically the same as she is through the first half of Empire. A small complaint, I know; it has little bearing on the story, but it jumped off the page as an oddity to me.

Jason Aaron's story captures the 'against the odds' feeling of the Rebel Alliance very well. When we enter the story our favorite rebels are in the midst of a plan to destroy a major weapons manufacturing plant. The plan seems to be going well, which as we all know is a bad sign in this universe. C-3PO even commits the cardinal sin of remarking on how good a feeling he has about things. When everything inevitably goes sideways for our heroes Han improvises one of his famous plans. Luke picks that moment to have wandered off on his own, first as part of an impromptu rescue and then a much more dangerous confrontation. The banter between Han and Threepio specifically feels like a continuation of the relationship originally seen in the movies. All of the characters feel like their movie counterparts and react to situations as the reader would expect. One surprising thing for me is that it looks like they're going to tackle the growth of the relationship between Han and Leia very early in the series. It makes sense, as it's the best motivation for Han to be sticking with the Alliance; I just thought they'd develop the story line a little bit more before tackling a romantic link between the two.

Conclusion: I don't know if it's still the case, with the Disney acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, but before it's been generally accepted that there are three years between episodes four and five. If that is still the case then there is a lot they can do with this series, and with some minor tweaks it appears that the story is in good hands. I'm excited to see what happens next, and do not envy the task of telling this story while under constant scrutiny from many fans that have had thirty years to fill in this gap in the story with their own ideas.

Rating: 8/10