Star Wars #2

In the second "episode" of the new Star Wars comic book, Princess Leia assembles a team of X-wing pilots to search for a new Rebellion home base. Meanwhile, Han Solo evades pursuit by an Imperial Star Destroyer, Luke "gets cocky" after showing off his piloting skills in a simulator, and Vader's Elite Star Destroyer comes under new management.

One thing that the Star Wars comic has going for it is that it de-centers the story-telling process. Instead of having Luke Skywalker (IV-VI) or Anakin Skywalker (I-III) as our main protagonist, we see things from the perspective mainly of Leia Organa (#1) and Han Solo (#2). This is both a good and bad decision on the part of the creative staff. It is good because these characters need to be better developed, and not just by non-canonical writers. When you release a comic called Star Wars without hyphens or colons, and this close to the announcement that there will be more films, you tease the possibility of their stories being canon, and what the Star Wars universe is lacking is canonical stories from the perspective of Leia, Han, Chewie, and friends. It is bad because there is no singular focus. Already by issue two, the Leia story, which is by far the most intriguing that the comic has to offer, has been pushed into the background, and Han, while fun, is not as interesting. A run-in with Jabba has been teased, but we've all seen the remakes of the original trilogy. The romance of Han and Jabba leaves a bad taste in our mouths, a taste of CG and the destruction of our childhood.

Of course, Leia's mission to find the mole in the Rebellion is still under way, and we see it develop ever so slightly with the creation of her rogue X-wing team. I hope that I am following a red herring on this, but I think that the conclusion of this story is pretty clear. It will be frustrating if I am correct. Leia has spent a lot of time in the last two issues mourning her lost planet Alderaan, and now we find a starfighter pilot from Alderaan on her team. Certainly, she will be looking for someone who has experienced Alderaan, who remembers the joys, who can share her sorrow. She will grow close to the Alderaan pilot, and he will be the mole. Maybe I'm being stubborn. Maybe there's a much more interesting story to be developed here. I just don't think so.

The second issue is not nearly as interesting as the first. We need to hear more from Princess Leia, to understand her more fully, because the other characters (with the exception of Vader) are a little too flat in this comic (mainly because they're fully developed elsewhere). I want to keep reading this comic, but if we get too many more issues like this second issue, I might have to stop.

I've syndicated this review at Examiner. You can read it here. If you click on it a few times, spend some time there, or navigate to a new page, I might get some money. But I'm only asking that of you if you liked reading the article here and want to show your appreciation.

Star Wars #1

Star Wars #1 is the story of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa/Skywalker, and Darth Vader following the events of the George Lucas film A New Hope. As Luke and Leia seek out a new home for the Rebellion they are ambushed by Imperial forces, forcing Leia to become an undercover "spykiller." Meanwhile, the Empire rebounds from the devastating loss of the Death Star (which interestingly is put entirely on the shoulders of Grand Moff Tarkin).

The first thing I noticed about this book is that I really like the art. One of the challenges of telling new stories of characters from film or television is deciding whether to make the characters look exactly like the actors who play them or to use your own style to draw the character as you see them. Carlos D'Anda succeeds at the latter in much the same way that other great comic book continuations like Buffy the Vampire Slayer have before this.

The writing on the other hand is somewhat lacking. Brian Wood is much like George Lucas. He is pretty good at laying down a general story that will be compelling, but he has some difficulty when it comes to dialogue. With many of the speech bubbles, I found myself thinking, "I can't imagine Luke saying anything like that." Wood has some talent, but right now the only reason I can find to read this book is the promise that is brought to it by the already established characters.

There are a couple of things that are worthy of note in Star Wars #1. I thoroughly enjoyed that the predominant perspective of the first issues was that of Princess Leia. It drove home the gravity of Leia's position. She is the princess of a recently destroyed planet and leader of the Rebels who wish to take down the Empire, not to mention a pilot and a fighter. If we weren't so mystified by the force in the original trilogy and Luke's hero quest, it would be obvious to us that Leia is the most important character in this universe, save for maybe her old man. In this book, Leia shows a lot of the qualities that her mother Queen Amidala showed in the prequel trilogy (which I think was better at portraying an empowered woman than Lucas's original second act). In this issue, we begin to understand the pressure on Leia.

The best moment, however, was when Darth Vader reflected momentarily on the meaning of his defeat at the hands of one named Luke Skywalker. Wood's subtlety leaves the reader wondering if this is the seed that will ultimately bear fruit in Return of the Jedi when the Emperor's dog turns on his Master. It feels like Anakin Skywalker can feel his blood again, can remember that he is the last remaining member of the Jedi council.

Ultimately, I am left wondering why this volume was published and why it was released now. For the last few years, Dark Horse has been releasing plenty of Star Wars mini-series with subtitle after subtitle after subtitle, and I've found myself unable to connect to many of the characters who weren't depicted on the big screen. But now Disney has made a plan to release more Star Wars films and Dark Horse is starting to fill in some of the blanks. Is this book a set-up for these movies or will the movies contradict what is contained within? A book like Star Wars feels like it is canon, but strict canonists understand only the movies, the two cartoons, one video game and one book to be canon. (Am I missing something?)

The main reason I am going to keep reading this book is because it is about characters I love. The secondary reason is because I'm intrigued to see how some of the issues that begin in this issue will turn out. The next couple issues will decide whether this comic is really worth all the hype. I'm hopeful.

I've syndicated this review at Examiner. You can read it here. If you click on it a few times, spend some time there, or navigate to a new page, I might get some money. But I'm only asking that of you if you liked reading the article here and want to show your appreciation.

Dark Horse Presents: The Guild Comic

In 2007, Felicia Day created The Guild because she was spending too much time on MMORPGs as a result of the free time the WGA strike created for her. As a result of this web series, Joss Whedon was inspired to create the smash hit Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog in 2008. After three seasons of The Guild, the series has inspired a three-issue comic mini-series published by Dark Horse Comics coming to stores starting on March 24, 2010.

Here's a sneak preview of the covers:

The Guild #1 - Gary Nord Cover (Left) and Georges Jeanty Cover (Right)

The Guild #2 - Kristian Donaldson Cover (Left) and Matthew Stawicki Cover (Right)

The Guild #3 - Jim Rugg Cover (Left) and Juan Ferreyra Cover (Right)

If you're unfamiliar with The Guild, check it out here. Upcoming episodes will premiere first on X-Box, MSN and Zune.

If you haven't seen Dr. Horrible yet, check it out on Netflix streaming or purchase it at the official Dr. Horrible website. Back in the day the video was free on both the official site and on Hulu, but as Bob Dylan says, "Times, they are a-changin.'"