REVIEW: Star Wars Volume 12: Rebels and Rogues
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Star Wars Volume 12: Rebels and Rogues collects issues 68-72 written by Greg Pak with art by Phil Noto. It was published on November 19, 2019.
Even though the Rebellion scored a major victory on Shu-Torun, the Empire still has the upper hand as they relentlessly pursue our heroes across the Galaxy. Gen. Rieekan sends Chewbacca and C-3PO to planet K43, a volatile volcanic world at the edge of Wild Space. They are to convince the Empire that the Rebellion is using the planet for their new base, then, after planting detonators at various points on the tectonically unstable world, blow it up, taking as many Imperials as they can with it. Luke and R2 are sent to Sergia, where the Rebels have a refueling station that the Empire is dangerously close to discovering with its probe droids. Finally, Han and Leia go to Lanz Carpo, a core world controlled by a crime syndicate that collaborates with the Empire. Their mission is to break in to the gang’s comm center and send a transmission that makes the Empire think the syndicate is actually working with the Rebels.
With issue 68, Greg Pak becomes the third writer to helm the Star Wars ongoing series; and Phil Noto becomes the latest in a long line of artists. The series is edging closer and closer to The Empire Strikes Back. The Rebels are on the run, and the Empire is closing in thanks in no small part to Darth Vader’s obsession with finding Luke Skywalker. Having lost much of their fleet in the Hope Dies storyline, the Alliance can’t possibly go toe to toe with the Empire at this point. So, the name of the game here seems to be evasion and distraction. But things rarely go as planned for our heroes, and so it goes here. When Chewie and 3PO arrive at K43 they discover the planet is in fact inhabited by sentient rock creatures.On Sergia, Luke meets a Force sensitive young woman named Warba, he hopes she can teach him something about the Force, as he is still desperate to find a teacher; however, Warba is not exactly the Jedi type. She’s more the cheating, stealing type. Han and Leia arrive on Lanz Carpo and meet up with Dar Champion, an ex-boyfriend of Leia’s who is now a law enforcer on the deeply corrupt planet. While he has no love for the syndicate, he’s not a big fan of the idea of bringing the Empire’s wrath down on the planet. On K43, the Empire (including Vader) arrive before Chewie and 3PO can deactivate the explosives. Luke lets Warba talk him into robbing an Imperial payroll and then steals his lightsaber. On Lanz Carpo, Dar proposes an alternative plan to Leia: trick Boss Carpo into attacking the Empire with his huge headquarters ship; however, things get complicated when Han is captured and taken aboard that very ship.
This isn’t a bad story, but it’s also not a complete story. All three storylines end on a cliffhanger to be concluded in the next volume. That’s not the norm for this series. Basically every other collection has told a complete story while, of course, also leading into the next storyline due to the ongoing nature of the series. At this point though, we know that the series is going to end with issue 75. That means Pak only has eight issues to tell the story he wants to tell. That’s not nearly as many as Jason Aaron and Kieron Gillen had. That being the case, I can understand why he took this approach. So, how is the story? Eh, it’s not terrible; but I did have some issues with some aspects of it. First, the rock people of K43 bring up bad memories of the Yoda’s Secret War storyline; I do however like that Chewie and 3PO are paired up, they have some nice moments. Second, the Luke/Warba thing felt like a bit of a step back for Luke. We’ve seen him express this need to find a teacher in the ways of the Force to the point that it made him kind of naive already. We saw it in the Screaming Citadel and we saw it in Ashes of Jedha. Third, the Han Leia interactions in the Lanz Carpo storyline. Frankly, I get tired of the fact that the only kind of dialogue that some writers can manage to come up with for the two of them is constant bickering. I understand that we can’t see them in love at this point and that the arguing is meant to be seen as them putting up defenses regarding their true feelings for each other. But again, tiresome. Of course, the other big change to the series is the introduction of Phil Noto as the artist. I think Noto is a good artist, and it’s good to have a single artist responsible as opposed to the rotating roster that we had in the wake of Larroca’s departure. You’re also not going to be getting any freaky traced faces with Noto. This volume pretty much falls right into that middle ground where I can’t really praise it highly but also it’s not so bad that I can make fun of it. That’s not a good place for me. If you’ve been reading the series all the way up to this point, you’re definitely going to want to see this thing through. If you’re not a completist, if you pick and choose, then the best thing may be to wait and see how the conclusion plays out.
Comic Pack Wish List:
Warba, Dar Champion.
Score:
3 Skulls.
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