COMIC REVIEW:  Jimmy’s Halftime Report

Having hit the six month mark of our comic reviews, and in light of our recent restructuring, let’s do a recap and add scores to what’s come before:

Star Wars Vol. 1: Skywalker Strikes
Marvel jumps back into the Star Wars pool with both feet. Although Luke’s early (albeit brief) confrontation with Vader and Vader’s learning Luke’s identity remain fairly controversial, I feel they served the story well, especially in the long term.


Darth Vader Vol. 1: Vader
A very strong start to a series that is, quite possibly, Marvel’s finest effort to date. Cylo and his minions are a little much at times, but their roles in the themes that this series explores are important.

(very close to 5).

Star Wars Vol. 2: Showdown On The Smuggler’s Moon
A mixed bag, but overall pretty good. The worst thing about this volume is the art in the Ben Kenobi one-off story.


Darth Vader Vol. 2: Shadows and Secrets
Kieron Gillen follows up his strong start by notching it up a notch with the introduction of Inspector Thanoth, and continues to develop the relationship between Vader and Aphra.

(Again, very close to 5).

Vader Down
Marvel pulls off their first Star Wars crossover pretty well. It brings together threads previously established in both series and ends with effects that will be explored in their successive issues. Also, Vader is in prime bad*** form in this one.


Star Wars Vol. 3: Rebel Jail
A fairly decent storyline spinning out of the events of Vader Down. We get some development for Sana and see Aphra interacting with the Rebels. The ending has some issues.


Darth Vader Vol. 3: The Shu-Torun War
Vader is in the thick of it pacifying a revolt on an important mining world. This story’s got some really great stuff in it and introduces a character who will figure prominently in later issues of the Star Wars series once Gillen takes over the writing duties.


Star Wars Vol. 4: Last Flight of The Harbinger
A good story, not great, but maybe a little better than Rebel Jail as it is a pretty rollicking story in the classic Star Wars style. Wedge’s brief appearance only serves to highlight his unfortunate absence from most of the rest of the series.


Darth Vader Vol. 4: End of Games
A very satisfying conclusion to a wonderful series. It really brings things together not just in terms of plot but also thematically.

(representative not only of this volume but the series as a whole).

Star Wars Vol. 5: Yoda’s Secret War
Salvador Larroca’s art, 3PO’s scene with Scar Squad at the beginning, and the inclusion of the unrelated story from Annual 2 are the spoonful of sugar that make it possible to swallow this otherwise bitter pill.


Star Wars: Princess Leia
Superstar comic writer Mark Waid’s tale of Princess Leia’s personal mission in the aftermath of her planet’s destruction is disappointing. Although I warmed to the art style upon re-reading it, the story itself still falls flat.


Star Wars: Lando
Charles Soule’s Star Wars comic writing debut is as solid as they come. We get a great story, not only about Lando but Lobot as well.


Doctor Aphra Vol. 1: Aphra
Dr. Aphra out on her own? Not quite, first she’s got to sort out some daddy issues. Papa, don’t preach, she’s in trouble deep; but you won’t be losing sleep over your decision to delve into this story.


Notes

In addition to the trade paperbacks as listed above, the Darth Vader series has been collected in its entirety in two hardcover editions and in one all inclusive omnibus edition, both include Vader Down (including the issues published as part of the Star Wars series).

Similarly, the Star Wars trades have been collected in 3 hardcover editions which DO NOT include the Star Wars issues that are part of Vader Down or The Screaming Citadel which is a crossover with Doctor Aphra (review forthcoming).

HOWEVER, according to Amazon, a Star Wars Omnibus will be published on 3/12/19 which will include all issues from Jason Aaron’s run (1-37), and the complete Vader Down story, and The Screaming Citadel (including the Aphra issues).

Obviously, these collections can get a little complicated. Please carefully read product descriptions on Amazon before ordering and maybe compare to entries on Wookieepedia. For example, Amazon says Star Wars Hardcover Vol. 2 includes Annual 2, when in fact it should be Annual 1

Tweet

---

comments powered by Disqus