Star Wars... the comic books

The War of Stars! Wait, that's not right...

Wow. It's been a long time since I wrote on here. And what brings me back? Star Wars! There's been some rumor that there is a new movie coming out later this year. Marvel/Disney knows this (as Disney owns the franchise) and in a move of a cash grab synergistic energy, they have released a lot of new comic books. What you may not realize is that these books have taken over the industry (sales wise) by storm. I won't go into details, but those books alone have made Marvel a top seller.

So why do I bring this up? I happen to be one of those poor saps that got roped into these books hook, line and sinker. I'm a sucker for Star Wars. Dark Horse had a lot of great series a few years ago, so I can't even begin to explain why I ignored those and suddenly got super interested in these. What's that? There's a new movie coming out? Oh right. That explains it. That excitement has made me wax nostalgic for this franchise again.

Having said all of that, I have bought all the books they released so far. I'm only human, so I won't keep this up. For right now, I'm hooked. Let me give you my brief feelings on each series so far. Right up front, all of these books take place between Episode IV and Episode V. I guess it's fertile ground for storytelling.

Star Wars - Obviously this is the flagship title. As stated above, this book "fills" the gap between episodes IV and V. Besides the fact that it's Star Wars, I picked this book up because Jason Aaron is writing it. If I haven't said it enough on this blog, he is one of my favorite writers. John Cassaday drew the first arc, but I had no expectations he'd be back after that. His art no longer does it for me. I mean, the story has been good, but it steps all over the cannon of the movies. Luke encounters both Boba Fett AND Darth Vader during this time? Han Solo and Chewy go head to head with Darth Vader in an AT-AT? Han has a WIFE?! The book really is well written and it's now being drawn by one of my favorite artists, Stuart Immonen. You'll see a common theme from me and it's this: If you're a Star Wars fan, turn your brains off because it plays fast and loose with established cannon.

Star Wars: Darth Vader - You know, this book started out innocently enough. You see the dynamic of Vader within the Empire. He's basically a pariah after the Death Star was blown up on his watch. The first few issues deal with him being micromanaged by the Emperor. Then the book shifts into him finding evil droids and a scientist of ill repute. She never existed in the movies, so they shoe horn her in as best they can. One of the problems with this book is Darth Vader is so chatty. Less is more when you are Darth Vader. It just doesn't feel right at all. There's been a long drawn out tale of how he's assembling an army secretly outside of the Empire after orchestrating a heist (??). After more issues than I should, I'm dropping this book. It's just not for me. It is some of the best art I've seen out of Salvador Larocca in years though.

Star Wars: Princess Leia - So I'll be honest, it wasn't so much my interest in Star Wars that drew me to most of these books, it was the top shelf creative teams they put on them. For this book, I'm a big fan of Mark Waid's writing (re: Daredevil!) and Terry Dodson's art. The story is serviceable, but again, in that space between Episode IV and V, they tell this little tale. It was okay, but let's not get excited or anything. We already know pretty much everything we needed to know about Princess Leia. This book doesn't give us anything new.

Star Wars: Lando - My love of Lando is due solely to the fact that he is the only black character in this whole wacky universe. Oh, and he was portrayed perfectly by Billy Dee Williams. Charles Soule does a good job of recreating Lando's voice. Most of it feels like words that you would hear Billy Dee say. Lobot is a chatty Cathy, which any fan knows is unheard of. Fortunately, they are leaning him towards where he ends up in Empire Strikes back. However, it's really jarring to see how different his character is. The story itself is also serviceable. Lando on a heist mission, but at least they don't shoe horn in all the other characters in the universe.

Journey to Star Wars: Force Awakens - Well, there's only one issue out so far, but the reason I bought this book is because it's written by Greg Rucka (another one of my favorite writers). Seriously, that's all it took. This takes place like a day after Return of the Jedi. I'll stick with this for a little bit, but I really don't want any spoilers before the movie comes out!

There you have it, it's been fun to be immersed again in this world and I can't wait for the movie to come out. The books are doing their part.