Separate paths that complicate connections to the movies.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jason Aaron
Art: John Cassaday
What They Say:
The greatest space adventure of all time continues! As Luke goes home in search of the truth about his late mentor, Leia takes Han on a secret mission of vital importance to the Rebellion. Unfortunately, they both run into some unfriendly encounters.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With the interconnected nature of things within what Disney is building now that Lucasfilm is part of the family, there’s always that added complication that comes in from adding around the films. We saw it in the Expanded Universe and we’ve seen it in other properties as well. With just a few issues under their belt so far, they’re quickly doing things that feel like it’s hard to reconcile with the films, but it may just be a matter of perception when you get down to it based on years and years of being far too familiar with a particular trilogy of films. The main problem that readers like I have to contend with is simply ourselves, as it’s easy to read too much into things and not just enjoy it.
Such is the case with the Tatooine arc here, where Luke is going back to Kenobi’s place for clues as he struggles with hearing Ben’s voice in his head from time to time. It’s hard to imagine Luke going back, period, and that the place wasn’t watched on some level. It provides for a little action, which is decent, and shows that Luke is getting the hang of things but also dealing with the frustrations that he knows he should be letting go of. At the same time, we see Boba Fett doing his style of information gathering to get a name about who Luke is, since that’s what Vader’s looking for, and it’s fun to see him revisit the cantina and go through the motions there. That it brings Luke and Boba Fett together? That’s damn hard to reconcile, though it does make for a fun bit of potential ahead depending on how it all unfolds. It does make me wish that they went in whole other directions though and expanded rather than retreading territory.
The other part of the book is a whole different kind of complicated, though it does work in expanding the Han and Leia relationship. With Luke gone, Han finds himself essentially stuck with the Rebel fleet because he can’t get the parts he needs since they’re resources the fleet needs. To get them, he has to work for them, which means Leia takes him on a recon mission to a sector looking for a potential new base to use in the outer rim. What’s weird is that they’re scouting using the stolen Imperial shuttle, which is just too much of a tie-in to Return of the Jedi, and that we get Han acting more out of character than feels right with the way he’s so jittery. It does make a certain sense based on the character at the time, but you also get the feeling that by the end of A New Hope that he’s not quite so jumpy. A lot of the dialogue feels like it’s right out of the movies, which is good and bad, but it just makes their relationship seem all the more superficial.
In Summary:
Though I continue to enjoy the Star Wars book, I find myself drawn a lot more to the other books coming out at the moment. There’s some good stories to work with these characters and plenty of original directions to go, but it still feels like it’s finding its way and hewing too close to the films in various themes and nods that it doesn’t feel like it’s truly standing on its own. This issue does some good things and I like the characters because it feels like they’re who we know, but the situations and the complications of timelines and connectivity to the films frustrate me because I am that kind of person. I’m still rooting for the book though and am curious to see if the dynamic changes as the artist changes.
Grade: B
Age Rating: All Ages
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: May 20th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
