Caught between two lives.
Creative Staff:
Story: Marjorie Liu
Art: Mark Brooks
Colors: Sonia Oback
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
What They Say:
Everyone’s favorite scoundrel gets his very own series! Han is given a top-secret undercover mission for the Rebellion- rescuing a number of informants and spies. His cover for the assignment? Only the biggest and most infamous starship race in the galaxy! You know- the race Han has dreamt of winning his entire life. Will he keep his mind on the mission? And can he manage to pull it off while keeping the lead?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The lives of many Star Wars characters have been explored in great detail in the decades past, though all part of the non-canon side of things now. I have such vivid memories of the Han Solo and Stars End book and others at the time, such as Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, that it was through Star Wars that I really got into reading science fiction itself. With the field opened up with the cleansing of what was produced before to work something more cohesive, the chance to re-explore this era is tantalizing, particularly with a more modern view of storytelling and shared universe ideals. Considering the work in both mediums that Marjorie Liu has done, there’s definitely a lot to like about what she does here. And the pairing with Mark Brooks is spot on as he brings to life one of the most iconic characters and actors in film for the past several decades. It’s a daunting task that he’s more than up to.
While we’ve had a good number of stories about Han in the main ongoing series book, this one takes us to a time just after A New Hope where he’s not completely on board with the Rebellion just yet but is also feeling himself distanced from his smuggling days. He’s turning down a lot of jobs that he’s getting jittery about all while just claiming to being picky. But his reputation is about to suffer because of it and you can see that after what he’s experienced, the price on his head, and knowing just how many people are looking for him these days that a certain wariness is natural. But that’s also counterproductive for the kind of smuggler he is. Watching how he tries to navigate this is a lot of fun, both through the internal dialogue of his that we get and some of the commentary from others along the way that are, in their own way, trying to help him out. And themselves.
Where things get complicated and quite fun is with the arrival of Adame and Selentia, a pair of Rebel operatives that are bringing him back to Leia as she needs him for a mission that only he can pull off. It’s a contentious one that revolves around a potential mole in the Rebellion that only she and General Cracken know about. The mission is simple enough in trying to connect with an informant/operative out in the field at a time when most of the network is going dark with the crackdown that the Empire is working through after the destruction of the Death Star. There’s a lot of good setup in the dynamic between Leia, Cracken, and Han as they’re almost all trading insults, but the real temptation for Han is there as it involves racing in the legendary Dragon Void run. The goal isn’t to win, which we know is going to complicate things, but essentially throwing Han, Chewie, and the Falcon into a pro-space race event is something that already feels like it’s going to go off the rails in wonderfully delicious ways.
In Summary:
Marjorie Liu’s first venture into the world of Star Wars comics definitely works well here, though I can see her finding the characters voices a bit more as it progresses. Part of it is that in the immediate aftermath of the Death Star event is that there’s little about the way this group would really be interacting and the uncertainty about the paths their choosing. Liu sets us up with a potentially good story here with some familiar ideas and I’m looking forward to the rest. But it’s Mark Brooks that sells it in a big way. He’s filling this world up with a lot of great background elements on top of some fantastic character designs. Capturing likenesses isn’t easy and most artists aren’t able to do it without really stylizing them more than they should be. But what he does here, especially with Oback’s coloring work to give it some great layers, is to bring Han to life in a great way. He’s angling for what might be the best representation of the character in the new Marvel series for this property, in fact. With some great layouts and a sense of grasping the kind of universe that they inhabit and filling it out with those elements, it’s definitely a great book just for looking at it. Luckily, it’s a good read, too!
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 9+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: June 15th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
