A view from the other side.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jason Aaron
Art: Jorge Molina
Colors: Matt Milla
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
What They Say:
“The Last Flight of the Harbinger” STARTS NOW! Sgt. Kreel is back with an all-new squad of stormtroopers! Go inside the minds of an elite group of Imperial soldiers! Join incoming artist Jorge Molina for a walk on the dark side!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
After the very fun Rebel Jail arc and then a new installment of the Kenobi Journals, the main Star Wars ongoing series shifts into its next arc with The Last Flight of the Harbinger. This one brings new artist Jorge Molina on board with colorist Matt Milla to bring it to life and the pair fit in pretty great here, though it helps that Molina doesn’t have to deal with any actor-characters just yet. This arc is one that’s got some potential though it’s unclear if we’ll be seeing the whole thing from this side of the story or if it’s a series of one-off adventures at the moment as the next issue doesn’t quite feel like a continuation of this. The Star Wars universe is wide and expansive with the stories it can tell and this one feels like it’s angled more towards the Rogue One style of storytelling already, which gets it even more positive attention from me.
The premise of this one takes us back to the character of Kreel as he’s now out of his undercover gig and has found his new command. That’s put him in with Task Force 99, a group that he chose to work with after they lost their other commander recently. Made up of seasoned and skilled veterans, these are the best of the best of the Stormtrooper class and provides for a welcome change to the usual cannon fodder we get. Even more welcome is that they work to really personalize them in a way even though we don’t see them out of armor. Kreel himself is never really mentioned by name, just known as sarge by the others, but the rest are called out by their names such as Mic and Zuke and so forth. They’re all wearing the standard white design armored uniform but they all have some unique aspects to them with the designs so that they stand out as their own character, which does help to individualize them a bit but not enough amid all the action that goes on here.
The mission for this team here is that they’ve chased down a rebel ship that has crashed on what’s known as the Ghost Moon as the whole place was evacuated years ago due to volcanic erputions and instability. It’s a ghost world to be sure with cities falling apart and is the perfect place for the rebels to hide and try to snipe off the Stormtroopers. What we get is Kreel’s background through the narration that does a very strong job of showing events from the other side with how he grew up, why he views the Empire as freedom, and the reasons behind viewing the rebels as terrorists. It is, admittedly, something that the original trilogy covered to a degree in how certain things are true, from a certain point of view. Kreel isn’t exactly sympathetic here since he is a Stormtrooper and all, but it presents strong and engaging reasons for why he’s on the side he is and why he fights as strongly as he does.
In Summary:
Star Wars has so many routes that it can go that I’m glad to see a story like this as it brings in something that feels new and engaging. Kreel and his team are solidly fun and enjoyable to watch and if you weren’t already exposed to the films and the mythos you would otherwise see his team as largely being on the side of right. Jason Aaron nails the voice for Kreel and the others quite well and Jorge Molina and Matt Milla definitely make for a great pair with the artwork and design, especially in the hues of red to give this world its own particular style. I’m definitely excited to see more of this team as it helps to shift the balance just a bit in the capability of the Empire and why there are many that will align with them because of the (selfish) good that they did for others over the course of its existence.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: All Ages
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: July 20th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
