Creative choices and a flashback to the past.
Creative Staff:
Story: Kelly Thompson
Art: Marco Checchetto
Colors: Andres Mossa
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
What They Say:
Phasma and Pilot are in disguise! After tracking down a First Order officer to a mysterious planet, Captain Phasma finds herself leading a new army against a new threat.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With one more issue to go after this, the Captain Phasma series is going to wrap things up quickly and efficiently by the look of things. Kelly Thompson doesn’t quite go that route in this issue as it’s a bit more roundabout in a way but it serves in showing us more of Phasma, a glimpse into her past, and the approach she takes to solving problems when on her own. While the story is moving along decently the real draw for me is Checchetto’s artwork. That’s not to take away from the story but he delivers such a visually strong work here in making this world come alive and feel theatrical in so many ways that it does kind of stand above it. Especially since it’s hard to connect with Phasma as a character. Heck, I think we know the Pilot more, in a way.
The path in the hunt that Phasma is one is one that has found a real obstacle to deal with when it comes to those large creatures in the water that are just intriguing to look at. They’re not easy to pass even when they do sleep and that requires her coming up with another plan. This is a little roundabout in a way as she gets a clue from one of the locals and meets with the village to get a feel for how they fit into things. It’s almost like a Star Trek episode in that these people are not indigenous to this world and that gives her options in a ship that she can use its power crystal from to try and deal with the giant creatures that slumber in the water. The back and forth with it is fun to watch and it brings us to a great last page where the scale of what they have to deal with is just beginning – and felt like it was out of Attack on Titan in a way.
For me, it was the smaller moments that clicked well with this issue more than anything else. The intriguing bit is seeing a flashback to Phasma as a child doing a climb similar to one that she’s doing in the present which hints at some form of family she had. This world is very similar to her own in ways and has been made clear previously so it’s nice to see it bringing a bit more to the surface as well. But what really makes this book work for me is the Pilot as she’s got some great little moments of incredulity at what they’re doing and even misreads Phasma in a big way, though it’s not hard to believe that members of the First Order view themselves as being on the right side of things rather than an oppressive force of evil. The PIlot has some great expressions and it really has left me wanting to see more of her and what that part of the First Order is like.
In Summary:
The Captain Phasma series is light on character as I expected but delivers just enough moments with our title character that it can work – and work well. The story is interesting and getting to see a new alien world and its weirdness is definitely a delight, as is the supporting cast that’s more interesting than I would have expected. The big win for me once again, however, is Marco Checchetto’s artwork. I just can’t rave about it any more than I have as it’s just the kind of ideal thing for this franchise. His work looks fantastic, is richly detailed and the layouts within the frames are fantastic, and paired with Andreas Mossa means it’s just being taken to a whole other level. Fantastic material.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: October 4th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
