The mysteries expand.
Creative Staff:
Story: Kieron Gillen
Art: Salvador Larroca
Colors: Guru e-FX
Letters: VC’s Clayton Cowles
What They Say:
ASHES OF JEDHA part 3! As Queen Trios’ forces move in to strip what’s left of Jedha, the Rebellion and the remaining Partisans struggle to save the planet for its survivors! The echoes of Rogue One continue to be heard through the Rebellion!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Jedha arc that Kieron Gillen has kicked off this run with is something that’s definitely going to read better in full but it’s scoring big points for me in upping the lore of the franchise. Though many looked at Rogue One as something that was a rehash of unnecessary material that was obvious, the creative behind it instilled a lot of neat things to expand upon and showcase the ramifications of going forward. This issue does that in a big way, though admittedly it’s more teases than anything else. But with the kind of design work that Salvador Larroca gets to do with it, wonderfully complemented by what Guru e-FX brings to the page with the colors in the back half, it’s a strong and engaging piece.
The exploration of Jedha at this stage where it’s essentially about to be torn apart for its raw resources is definitely something that we’ve seen before, notably in the New Dawn novel as well as in Gillen’s Darth Vader run. Trios is more of a background character in this installment but what we see her draw into the picture is frightening as the Rebels do what they do and have taken out the structure that was dropped on the world to begin the process. Bringing in a “monster” of a machine that will rend the planet to shreds to get what it needs is exactly how Trios would operate within the Empire and knows it’ll up her reputation, instill fear in others, and present a kind of Death Star-like power with what it can do. Even Kancher is impressed, almost to the point of having no words. And that says a lot.
On Jedha itself, the first half deals with the attack in brief and it’s perfunctory, particularly since with the “noise” on the page it’s kind of rendered indistinct in some ways. With the cold nature of the Partisans on display, my interest picked up more when Chulco sets out for the next phase of his life and has Luke coming along to where a Jedi Temple once stood. There’s some fantastic dialogue here between him and Leia that has a key flashback with her recent loss of her father. What it shows, however, is the way her drive is something that she should be able to understand in him with how he wants to be a Jedi over what he’s lost. That’s a strong piece to break down over time as well but I love the journey he and Chulco go on as we get into some really great off the beaten path Force style religious aspects coming into play with who they’re going to meet as the world is close to ending.
In Summary:
The Jedha arc is delivering some great stuff for me with the way its expanding on both the core characters, previously introduced new characters, locations, and the mysticism of the Force and the Jedi. It continues to be an area where the more you read the more you get out of it and that’s been a big part of the franchise since forever, but more so in an interconnected way since the relaunch of continuity in the last few years. Gillen has a strong if quiet installment here that will read better in full and Larroca gets to really get creative with this throughout as there are a lot of great panels and designs that just look fantastic through and through. Great stuff all around here.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: All Ages
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: December 13th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
