The race gets more dangerous but guess who can’t back down from a challenge?
Creative Staff:
Story: Marjorie Liu
Art: Mark Brooks, Dexter Vines
Colors: Sonia Oback
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
What They Say:
As The Dragon Void race gets more intense…Han’s rebel mission gets more deadly! Can the Falcon hold up to one of the most intense flights of its career? What’s worse for Han…failing Leia? Or losing a race?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The opening two installments of the Han Solo miniseries have been a good bit of fun even if the plot itself feels like it’s more complicated than it needs to be. Liu’s works have been strong ones to be sure, in comics and out, but sometimes it feels like the Star Wars universe isn’t best served by being too complex. What surprisingly proves to be a greater draw for me here than her writing is Mark Brooks artwork with Vines and coloring by Oback. There’s a great amount of detail and love put into this work and it shows on the pages in a big way with one absolutely fantastic clockwork style layout and just so much more throughout. This is one of those books that definitely makes it feel like the art team lives in that world and grasps how to bring it to life.
Which is hugely critical here because it’s incredibly difficult to bring race material to life on the page in a way that really makes you engaged with it. When the next leg of the race gets underway, which is essentially an endurance piece, they can bow out and become disqualified because of the danger but still complete it as a sign of respect for making it as far as they have but avoiding the dangerous parts. This is where we get the Solo attitude as we know that he can’t resist a good challenge, and a chance to show off and look good, but you also get the sense that he’s become invested in the race. The team really makes this look great and Liu brings enough life to Solo through it that you feel like you can understand why he’d do this beyond just looking for the informants.
The informant side of the storyline, which is what’s getting all of this moving, feels like it’s becoming weirdly complex here at the start. With Chewie having grabbed one of them before he got killed we learn just how convoluted the setup is for them and how they can reveal only so much because of it, thus ensuring that Han needs to get all of them or the focus will fall on Leia. It’s a fun enough piece but I was more interested in the opening pages with the Empire flexing their muscles, obviously eying Solo as a target, but also showing an interesting kind of camaraderie among the racers as they stand tall against the insults and the potential for arrest there. The Imperial dealing with it does come across as a little odd, as though he has another mission underneath it all, but it’s an intriguing piece overall.
In Summary:
Similar to a lot of other Star Wars books, I really get the feeling that this title will work in a stronger way once we get the whole thing out. Some books are delectable in single issue installments; Liu’s Monstress is one of those to be sure, but others end up feeling more incomplete than they should and lose a little something by the time between issues. The big win for me this installment once again is the artwork as this team is just nailing it and leaving me very hopeful that they get to reunite for another work in this universe in the future. It’s so well done and has such a sense of energy about it combined with great color work and fantastic layouts that you linger within the pages for quite some time on the second and third time through it. Good stuff overall and it continues to be a worthy addition to the slate of miniseries produced.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 9+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: August 31st, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
