Guess who’s coming to dinner?
Creative Staff:
Story: Kieron Gillen
Art: Angel Unzueta
Colors: Guru e-FX
Letters: VC’s Clayton Cowles
What They Say:
“THE ESCAPE” PART THREE! LUKE, LEIA and HAN remain stranded on the isolated moon of Hubin and out of the fight against the Empire. Who says they even WANT to leave? But their hideaway may not be so secret…especially for old foes hot on the rebels’ trail.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
This arc has had some interesting moments of what’s felt like a side quest that involves a good bit of rest and downtime. Keeping the core group out of the events going on out in the galaxy lets others out there step up after recent events and forces our core to figure out who they are, something Kieron Gillen has been playing at well, even if some of it feels a little more drawn out than it needs to be. Angel Unzueta has another solid installment here with the artwork as the arrival of Scar Squadron is well-handled and I like their take on the locals as well as our primary characters, though some of the photorealism still feels a bit off.
There’s a good bit of tension about the place after recent events and that’s pretty much warranted. Knowing that Luke set out the beacon call means nobody knows who all is going to show up here and that’s not a welcome turn of a events. Things are so bad that even a slight bump with a local and Han ends up in a duel out in the street, though Han does his best to tamp it down quickly so that nobody is hurt. Hurt feelings, on the other hand, abound as Han discovers what Leia is up to and is a bit frustrated by her – though his attempt to play it off romantically is definitely amusing. She has a bit better luck with Luke in a way in finally explaining her plan to him but her approach of not wanting to give either of them false hope just doesn’t ring true well considering their situation and the need to be really keep each other appraised of everything.
While we do get a tense meal with the Markona’s, and the reveal that the signal was blocked so Luke didn’t actually reach anyone, the reality is that there was always a chance someone was going to come here. That it’s Scar Squadron is almost a given as Gillen enjoys playing with this group even though I don’t find them that interesting. Their arrival in the dark of night and with Sana in hand after being roughly interrogated sets for a really bad situation with tension running high. It doesn’t play out as anyone expects but the reactions are solid and bringing it all to a one on one battle with lightsabers? That’s definitely more up my alley, even if I don’t believe it’ll result in the end of a Scar Squadron member – as much as I want it.
In Summary:
This arc continues to just kind of progress for me without anything really interesting happening. I’m more interested in getting to what Leia wants to do with Sho-Torun and getting back at Trios and I want to get back to the galaxy at large and to stories that feel like they might matter a little more. This isue gives us some decent time in the core trio figuring each other out more now that they’re talking a bit more honestly but largely we’ve just got everyone not feeling like themselves in this place and being all corralled up as they are. Gillen has some good moments here and there and Unzueta’s artwork is pretty solid throughout, but everything just feels like we’re treading water.
Grade: B
Age Rating: All Ages
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: January 9th, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
