A trio of short stories.
Creative Staff:
Story: Alyssa Wong
Art: Lee Garbett, Java Tartaglia, Paulina Ganucheau, Kyle Hotz, Rachelle Rosenberg, Caspar Wijingaard
Letterer: VCs Joe Caramagna
What They Say:
TALES OF THE EWOKS! On the moon of Endor occupied by the species called Ewoks, a group of these stout creatures has gathered around the fire to recount tales of triumph, defeat…and horror! In the art-forward manner of storytelling, watch an eclectic group of artists interpret the stories from the unique minds of Ewoks in a manner only they can envision! This can’t-miss issue for Star Wars fans of mirth, merriment, and artistry is the book you’ve been craving.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With some one-shots being released as we close in on the Return of the Jedi period of storytelling, this new one-shot gives us a little time the Ewosk before things get serious in terms of what the film covers. This is told from a time before that but when the Empire is there so it could be for any amount of time to be honest at this point since the second Death Star was being produced for a bit. The special goes for the familiar framing where there’s one main piece and three small tales told throughout. It’s written by Alyssa Wong, who has been writing Doctor Aphra for a while, and it puts us around a nightly campfire within this Ewok community as they tell some stories to both the younglings and others that are there together as the night goes on.
The framing isn’t my favorite but it works for telling short stories but it has to be noted that they avoid doing any dialogue for any of this. Not even Ewok-ese or whatever the official language is. The vampire sequences are done by Lee Garbett and Java Tartaglia and they’re pretty straightforward and done in the style of most of the Star Wars comics from Marvel so they’d fit in well. And they’re well-detailed and colored so they feel perhaps even a step above since it’s just the material that helps to connect all of them. It does wrap up the tales as well with a nice look at a little Ewok that’s doing its best to defend the community from the scary things in the night (i.e. its own shadow right now) but helps to remind how those that protect can be found within and at a young age.
Beyond that, it’s a mixed bag. The first one is basically a children’s tale done by Paulina Ganucheau, whose artwork I’ve liked in other works, but my mind couldn’t really process it because it’s like reading a Dr. Seuss story without words and I couldn’t get into it. The second goes in the opposite direction as Kyle Hotz and Rachelle Rosenberg gives us a kind of Ewok Vs. Alien story with it done in black, white, and red that’s on the whole other end of the spectrum. And in between, we get the third tale from Caspar Wijngaard that’s cute as one Ewok has been getting Imperial items and gear and has managed to build a flying AT-ST head. It’s got a brutal sequence where the Ewok kills an Imperial on a speeder bike and mixing that with the cuteness is just disturbing.
In Summary:
I put off getting to this issue for a while because, well, Ewoks. It’s not that I’m against them or anything but I’m wary of anyone telling good stories with it. And that this is an anthology just makes it all the harder because you’re not able to invest any time with anyone. Even a full single-issue story would allow for more connection. The stories here are interesting with only one of them not to my liking but they’re simple and not much more than that. I thoroughly enjoyed the artwork for most of them, and doing a black/white/red installment was a surprise that worked out well, but there’s not much here that’s going to be memorable overall. It has its moments, however, and for the deep-cut fans this might be worth just knowing about.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: April 12th, 2023
MSRP: $4.99
