“Family Matters: Facts of Life”
Creative Staff:
Story: Justina Ireland
Art: Pere Perez
Colors: Dono Sanchez-Almara
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
What They Say:
THE STARROS FAMILY INFILTRATES AN IMPERIAL DESTROYER. WHAT CAN GO WRONG? SANA STARROS and bounty hunter DEVA LOMPOP have boarded the KING’S RANSOM to save one of their family. But once they find out they’ve been betrayed, the STARROS CLAN will never be the same!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The addition of Sana Starros originally was something that I don’t think was done well by making her Han’s first wife, but they’ve been separate from that for so long now that it’s barely a footnote at this point. Justina Ireland has definitely done a solid job in giving us a character here that’s not reliant on what came before too much, which isn’t a surprise considering not just her work in the Star Wars novels world but novels in general. The opening installments did the heavy lifting all while it managed to keep it moving in a breezy kind of Star Wars way. And having Pere Perez on board with the artwork definitely is a plus as they’re familiar with the style of the books and are able to create some interesting new areas and characters along the way, especially with Jay David Ramos handling the colors.
With this final installment of this series – and I can see more miniseries being possible down the line – we get something that wraps things up nicely but with enough open-ended to go back to here or elsewhere. Being a finale, it’s all about the action and resolution for things so it moves quickly and with a fun element about it because of that. It’s easy to get caught up in it as well because it moves so well as we see Aryssha going through the final stage of pregnancy while Sana and her team board the Imperial cruiser in order to take it over. There are some fun sequences in space first as they have to get through some TIE fighters, but the book absolutely delights me by including Hondo in it, which I don’t remember before or seeing him in this time period before. He’s a simple hoot in taking advantage of the situation – while being invited as well – and provides the additional cover while salvaging everything that comes from now-derelict TIE fighters.
The shipside things are fun enough but it all comes down to expected family drama. Sana and Deva are the ones really running the show here and they do well in managing things – and it goes better than expected – but the Imperials do finally catch up to it. I like that we get a solid encounter between Phel and Sana but both of them have good flashbacks that are appropriate for the moment to show how their paths diverged so long ago and the choices each made, and in some cases misunderstood. It’s amusing that, in the end, Sana basically captures an Imperial cruiser with this particular ragtag crew while also becoming a new aunt to two new babies born amid a hilariously designed action to take out the Stormtroopers and others. But it’s also not a bloody event overall as the Imperials are pushed off so Deva can keep the cruiser and sell it herself after enjoying it for a bit. It’s a tidy wrap-up, especially in the original stolen item story, but it’s the family side that draws you in more than anything else.
In Summary:
There was a lot to like with this series overall and clocking it in at five issues was the right choice. It didn’t overstay its welcome but it wasn’t too short so that everything felt rushed either. This was a good chance to expand on the larger universe in this era without constantly recycling the Name Characters. Sana’s certainly fun and getting to see her family means more characters to play with in the future as well. The book wraps up nicely and provides for more backstory to deal with and places for it to go in the future. Ireland definitely had a welcome change in tone and approach from the regular books in terms of pacing and style and Perez’s artwork was fantastic across the board, from characters to setting and to the ships themselves. It’s definitely a solidly strong book that I hope more people discover as it’s collected over the years to come.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: June 14th, 2023
MSRP: $3.99
