Luke Owen reviews Star Wars #1 from Marvel…
Luke Skywalker and the ragtag band of rebels fighting against the Galactic Empire are fresh off their biggest victory yet—the destruction of the massive battle station known as the Death Star. But the Empire’s not toppled yet! Join Luke along with Princess Leia, smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca, droids C-3PO and R2-D2 and the rest of the Rebel Alliance as they strike out for freedom against the evil forces of Darth Vader and his master, the Emperor.
Jason Aaron had a tough job on his hands with Star Wars #1. Since Disney purchased Lucasfilm for a whopping $4 billion dollars, it seemed only a matter of time before the adventures in a galaxy far, far away would return to Marvel Comics, also owned by the House of Mouse. And with out first movie in a decade still eleven months away, Jason Aaron essentially is the first person to give us our opening taste of Star Wars now they are bedfellows with Walt Disney. Outside of the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Aaron is firing the first shot.
It’s a good job he hit the target. Well, mostly anyway.
To start with the positives, Aaron’s opening and John Cassaday’s artwork really do capture the cinematic magnitude and grandiose atmosphere that can only come with a Star Wars crawl. From the opening page of “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” to the big Star Wars title through to the intro text, it looks and feels like Star Wars. Granted, this is hardly the easiest thing to get wrong, but Aaron and Cassaday should be commended for getting it so right.
The story takes place after the events of A New Hope and sees Luke, Han and Leia attacking an Empire base while pretending to be negotiators on behalf of Jabba the Hutt (the details of which will presumably be explored in the Darth Vader on-going series next month). Once they reveal themselves to the baddies, the heroic trio set about blowing the base up while C-3PO sets the Millennium Falcon into auto-pilot to rescue them. But, unfortunately, they get some unexpected company from the Sith Lord himself, Darth Vader.
Cassaday’s artwork may have captured the opening well, but his interpretations of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher are up for debate. It’s not that he hasn’t captured their likenesses (which are very good), it’s just that the characters look flat and lifeless. Even in panels with large amounts of dialogue, they show less animation and emotion than early South Park episodes. It’s almost as though Cassaday can only draw these actors with their mouths closed and with one expression, so that’s the only look they can give. He manages to capture the essence of the Star Wars universe (there is no doubting when and where this is set), but nothing feels lively.
Aaron’s script, conversely, is quite sprightly and shows some good signs of life – at least in terms of story telling. His characterisation of Han is near-perfect and you can hear Ford’s dulcet tones ringing in your ears as his dialogue reads through. Similarly with C-3PO, who brings a huge amount of charm to the issue, as well as providing much needed exposition while not feeling forced and contrived. Luke Skywalker on the other hand doesn’t really feel like the same Luke we saw at the end of A New Hope (or any other point for that matter) and even at one point falls into the pitfall of bad writing: callbacks to previous Star Wars stories as a wink and nod to the audience.
Yes there is a fair amount of fan-servicing in Star Wars #1 that will either bring a small smirk to your face, or make you groan out loud (if you’re our own Anghus Houvouras for instance). It’s not laid on thick like your typical Eric Burnham Ghostbusters issue, but it does at times feel like Aaron and Cassaday are trying desperately hard to show that they are Star Wars fans and worthy of taking this job. Whether it’s making reference to “these are not the droids your looking for” (rather sloppily it should be noted) or having your prisoners be made up of recognisable Star Wars races (Twi’lek, Mon Calamari, Biths, Ithorians, Jawas and the like), it’s all bit pandering. Unnecessary pandering at that.
With that said, Star Wars #1 is a really, really fun read. The story is set up well for a first issue and it leaves you on the perfect cliffhanger to make you salivate for the next instalment. Aaron has given his readers just enough to whet their appetite while not blowing his load in the first few pages. Star Wars #1 is excellently paced which means the crescendo up to the final few panels is genuinely excellent. There are few gripes here and there, but overall, Star Wars #1 is a triumphant return to Marvel – and long may it continue.
Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
Originally published January 14, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
