Star Wars #3 – Review

By: Brian Wood (Writer), Carlos D’Anda (Artist), Gabe Eltaeb (Colorist)

The Story: Luke gets a little bit rebellious with one of his comrades; Leia tries to uncover the identity of the spy while Han Solo gets into a trap set by the empire.

The Review: There are several things that can be frustrating in comics featuring a whole universe: some concepts that are too conceited or too much used, some characters that don’t have enough screen time and a whole load of other problems. This issue here has a very particular problem that does not fatally undermine the whole thing, yet becomes a bit handicapping: there are some parts and characters that are much more interesting than others.

Now, this may seem normal, even obvious to most, but there is a difference when it is a ‘’universe’’ book. In a team book, it’s pretty much normal that some people prefer some characters above others, but in a ‘’universe’’ style book, the writer has to show a whole world through his story and his characters, to make everything interesting and relevant to the plot. Here, we have two plots, with one being about Leia commanding her own squadron and trying to uncover a traitor amongst their midst, while the other one features Han Solo being his regular self as he tries to get some work on Coruscant. It is the latter one that is more interesting and actually better written, as the adventure of the charming rogue is actually more fulfilling for a reader.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week: Fashion Beast #7 – I actually had a pretty heavy week of comics and none of them approached the complex storytelling of Fashion Beast #7.    It is often said that, “Alan Moore is the greatest writer of comics ever” but comics like Fashion Beast really drive home the truth of that statement.  I mean, this is a failed screenplay that he wrote almost 30 years ago and even this discard is noticeably better than most other comics.  If you aren’t on-board yet, make sure to not miss the collected edition whenever that comes out.

Most anticipated this week: 1). The Walking Dead #108 – I was on one of my favorite comic forums recently, arguing with people who were “done” with TWD.  They mostly didn’t like the brutality of issue #100 and felt that Negan “is just The Governor 2.0”.  I think that really, really misses the point.  If you look at this current story in TWD, it is just an allegory for the growth of centralized governmental systems and the morality thereof.  Negan is so much better than The Governor.  I mean, The Governor was just a violent thief.  Negan is a smooth talking politician with a violent steak.  He wants to tax the populace.  If Negan gets what he wants, he’ll provide some basic services of dubious value that you didn’t ask for.  If he doesn’t get his taxes, he’ll start smashing heads with a baseball bat.

2). Batman #18 – We’re done with “Death of the Family” now and it looks like it’s time for a guest artist.  Andy Kubert is no Greg Capullo so this will be an interesting time to consider how much we enjoy Scott Snyder and how much we love the regular creative TEAM on Batman.  I generally don’t like these issues where characters deal with the “fallout” of the last story, but Snyder is too talented of a writer do the expected.

3). Star Wars #3 – This series hasn’t been “great” so far, but it’s just so damn nice to read a story about the Star Wars characters that I actually know and enjoy.  All that Old Republic stuff is boring.  I want to read about Luke, Han and Leia and this book is scratching that itch.

4). The Manhattan Projects #10 – This series is always a good read and it’s gotten more interesting since the team of super-scientists fought back against the AI-version of FDR.  I guarantee that the story will be clever, literate and irreverent.

5). Wolverine #1 – Alan Davis drawing Wolverine?  Sure….I’ll buy that.  Plus, Paul Cornell is a very talented writer.  This should be good and I have more room in my life for a solo Wolverine series since I dropped most of my other Marvel titles and don’t have to hurt my brain thinking about how Wolverine can do all this stuff at one time.

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Hugo’s Top Picks

Pick of the week: Hellboy in Hell #4 – This series as a whole has been satisfying on many levels, but the finale of the first part was really something to behold. Explanations, potential, gorgeous art and some neat connection to the whole tapestry and mythology Mignola has created throughout the years made this issue the book of the week for me.

Most anticipated this week: 1) Thor: God of Thunder #6 – This issue is supposed to explain the origin of Gorr, the god butcher. Considering this character has only grown in scope during the initial arc, I am curious to see what Jason Aaron will do with him and how he will explain most about this character here. While this issue is not drawn by Esad Ribic, the very competent Butch Guice can surely do a great job as well.

2) Threshold #3 – This issue is the big official intro of Captain K’rot, the gritty and supposedly humorous reimagining of an old beloved and silly character. This and the fact that it is Keith Giffen doing science-fiction just like in the Annihilation day’s makes me want to read it.

3) Sledgehammer 44 #1 – Mike Mignola does a super hero in armor, like Iron Man, set in his own universe during the Second World War. With the art of Jason Latour, that’s pretty much the only thing I need to know to want to pick this up.

4) Secret Avengers #2 – The first issue of Nick Spencer’s take on this concept was pretty strong in a lot of ways, showing us the dirty side of espionage and S.H.I.E.L.D while adding a bit of side humor to this take. It is also the first issue featuring Taskmaster, a character I pretty much love, although I sincerely hope he will take after Fred Van Lente version of the character as a basis.

5) Star Wars #3 – This is a very good take on Star Wars so far, with Brian Wood paying homage to the original movie, while adding some stuff of his own. With this issue being a bit more about Han Solo, I am eager to see just how well he can write one of the most lovable rogues in the history of cinema.