star wars – Random Ramblings Of A Ragamuffin

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #16 by Ethan Sacks

October 6, 2021Ian SharmanLeave a comment

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters (2020-) #16 by Ethan Sacks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This issue feels a lot more like a Bounty Hunters book than it usually does. By that I mean that the focus isn’t so much on Valance, and Boba Fett, Zuckuss and Dengar also feature prominently. As such it’s a far more enjoyable read. It helps that it closely ties into the events of War of the Bounty Hunters, although you really do need to be reading the main book to get the full story here. Valance also works much better when played off Fett than he does with Dengar. Or maybe, you know, Fett’s just cooler.

Villanelli also does a great job on the art here, with Prianto’s colours doing a lot to aid the storytelling.

All in all this is a big improvement for this series and I’m hoping it continues.

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Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters – Boushh (2021) #1 by Alyssa Wong

September 28, 2021Ian SharmanLeave a comment

Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters – Boushh (2021) #1 (Star Wars: War Of The Bounty Hunters by Alyssa Wong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Boushh has always intrigued me, given that we’ve never really known much more about him than what his clothes looked like…as the only time he appeared on screen it was really Princess Leia wearing his clothes. The Legends continuity didn’t do much to flesh out his backstory and, up until now, the New Canon hasn’t either.

All that changes with War Of The Bounty Hunters: Boushh, as we learn that both he and a whole group of fellow Ubese bounty hunters are exiles from their home world. It’s an interesting and engaging story, played out across a background of a hit on the Tagge family. And it leaves you wanting more…more of Boushh…and you know that we almost certainly aren’t going to get it, because Boushh dies and Leia gets his clothes.

For me this issue proves that my problem with the current Doctor Aphra run isn’t Alyssa Wong’s writing, but the quality of the art, because when she’s paired with an artist of Baldeon#s calibre the result is awesome work like this. Please, Marvel, put Baldeon on Doctor Aphra, because he and Wong make a great team!

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Star Wars: Darth Vader #16 by Greg Pak

September 28, 2021Ian SharmanLeave a comment

Star Wars: Darth Vader #16 (Star Wars: Darth Vader by Greg Pak
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s wall to wall action in this issue as Luke faces Vader in space, X-Wing vs TIE Fighter style. Oh, and he also has a helping hand from the Droid Crush.

This is a solid issue, with some great action, and some good little bits with the Hutts and with Ochi and Sly Moore. But as a whole it feels like it’s mainly connective tissue, moving us from Point A to Point B in the plot. Which is fine, but a lot of War of the Bounty Hunters has felt like this, with many of the books feeling like they’re treading water while waiting for the main book to move everything along.

Still, it’s excellent stuff, with gorgeous are and great writing.

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Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #14 by Alyssa Wong

September 21, 2021Ian SharmanLeave a comment

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020-) #14 by Alyssa Wong
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is so frustrating. Alyssa Wong is finally writing some really good Aphra stories, she’s finally got a real grip on the character…and then it’s illustrated like this.

Look, Sabbatini’s art isn’t bad, it’s just not…Star Wars? It’s heavily manga influenced, very low in detail and very light on backgrounds. Which are all perfectly valid choices, stylistically. I just don’t think they really work here. And, Rachelle Rosenberg, who’s a consistently excellent colourist, really doesn’t quite know what to do with it. The Star Wars line, as a whole, has established a certain “house style” so to speak, and this kind of cartoony style doesn’t really fit. I feel mean saying this, and maybe this tyle could be executed brilliantly in a Star Wars comic…but it’s just not here.

Regular series artist Minkyu Jung returns next month, so hopefully this is just a temporary blip.

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Star Wars: War Of The Bounty Hunters #4 by Charles Soule

September 21, 2021Ian SharmanLeave a comment

Star Wars: War Of The Bounty Hunters (2021) #4 by Charles Soule
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It suddenly occurs to me, sitting down to review this issue, that the War Of The Bounty Hunters story, so far, hasn’t really included a war…of the bounty hunters. What we do get in this issue is a small skirmish of the Bounty Hunters, as Dengar and Valance team up against Boba Fett. But Fett quickly gets the best of them, leaving Dengar floating, alone on an iceberg and then agreeing to team up with Valance.

But, ultimately, what we have here is a very fun, action packed comic that really feels like Star Wars. There’s also some great political Hutt drama, and for some reason I really enjoy Hutt politics.

The art is also really good. I’ve not been a huge fan of Luke Ross in the past, but he’s really stepped up to the plate with his work on this series.

So, yeah, the War Of The Bounty Hunters has been a bit up and down across the series as a whole, but this core book continues to be really strong.

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Star Wars:the High Republic #9 by Cavan Scott

September 20, 2021Ian SharmanLeave a comment

Star Wars:the High Republic #9 (Star Wars: The High Republic by Cavan Scott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Given that we know that Keeve Trennis ultimately becomes one of the Lost Twenty Jedi who left the Order, it was rather disconcerting to see her in the captain’s chair of a Nihil Stormship. Had she left the Order between issues? What had happened? But a quick flashback revealed it to be a Jedi plot to infiltrate the Nihil…although one has to wonder if it’s the first step on her path to leaving the Jedi.

This is cracking stuff from start to finish. Although, I have to say, I’m currently reading the novel The Rising Storm, also written by Cavan Scott, and this issue contains several spoilers for events in that novel…but that’s just one of the risks you run when consuming a cross platform story such as this. I just can’t stay as up to date with the novels as I am with the comics. That said, it certainly hasn’t spoiled my enjoyment of this comic or the novels, but your mileage may vary so consider yourself forewarned.

All in all I’m loving how interconnected the comics and novels are, with neither medium really taking priority over the other when it comes to major events happening. While you could definitely read one without the other, reading both definitely leads to a much richer experience.

The writing here is superb, and we’re definitely starting to feel the benefit of all the groundwork and character development Scott has been doing. The art is also superb and Keeve looks awesome as a Nihil…both inside the book and on Phil Noto’s stunning cover.

This is another great addition to the High Republic and I really can’t recommend it enough.

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Star Wars: The High Republic – The Edge of Balance/Guardian of the Whills by Shima Shinya

September 12, 2021Ian SharmanLeave a comment

Star Wars: The High Republic – The Edge of Balance/Guardian of the Whills by Shima Shinya
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Definitely the strongest of the two Star Wars offerings this Free Comic Book Day, this comic previews two upcoming releases from Viz Media, who publish manga. While they generally been publishing manga adaptions of existing novels, such as with Guardians Of The Whills, The Edge Of Balance, set during the High Republic era, is their first original Star Wars manga.

If this preview is anything to go by it’s going to be great! We’re introduced to a young Jedi Knight, Lily Tora-Asi, who’s just starting out on her own. Reflecting on being a padawan while also preparing to take on a padawan of her own. It’s a perspective we haven’t seen too much of in Star Wars fiction, and I’m looking forward to reading more of it.

The extract from Guardians Of The Whills is also charming, and made me regret not having read the novel yet. I really must get o that soon…

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Star Wars: Darth Vader #15 by Greg Pak

September 12, 2021Ian SharmanLeave a comment

Star Wars: Darth Vader #15 (Star Wars: Darth Vader by Greg Pak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is cracking stuff!

Both the art and the writing are top notch. Vader’s presence is felt throughout the comic, despite him not being physically present for much of it. Instead a plot is woven which, on the surface, seems to be about finding out who Bokku the Hutt is working with. However, this story isn’t really about testing Bokku’s loyalties, it’s about testing the loyalties of Ochi of Bestoon. After all, he was originally hired to kill Vader, so it’s understandable that Vader would want to test him to find out if he can really trust him…or, at least, rely on him to be loyal.

As I said, the writing is great, as it has been throughout Pak’s run, and Ienco doesn’t fail to deliver artistically either. The cover art by Aaron Kuder also feels suitable iconic.

This book has been consistently excellent and this issue is no exception.

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Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #13 by Alyssa Wong

September 12, 2021Ian SharmanLeave a comment

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #13 (Star Wars: Doctor Aphra by Alyssa Wong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, this was a definite improvement, as, Aphra being Aphra, she decides that rather than simply run from Darth Vader, who will surely kill her if he sees her again, she decides to try and use the distraction of his presence to rob Crimson Dawn blind…but instead gets herself and Sanna Staros captures, because of course she does.

It feels like Wong is finally getting a handle on the character, as the dialogue feels snappy and dynamic in a way that it hasn’t for a while. Aphra comics succeed or fail on the quality of the dialogue, and that’s something that the writers who’ve handled her previously really excel at.

The art, by Minkyu Jung, is solid but still not quite up to the standard of the rest of the line, sadly, although it’s definitely improving. Also, the cover, by Sara Pichelli, is definitely worth the price of admission.

All in all, this is a fine return to form for Doctor Aphra.

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Star Wars #16 by Charles Soule

September 5, 2021Ian SharmanLeave a comment

Star Wars #16 (Star Wars by Charles Soule
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The War Of The Bounty Hunters crossover is increasingly frustrating me as some of the tie-ins are just regurgitating large chunks of the main book. I get that all these events are happening simultaneously and so there’s bound to be some overlap, but when you know EXACTLY WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN in a comic because you’ll already read it, almost word for word, in another comic, it leaves you feeling a little cheated…no matter how good that comic might actually be.

On top of that you get glaring continuity errors, like Lando destroying his cape by using it to put out an on fire Chewbacca in the pages of War Of The Bounty Hunters, but the cape’s fully intact in this comic, some of which happens after that fight. It’s ultimately trivial but it still takes you out of the story.

This comic does score points over war Of The Bounty Hunters for having Lando and Chewie discuss the fact that they both know Qi’ra, and Lando even mentions to Leia that Han used to know her too.

But overall, there’s just not enough in here that wasn’t in War Of the Bounty Hunters #3 to make it feel worth the money.

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