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Filip > Books: star-wars‎ (25)

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Star Wars, Vol. 8: Mutiny at Mon Cala

title

Star Wars, Vol. 8: Mutiny at Mon Cala

author

isbn

1302910531

isbn13

9781302910532

asin

1302910531

num pages

144 pp

avg rating

3.89

num ratings

1,870

date pub

Aug 07, 2018

date pub edition

Aug 07, 2018

Filip's rating

really liked it

my rating

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This review is adapted from my weekly Star Wars column over at The Grimoire Reliquary!

peshifter Tunga Arpagion’s trite portrayal of an Imperial Grand This review is adapted from my weekly Star Wars column over at The Grimoire Reliquary!

peshifter Tunga Arpagion’s trite portrayal of an Imperial Grand Moff was not one. It’s generic–and I know for a fact Gillen can be strikingly original when he wants to be. An actor incapable of showing off…we’re all familiar with that story beat, aren’t we? It’s a trope and a half, it gets cheap laughs but Mutiny at Mon Cala might’ve been better off with–no, you know what, it’s fine, I expect too much. Come on, Filip, why the high expectations? This isn’t John Allison’s Giant Days we’re talking about.

Now, for the elements I did enjoy – and there were several. C3P0 navigates the line between amusing and cringy in just the right way, and that’s where old goldbucket works best. Seeing Lee-Char, a character so hopeful and lively in The Clone Wars series reduced to this:

[image]

This, my friends, is the stuff of nightmares, and I AM HERE FOR IT. Mutiny has its moments – memorable, excellent moments, far better than . Its beginning is a little slow, but I appreciated Gillen taking a moment to allow Hand Lonely and Lukas Spacetalker to socialize with some Rebellion pals, while Leia is out and about making plans with the big wigs, trying to attract the Mon Cala trading fleet to the cause.

Larocca’s art once again does bizarre photorealistic things here, and I wish it didn’t. He’s so good when he’s drawing properly; there really is no need to be this faithful to the source material. ...more

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Star Wars, Vol. 7: The Ashes of Jedha

title

Star Wars, Vol. 7: The Ashes of Jedha

author

isbn

1302910523

isbn13

9781302910525

asin

1302910523

num pages

144 pp

avg rating

3.69

num ratings

2,236

date pub

Apr 17, 2018

date pub edition

Apr 03, 2018

Filip's rating

liked it

my rating

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Adapted from my weekly Star Wars column over at The Grimoire Reliquary!

Ashes of Jedha sees a great deal many minor characters from Rogue One either re Adapted from my weekly Star Wars column over at The Grimoire Reliquary!

Ashes of Jedha sees a great deal many minor characters from Rogue One either referenced or appear in the pages of the trade paperback. Judging by the publication date, these issues weren’t quite a tie-in to that movie but they could’ve been. Make of this what you will. Some elements were of interest, such as the reappearance of Queen Trios, the rather excellent character from the aforementioned Vader run. I also enjoyed the Imperial commander, a rather bad egg with the nastiest robotic arm an imperial salary can buy. Luke reckoned he’d go on a Force quest at the worst of times but of course it all worked out, and he only had to kill one new friend corrupted by the Dark Side.

Han and Leia flirted, probably, and I have the firm suspicion that I might’ve even laughed at one time or another at the antics of the . Excellent characterizations of our heroic triad, but not an altogether memorable adventure, and the side-characters are best left forgotten.

If you’ve got a local library that purchases comics and are itching for another unimpressive Star Wars read – knock yourselves out. If you’d rather read something good…maybe do with a summary of this and the next one, and jump to Hope Dies. ...more

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Mar 23, 2021

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Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, Vol. 1: Galaxy's Deadliest

title

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, Vol. 1: Galaxy's Deadliest

author

isbn

1302920839

isbn13

9781302920838

asin

1302920839

num pages

136 pp

avg rating

3.32

num ratings

1,373

date pub

Nov 24, 2020

date pub edition

Nov 24, 2020

Filip's rating

it was ok

my rating

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Galaxy's deadliest? HA! More like Galaxy's Dullest, amirite?

This was originally posted over at my blog, The Grimoire Reliquary!

First off, the art in Galaxy's deadliest? HA! More like Galaxy's Dullest, amirite?

This was originally posted over at my blog, The Grimoire Reliquary!

First off, the art in this volume is by and large fine. Props to Villanelli, good work, I enjoyed looking at this book well enough.

Sigh. Why do people at Marvel like the bounty hunter cyborg Beilert Valance so much? He’s not an interesting character. Stormtrooper who lost more and more of his body until he became nothing but a cyborg, bla-dee-blaah. Every time I see him, I think to myself, I think, “Move over, Arnold! There’s a new cyborg in town, and he’s as good as you were in Terminator 3!” Yeah, Valence…he’s not great. I will concede one point–he was marginally more interesting here than in the abyssmal Target Vader comic I read last year (though the art of that one was its one redeeming quality).

This comic, then, gives ansxwer to the ages-old Star Wars question: “Are bounty hunters vehicle enough to make a Star Wars story interesting just by benefit of starring in one?” The answer is an unambiguous “no”. There’s an attempt at painting some of the bounty hunter characters as morally complex and it even works for one of them, but far more often than not makes for a generic, by-the-numbers tale that lacks in originality and treads through every action movie cliche you’ve seen in a Willis-Stalone-Schwarzenegger feature from the 1980-90s.

Boba Fett is his usual lawful evil self here. He never lets go of a debt unpaid, as we’ve seen in the Mandalorian – but the depth he banks on in this one is decidedly darker. If this seemed to be going the way of a solo comic book for Fett, I might’ve been persuaded; but he is left to the edges of The Galaxy’s Deadliest, little more than a plot device to induce drama and stir things up. The argument could be made that Sacks is attempting to raise the stakes of this series by centering it on Valence, an original character who isn’t wearing Fett’s plot and beskar armour; if so, it doesn’t fill me with excitement about what comes next for this conflicted, Empire-weary bounty hunter with a conscience…even if he’s joined by a sidekick now.

I will say one thing, I have no idea where exactly Sacks is heading in Volume 2. I can’t wait to find out.

No, really, I’m not capable of waiting. I lack the emotional investment in this series, and so I won’t. Thank every D&D deity I did not spend a single cent on this pretty but empty bit of glossy paper. ...more

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Mar 17, 2021

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Mar 27, 2021

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Star Wars, Vol. 6: Out Among the Stars

title

Star Wars, Vol. 6: Out Among the Stars

author

isbn

1302905538

isbn13

9781302905538

asin

1302905538

num pages

156 pp

avg rating

3.67

num ratings

2,470

date pub

Dec 05, 2017

date pub edition

Dec 05, 2017

Filip's rating

really liked it

my rating

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This review was originally published over at my blog, The Grimoire Reliquary.

Previous Volume | Next

Gah, Salvador Larocca, what did you do with Han’s f This review was originally published over at my blog, The Grimoire Reliquary.

Previous Volume | Next

Gah, Salvador Larocca, what did you do with Han’s face?!

[image]

For someone who can draw well, Larocca occasionally gets real weird with the whole…rotoscopic effect? I know rotoscoping is an animation technique and this is illustration, but I can’t figure out if there’s a different phrase for this. Anyway, Larocca…Han’s face get progressively weirder and I don’t know why you wanted to give us nightmares but you did, and you oughtn’t’ave!

Onto discussing the story of Out Among the Stars! This is perhaps my favourite of the last three volumes of Aaron’s run; rather than tell a coherent, five-issue story, Aaron splits his cast and pens an adventure for each of them. These one-shots were thematically coherent and I enjoyed them a great deal more than last week’s Yoda’s Secret War. There’s something to be said about Leia and Luke getting stuck on some island paradise planet, spending a few weeks fending for themselves and eventually helping the locals by taking on a regiment of stormtroopers. It’s a very Luke-and-Leia thing to do, and it offers adorable character moments which add to their relationship. Aaron plays around with their longing for family, their conceptions of home, the whole “unknowingly siblings” background.

Han Solo is up to rebel-y business while Luke and Leia are away, helping Mon Mothma transport a Hutt prisoner to a Rebel cell that’ll interrogate him for precious information. In typical Solo fashion, things don’t go according to plan…or do they? It’s fun having post Episode IV Han go off and do something for the rebellion on his own, rather than being prodded by Leia into weird, competitive leadership games.

The one story I loved saw R2-D2 retrieve C3PO from the Empire; not just from any imperial ship, either, but the star destroyer Darth Vader is currently in. It’s hilarious to watch him sneak about the ship, disrupt communications, pit stormtrooper squads against one another, and create chaos at hitherto-unseen levels. It’s glorious fun and the best use of these two droids in a great while.

There was also another stormtroopers issue, which…uh, I think I liked it, but I honestly can’t remember what exactly it was about. Make of that what you will.

Oh, and an…an….another annual! What was it about? WHAT WAS IT ABOUT?!

…

Yes, I sneaked a peek at Goodreads just now to kick the old meat computer into gear. Turns out this one had Leia and Han on some icy planet. Action-heavy, with some fellow who bore Han a grudge and what-have-you. I…did not like that one. It’s forgettable and uninteresting and I’m not impressed with Jason Latour’s story at all.

Enough of Jason Aaron! Onto Kieron GIllen’s run–please be good. Please. Oh, but before I tell you all about that, we’ll take a week off to check out the much more recent STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTERS! ...more

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Mar 21, 2021

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Star Wars, Vol. 5: Yoda's Secret War

title

Star Wars, Vol. 5: Yoda's Secret War

author

isbn

1302902652

isbn13

9781302902650

asin

1302902652

num pages

152 pp

avg rating

3.53

num ratings

3,211

date pub

Jul 18, 2017

date pub edition

Jul 04, 2017

Filip's rating

liked it

my rating

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I’ve been curious about Yoda’s Secret War for a while now. Why wouldn’t I be? I love me my favourite space frog, that ancient green lad of fine repute I’ve been curious about Yoda’s Secret War for a while now. Why wouldn’t I be? I love me my favourite space frog, that ancient green lad of fine repute. The war itself, alas, is not altogether my cup of tea. Someone must’ve pointed out the Mad Max/Earthbender nonsense going on here, and if they did, they’re right on the money. Master Yoda hears a disturbance in the Force and follows it to another one of those planets that do not appear on any star maps, which confirms my suspicions that star maps ain’t worth a buck; once he lands, he discovers himself in the middle of a conflict between two tribes of children. He agrees to help one, is summarily captured by the other and–how is the greatest living Jedi captured by children, you ask? Something about glowing blue rocks he can’t control.

The children send Yoda into the sacred mountain of blue rock, where he humbles himself before a new master who teaches him to Rockbend. This, I liked – it’s true to character. The rest of it is–there’s no way getting past this–bland. Despite the occasionally interesting moments and character interactions, there’s a lot here I read through not because I was hooked but because I wanted to be done faster, to “get to the good part”. I suppose the ending is okay, something about a character learning a lesson, which is very textbook, but executed well enough. Yoda's characterization is the best part of an otherwise forgettable story-as I'm updating this on Goodreads, I already find I've lost more than a few details.

Oh, I enjoyedthe annual! Leia’s in trouble and badly hurt–thankfully, she is saved by Pash, a capable engineer on the planet Skorii-Lei. Pash, affectionately called “Bash” by her fellow workers, wants nothing to do with the rebels or the Empire. All she desires is to live her life–but she’s too decent a person. What follows is a fun little romp that shows Leia at her most vulnerable, and introduces a side character I hope Aaron will use in future volumes. It’s a tight enough story and after I got over my usual reluctance to read annual stories (they’re usually a let-down) I found myself enjoying it more than I did the secret war itself.

Aaron’s writing is Strange-levels bland, as I mentioned. Larroca’s art is great here, and that alone makes browsing through the pages worth it. Yoda’s look is recognizably Prequel trilogy in the best ways possible. Kelly Thompson pens the annual, and I enjoyed Emilio Laiso does the art for the annual; I liked it plenty, and hope to see Laiso do more Star Wars in the future (I mean, he probably has, I’m just abysmally behind and too lazy to check).

The verdict? It was okay, could’ve been better, if you live near a library that offers it, get it. Don’t waste your money otherwise. ...more

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Star Wars, Vol. 4: Last Flight of the Harbinger

title

Star Wars, Vol. 4: Last Flight of the Harbinger

author

isbn

0785199845

isbn13

9780785199847

asin

0785199845

num pages

152 pp

avg rating

3.79

num ratings

3,353

date pub

Jan 31, 2017

date pub edition

Jan 17, 2017

Filip's rating

really liked it

my rating

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This review was originally published over at my blog, The Grimoire Reliquary!

In search of respite from Jason Aaron’s 2015-2018 Doctor Strange run, I’v This review was originally published over at my blog, The Grimoire Reliquary!

In search of respite from Jason Aaron’s 2015-2018 Doctor Strange run, I’ve at last decided to take once more on the endless, thankless task that is my weekend column, SUNDAY STAR WARS. There will always be some piece of Star Wars media that steals away my attention for forty-five minutes a week, and I like scratching my comic book itch with the veritable legion of franchise comics coming from Marvel. Corporate synergy at its best, amirite?

It has been a little while since I last felt the desire to tackle Marvel’s flagship Star Wars title, but my library has the lot of them, resting in near-mint condition–might as well help myself, right? Thus we come to the star of this post, Jason Aaron’s fourth volume, Last Flight of the Harbinger. The judgement, for those too impatient to read forth until post’s end?

Eeeh, ye. Yeah. ‘Sgood.

Thanks for rea–Not enough? Fine.

I enjoyed Aaron’s work on this volume–the stories he tells are entertaining, and the first issue enclosed in this volume (centering on Obi-Wan Kenobi’s continued efforts to protect Luke Skywalker) is even heartfelt. All the characters sound as they should – Luke is hopelessly naive and heroic, Han buries his loyalty with layers of cynicism, and Leia’s sense of what’s right charts the course for our merry band of adventurers as they enact a dangerous heist and make to break through a dangerous Imperial blockade that’s starving out an entire planet’s worth of inhabitants. These last ones are also rebel sympathizers, and of course that makes it all the more important that the Rebel Alliance come up with some scheme to save them all. In typical Rebellion style, it’s as reckless as it is dangerous – the heist I mentioned has as its end goal the commandeering of a Star Destroyer, while convincing the Empire that said ship, The Harbinger, is thought destroyed.

Even with all this enacted, there’s still plenty of trouble ahead – for one, The Harbinger requires a crew of 2,000 to operate at peak condition and Leia only has a skeleton crew to work with; and when the ship is severely damaged due to the very heist that procured it, fixing it is far more difficult than you (or Chewbacca) might think. And let’s not even get on

Star Wars comics at times have a troubling tonal incongruity – not so with Aaron’s work here. Tense and even brutal at certain times, the story has plenty of lighthearted moments, classically reminiscent of all the Millenium Falcon shenanigans you might love from the original trilogy. Good enough it made me nostalgic for the movies, eager to see them again.

Other miscellaneous thoughts on that account: A really sweet issue showing a competent squad of stormtroopers massacring Rebels before clashing with our adventurers. Good set-up, narrated by an Imperial loyalist whose allegiance you really can’t blame – well-reasoned and relatab, to a point. They’re not exactly relatable bad guys outside of that, but they’ll do, for a team of bucketheads. I also had a fun time seeing one of my beloved Doctor Aphra’s supporting characters pop up in that first issue–the nasty piece of work that is Black Krrsantan (yes, I looked up the spelling), the wookie bounty hunter without scruples.

Great art all around, good on Molina, Mayhew and Eliopolous. Oh, and there was this tiny R2-D2 story at the end of the trade paperback, which did not, in any way, appeal to me. Such is life.

Do support your local libraries, folks! Stick around, like this post, follow the blog–more reviews are, as always, on the way. Oh, and I’ve got a YouTube channel, help me grow? https://www.youtube.com/c/FilipMagnus... ...more

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Mar 02, 2021

date read

Mar 03, 2021

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Mar 07, 2021

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Light of the Jedi (Star Wars: The High Republic)

title

Light of the Jedi

author

Soule, Charles *

isbn

0593157710

isbn13

9780593157718

asin

0593157710

num pages

380 pp

avg rating

3.93

num ratings

30,604

date pub

Jan 05, 2021

date pub edition

Jan 05, 2021

Filip's rating

it was amazing

my rating

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A very fine opening to the High Republic! You can find my video review of it here: https://youtu.be/7k5M9hrsn04

The text is coming tomorrow, on the Fan A very fine opening to the High Republic! You can find my video review of it here: https://youtu.be/7k5M9hrsn04

The text is coming tomorrow, on the Fantasy Hive and here, as well!

...more

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Jan 05, 2021

date read

Jan 16, 2021

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Jan 05, 2021

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Star Wars: Darth Vader, Vol. 1: Dark Heart of the Sith

title

Star Wars: Darth Vader, Vol. 1: Dark Heart of the Sith

author

Pak, Greg *

isbn

1302920812

isbn13

9781302920814

asin

1302920812

num pages

136 pp

avg rating

4.31

num ratings

2,867

date pub

Nov 24, 2020

date pub edition

Nov 24, 2020

Filip's rating

it was amazing

my rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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review

This review was posted as part of my weekly column, Saturday Star Wars, posted over at my blog, the Grimoire Reliquary.

I’ll be, a Darth Vader comic bo This review was posted as part of my weekly column, Saturday Star Wars, posted over at my blog, the Grimoire Reliquary.

I’ll be, a Darth Vader comic book that taps deep into the prequel movies without mucking things up. This comic book Greg Pak has succeeded where I would’ve been skeptical he might, and has done so with flying colours. Speaking of colours, two colour schemes dominate the past and present. Neeraj Menon uses a subdued colour palette for the present, with plenty of grey and overwhelming black, as well as cold, natural beige for skin tone. All these are bathed in red whenever the Dark Lord of the Sith’s lightsaber is drawn.

[image]

The past is seen through the red filter of Vader’s rage, which does an excellent job defining the time period; Pak keeps to straight adaptations of the movie events, which is acceptable but I see it as a bit of a missed opportunity. It might’ve been an interesting narrative device, to have Vader’s remembrances twisted, skewered towards his present beliefs, his rage and–yes–even self-pity.

This is the first of Disney’s Vader comic books to take place between Episodes V and VI; it’s Vader’s investigation into the death of Anakin Skywalker’s wife, Padme Amidala. During it, he comes face to face with a woman whose face is a striking reminder of Padme’s: one of her former handmaidens.

[image]

Armed with the failure of apprehending his son, Vader looks to understand how Luke slipped his reaches in the first place. Haunted by the memories that led to the loss of Padme, Vader is more introspective and passive than he usually appears. He’s not too chatty, our old Darth, which is why Pak decided to add an Imperial droid analyst, who makes oh-so-much idle chit-chat. I wonder how he’ll end up…

This one offers resolution for some Prequel-era Naboo-based characters, which I thoroughly enjoyed; it puts to rest a whole minor faction whose absence I’d always been curious about in the Rebellion era. What’s more, it sets up a second volume I’m very excited for, with an appearance by everyone’s badass cowl-wearing grandpa, the big Pee, Emperor Palpatine himself.

Phenomenal work by Raffaele Ienco, too, on what is some of the finest art in a Darth Vader title yet–and that’s saying something–you’ll agree, if you’ve read either Soule’s or Gillen’s run. I’m mightily impressed by Pak, to tell you true, and I can hardly wait until June for the second volume. I suppose I’ll dry my tears on the pages of Alyssa Wong’s first volume of Doctor Aphra, come January!

Before then, you might as well get this one–you won’t regret it!

...more

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Dec 07, 2020

date added

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Star Wars: Thrawn

title

Star Wars: Thrawn

author

Houser, Jody *

isbn

1302505904

isbn13

9781302505905

asin

B07G8LF78G

num pages

146 pp

avg rating

4.18

num ratings

3,739

date pub

Sep 11, 2018

date pub edition

Sep 12, 2018

Filip's rating

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This was originally posted over at my blog, The Grimoire Reliquary. I've got a semi-regular weekly column with all the Star Wars content you might li This was originally posted over at my blog, The Grimoire Reliquary. I've got a semi-regular weekly column with all the Star Wars content you might like--check it out!

Is this a good adaptation of Timothy Zahn’s 2016 Thrawn novel? Yes. Should you read it if you haven’t read the novel first? I wouldn’t.

Jody Houser, Luke Ross and Paul Renaud do a fine job of adapting this work but it’s inevitable that some elements of Zahn’s novel will be lost in the translation; Eli Vanto, our PoV protagonist sees his role contracted, for example. Thrawn shines (it’s what he does), and so does Arihnha Pryce (surprisingly). The most important events are given the necessary breathing room, but many of the complexities of Thrawn’s relationship with the Empire and many an imperial are given little more than passing nods. If this run had two additional issues, perhaps, Houser would’ve had more time to pack this in with some more of the character that oozes out of Zahn’s novel.

The art is what makes this trade paperback worth owning–it’s not the best line art I’ve ever seen, but it has a distinct Star Wars feel to it, and it gives a visual dimension to Thrawn that you won’t otherwise get from Zahn’s novel. Some really cool covers, of course (Marvel’s great with Star Wars covers), like the one on Goodreads here.

Like the book, this has all-star appearances by the biggest names in the who’s who of the Galactic Empire–Grand Moff Tarking, Emperor Palpatine, and even Darth Vader. The dynamics between the Emperor and Thrawn are rendered faithfully–their meeting is done well, I believe the dialogue lines are drawn from the novel verbatim.

My score for this is a 3.5 stars out of 5 on Goodreads. I’m not sure whether I’ll mark up or down for this one…choices, choices. Shockingly, I don’t have a proper review of the 2016 novel, so I can’t link to that one at the end of this post, but if you’d like to read about Zahn’s latest Thrawn novel, follow this link!

I borrowed this from my local library–support your libraries, folks! ...more

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Star Wars: Target Vader

title

Star Wars: Target Vader

author

Thompson, Robbie

isbn

isbn13

asin

num pages

132 pp

avg rating

3.50

num ratings

1,210

date pub

Feb 11, 2020

date pub edition

2019

Filip's rating

liked it

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Target Vader is another one of those comic books I checked out of my local library in search of a topic to write about as part of this weekly column. Target Vader is another one of those comic books I checked out of my local library in search of a topic to write about as part of this weekly column. I love Darth Vader (who doesn’t?) and the premise of him being hunted, while a fixed conclusion, can provide for plenty of entertainment, if done right.

If you want that, you should look to Soule’s Darth Vader #18, which does a far, far, far better job of it than this six-issue limited run by Robbie Thompson. What Thompson offers is an underwhelming story about Vader on the hunt for a mysterious syndicate selling weapons to the Rebellion, which goes by “The Hidden Hand.”

[image]

This syndicate is none too happy to be chased around by the Empire’s meanest attack dog, and so they contract out a hit on Vader. Enter Beilert Valance, a bounty hunter with the face of a Terminator and a bedside manner like he’s stepped straight out of a Punisher comic book.

[image]

He’s joined by a band of other bland bounty hunters and a mildly familiar one, Dengar (he appeared in Empire Strikes Back for…what, thirty seconds?) and the lot of them gun for Vader. Several fun action sequences follow, the kind you read and forget about, in-between stuffing handfuls of popcorn in your mouth.

[image]

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
The high-point of this comic book is the art– plenty of the one-page spreads of Vader would make the entry into my private collection of .jpegs of the Dark Lord. But even then, there’s a veritable cornucopia of artists, some of whom better than others. Some of the aforementioned others have messy line art, which is a shame. The covers by Neeraj Menon are where it’s at, though:

[image]

A SciFiPulse quote on the cover of the trade paperback says, “This is a Star Wars fan’s dream come true,” but I struggle to see which fan that is; perhaps that one fellow who likes the same regurgitated content without much in the way of new ideas explored. This is a lazy attempt at Star Wars with some good art and an entertaining sequence or four–but what a shame, to have the opportuntiy to write for this universe and blow it on this.

A three mediocre, mediocre stars for this one. ...more

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Oct 16, 2020

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