Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Allegiance (comic) - Paul's REVIEW

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Title: Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Allegiance
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Artists: Luke Ross & Lee Loughridge
Release Date: November 19, 2019


Synopsis: BEFORE THE EXCITING EVENTS OF STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER! Hounded by the FIRST ORDER across the galaxy, the RESISTANCE is in dire need of ships, weapons and recruits to make a final stand against KYLO REN'S forces. Desperation drives a delegation led by GENERAL LEIA ORGANA and REY to entreat the Rebel veteran's one-time allies, THE MON CALAMARI, to join the fight - but decades after Imperial occupation enslaved their planet, there are those willing to stop at nothing to prevent another war from bloodying the waters of Mon Cala. A system away, POE DAMERON and FINN have their own mission: to hunt down a weapons cache on the remote moon of Avedot, unaware that they are being hunted by the most notorious criminal gang in the galaxy!

Collecting: JOURNEY TO STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - ALLEGIANCE #1-#4

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Review: This graphic novel takes place between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Like most Star Wars comics, our heroes split up and go on different missions that loosely connect to eachother. Finn and Poe go together, while Leia, Rey, Rose, and Chewbacca head to Mon Cala.

We haven't gotten to know our new heroes quite yet so it's nice to see them interacting. I really enjoyed seeing Poe and Finn together. Their onscreen chemistry translates well. I liked the amount of physical contact that is shown between them. I'm still hoping for a romantic relationship confirmation in The Rise of Skywalker, but I'm not banking on it. Rey's voice felt off to me this whole volume. Her actions and her dialogue just seemed off to me. Rey's actions in the second half of the volume more reflect her character, in my opinion. Rose on the other hand is portrayed very accurately and I loved seeing more of her. 

We get to see Mon Cala again, which has been popular in the comics. Admiral Ackbar's son makes an appearance. There's also a Clawdite shapeshifter, which has also been popular within the comics as well. 

I like seeing the new heroes in comics, but this story just wasn't exciting. I think I would have preferred if the focus had been on just one mission. Or if the stakes seemed higher. Again, I don't know what happens next in The Rise of Skywalker so maybe there's allusions to the future that I can't pick up on yet. I give this graphic novel a 3/5.


--PAUL

Star Wars, Vol. 12: Rebels and Rogues (comic) - Paul's REVIEW

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Title: Star Wars, Vol. 12: Rebels and Rogues
Writer: Greg Pek
Artist: Phil Noto
Release Date: November 19, 2019


Synopsis: Darth Vader is on the hunt for Luke Skywalker! Thousands of remote probes are sent into the far reaches of space looking for the Rebel Alliance. But the rebels send out desperate, heroic missions to lead them astray. Chewie and C-3PO lure a drone to a planet with an unstable core but learn of a secret droid civilization. With Star Destroyers and Darth Vader approaching, they must now protect these newfound droids. Luke Skywalker undertakes a mission to lead a drone away from a rebel refueling station but runs into the Force-sensitive human Bendoh. With Luke training to be a Jedi, will Bendoh be a valuable teacher or a simple grifter? Then, Han Solo and Princess Leia plan to use a drone to take down a local crime boss, but things get complicated when they run into Leia's ex! What could possibly go wrong?!

COLLECTING: STAR WARS 68-72

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Review: This is the twelfth volume in this ongoing series and quite honestly, it's getting stale. I am absolutely ready for the jump past The Empire Strikes Back. I'm curious to see if they'll do any Shadows of the Empire plots. But in the mean time, this volume had our main heroes split up into duos. Han and Leia meet with an ex of Leia. Luke and Artoo search a desert planet and meet a force user. Chewbacca and Threepio discover some not-so-organic lifeforms.

There are some interesting ideas in this volume, but it just feels kind of boring. There's no big picture things going down It just feels like more missions that will be resolved and are just taking up the time until we get to Hoth. The stakes don't feel high. One thing I did enjoy seeing was Han and Leia's relationship starting to look like what it does in The Empire Strikes Back. 

I give this volume a 3/5. The heroes are divided and not much happens. There isn't even much resolution in this volume. 


--PAUL

Star Wars: Chewbacca (graphic novel) - Paul's REVIEW

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Title: Star Wars: Chewbacca
Author: Gerry Duggan
Illustrator: Phil Noto
Recent Release Date: March 8, 2016

Synopsis: Known as the skilled co-pilot of the infamous Millennium Falcon, the legendary Wookiee warrior CHEWBACCA stars in his very own adventure! After the battle of Yavin, Chewbacca is on his own when he crash lands his ship on an Imperial occupied planet. Now stranded, Chewie finds himself caught in the middle of trying to return to the rebellion and helping a young and feisty girl in need. Writer Gerry Duggan (DEADPOOL, 1872, HULK) and artist Phil Noto (BLACK WIDOW, X-23, UNCANNY X-FORCE) bring us a never-before-seen tale of the heroic Wookiee we all know and love.

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Review: It's a challenge to have a comic about a character who doesn't speak a translatable language. This comic dealt with that problem wonderfully. The dialogue worked out well. Even in the many panels without word bubbles, the artwork did an excellent job of conveying emotion to the reader. I like Phil Noto's Star Wars illustrations and look forward to seeing his work in more Star Wars comics to come.

The story is pretty basic. Chewbacca crash lands and finds himself in the middle of a local rebellion. My favorite parts of this comic were the small things. I enjoyed seeing prequel era alien species in an original trilogy setting. There are flashbacks of Chewbacca's life that I wish were fledged out more. That's the Chewbacca comic I want. We see a glimpse of his family. Is that Lumpy becoming canon? There are flashbacks to enslavement on Kashyyyk. I hope Chuck Wendig's second Aftermath novel, Life Debt picks up some of that story. 

The spirit of Chewie is definitely captured int his comic. I loved seeing him gambling. Without Han by his side, he seems unwhole. The reference to the medal ceremony was great. 

This comic was a cool story, but I wish it had been more consequential to either Chewbacca's life or the greater galaxy. I enjoyed the peaks into Chewie's past and his family. I'd love to see more miniseries from Marvel that feel like they matter more than this one. I give this graphic novel a 4/5.


--PAUL