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Review: Star Wars Annual #2

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starwarsannualcoverIn the stand-alone Star Wars Annual #2 , Kelly Thompson, Emilio Laiso, and Rachelle Rosenberg tell a story that is kind the opposite of the Hero’s Journey/Chosen One arc of the original Star Wars trilogy. The comic is written from the point of view of Pash “Bash” Davane, an engineer, who was forced to become a janitor when a battle between the Rebels and Empire destroyed almost all the industry on her planet. The first half of the comic shows the real cost of the Galactic Civil War on ordinary folks before taking a little bit of a turn for the epic when it’s revealed that Bash is letting a wounded Princess Leia stay at her house.

Bash Davane is a wonderful addition to the new Star Wars Expanded Universe beginning with the fact Laiso isn’t makes her a broad-shouldered, muscular woman adding some body diversity to that universe. Bash works with heavy machinery and rocks all day so of course she’s ripped. The funniest scene in the comic is when her arms are too big for Han Solo’s shirts, and this is an example of Laiso’s ability to pull out a visual gag in what is usually a pretty dour universe. The choreography of some the setpiece scenes is muddled as Leia is struggling to swim to her rendezvous point at the end of the issue with something being shot at her, but the source is hard to see even though Laiso uses double-page spreads. The earthy palette used by Rachelle Rosenberg gives the comic that Outer Rim vibe, but it hurts the visibility of this particular sequence.

On the flipside, the scenes where Bash is, well, are both powerful and entertaining, especially when she beats the crap out of a stormtrooper with a brick. The fact that Bash is a human tank along with her cynical wit, take no guff attitude, and sees the bad side of both the Empire and Rebellion shows that she is a multi-faceted character, who could bench press Han Solo while simultaneously out snarking him. But she is a bit of softie too as she bonds with starwarsannualinteriorLeia throughout the comic and listens to the princess struggle with the death of her people on Alderaan yet still realize that her planet’s destruction was for a greater cause of defeating the Empire. Thompson writes Leia as a true pragmatist, who isn’t afraid to make hard decisions for her cause even if there ends up being collateral damage like stormtroopers tearing up and basically halting all commerce on Bash’s planet while they look for Leia. This may seem like Leia is cold or unlikable in Star Wars Annual #2, but Thompson and Laiso capture the strength of her convictions as she talks about the hope that the Rebellion has brought to the galaxy while practically dying.

Even if you’re way behind on Marvel’s Star Wars comics, Star Wars Annual #2 is worth picking up as Kelly Thompson and Emilio Laiso craft a protagonist, who doesn’t look or think like many of the other main characters in the Star Wars universe. Bash does end up being a kind of hero in the end, but Thompson uses the extra page count to give her a logical arc as heroism is thrust upon her kind of like Han Solo’s last minute save of Luke Skywalker at the Battle of Yavin. And it’s also nice to see a more realistic perspective on the true cost of war in the usually hyper-stylized Star Wars universe with its constant dogfights and lightsaber duels.

Plus Bash has an adorable droid named Bruce, who can swim underwater like a movie directed by one of George Lucas’ buddies…

Story: Kelly Thompson Art: Emilio Laiso Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg
Story: 9 Art: 8 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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San Diego Comic-Con’s preview night kicks off tomorrow! We’ll be there, so make sure to follow us on Twitter for various updates for the show. It’s also new comic book day!

Until then, here’s some news and reviews from around the web, and we’ll of course have our suggestions for this week’s books in a few hours.

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The Beat – Sean Murphy drops truth bombs on Comics’ ongoing money problems and more – This is some hard truth.

The Comichron – Secret Wars #3 tops June 2015 comics sales; first half of year up 13% – Good info on the market.

Newsarama – Cyberforce To Return As Digital Series By Silvestri & Hawkins – Guess the Kickstarter didn’t help in the long run.

Kotaku – Photographer Captures Cosplayers Both In And Out Of Costume – This is pretty cool.

 

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CBR – American Vampire: Second Cycle #8

CBR – Princess Leia #5

CBR – The Spire #1

Review: Princess Leia #5

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pl05Going into this series, even the creative team must have known that Princess Leia would be a hard sell.  She is a beloved character by most fans of Star Wars, but also in very few fan’s lists of favorite characters.  Instead the relatively dour character is one that has fulfilled the role as the main heroine in a functional way, but not in a way that most people would ever really consider to be fun.  Her role of main character has still often mostly been that of sidekick, and so a series about her own adventures might have seemed a bit out of place.  That she was given a chance to shine on her own is a risk which has paid off for Marvel, the more so that these stories are considered to be official canon of the Star Wars universe.

As the previous issue left off, Leia has promised to group together all Alderaanians who have survived the destruction of their home planet, and this has taken Leia to the extreme of exchanging herself for the traitor in their midst,  Tula, the former agent for the Imperials.  While the reader will know than Star Wars canon set between episodes IV and V featuring Leia means that the character has to live, her fate still feels very much in the danger as she steps into the hands of the Imperial officers, eager to rush her off to the fate which they think that she deserves.  Things do not exactly transpire like this, but the end result is that Leia is able to somewhat fulfill her goal, even to a degree which she had not thought possible, moving beyond prejudice to find a commonality for all.

Though it has been less talked about than the main Star Wars series, this series likely should have been.  It got off to a slow start, but it picked up steam quite quickly, and the entire five issues story reads better together than monthly.  With this final issue, it would also be nice to see the return of Evaan, the rare female character in the universe that is written like what most modern comic readers expect from a female character.  With this fifth and final issue, Leia proved two things as a character, first of all that she can carry a series, and secondly that she should probably given the opportunity to carry one or two more.

Story: Mark Waid Art: Terry Dodson
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy

Review: Princess Leia #4

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pl004With the Disney purchase of Star Wars, it allowed for the consolidation of well of the Star Wars products to Marvel, another Disney company.  In so doing for the first time the comics were going to provide canon stories for the series.  This got a lot of people pretty interested, even if the choice of era was a little confusing to them, the period between episodes IV and V.  For most this was not as enticing an era for the series, as the action in Hoth seemed to follow logically from what had come before.  There was a gap, but it was not one which was hard to fathom.  AS well the characters were still relatively unpowered and learning how to be something bigger.  Among the first wave of series from this release was Princess Leia.  While pretty no one doesn’t like the character, she is also rarely mentioned among people’s favorites from the series, her often aloof attitude to her allies in the story having had the same effect to those reading and watching.

Thus far this series has been somewhat successful at breaking that image, and with this issue, nearly completely erasing it.  There are some benefits to the modern presentation of this character.  With the evolution of the role of women in fiction in the past forty years since the release of the first movie, it is almost a form of revisionism to include a female action star from that time.  That is to say, one of the easiest ways to make Leia more approachable is to write her in the modern day.  This issue deals with the continuing saga to reunite the people of Alderaan after the attack by the Empire which destroyed the planet. The story gets deeper as the characters are shown to be more fragile and stronger than before, as Leia has to deal with the Alderaanian spy for the Empire.

There were many that picked up this series hoping to see a change in the character, in order to make her more approachable.  The earlier issues in this miniseries were a bit slow to get started, but at this point the series has found its heart and its hero.  Princess Leia might still have a long way to go before reaching the cult status of some other Star Wars characters like Wedge Antilles or Boba Fett, but with stories such as this one she could finally be on her way.

Story: Mark Waid Art: Terry Dodson
Story: 9.3 Art: 9.3 Overall: 9.3 Recommendation: Buy

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

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BATMITE_1Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!

We’re bringing back something we haven’t done for a while, what the team thinks. Our contributors are choosing up to five books each week and why they’re choosing the books.

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.

Brett

Top Pick: Midnighter #1 (DC Comics) – Steve Orlando takes on the brutal character, who also happens to be gay. Orlando is a talented writer and to see him take on such an important series is fantastic. Can’t wait to read this one.

Broken World #1 (BOOM! Studios) – With a meteor days away from causing an extinction-level event on Earth, time is running out for Elena Marlowe. While most of the planet’s population and her family were approved by the government to escape on one of the giant spaceships headed to another planet, her application was denied due to her mysterious past. With the meteor fast approaching, Elena tries desperately to find a way to fake her way onto the last ship or else be left behind to die with the rest of Earth’s rejected denizens.

The Bunker #11 (Oni Press) – Three months later. Grady begins his political campaign while Billy sits in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. But once again, everyone is at the mercy of their future selves. An amazing series.

Jupiter’s Circle #3 (Image Comics) – Mark Millar’s prequel series has been fantastic the first two issues. This third continues to look at how power corrupts.

Secret Wars #3 (Marvel) – The series really kicked off with the second issue. While I’m still a bit cautious about this major event as a whole, so far the main series, as well as the tie-ins, have all been very good. Marvel’s events have had a habit recently of starting strong than tanking, here’s hoping we don’t see a repeat.

 

Edward

Top Pick: Suicide Risk #25 (BOOM! Studios) – This is it! The finale to this gripping series.  We finally get to find out the final fates of all involved and whether the heroes can save two worlds.

Bat-Mite #1 (DC Comics) – DC has been taking more risks than usual in the past year, and this series continues that streak running.  It will be interesting to see what they can make of this series.

Justice League #41 (DC Comics) – After a lead-in like the last issue, it is evident that the creative team means big things for this series.

Morning Glories #46 (Image Comics) – The series should be heading towards another big moment some time in the next few issues.  Will this issue be the linchpin?

Wonderland #36 (Zenescope) – Zenescope’s best series returns for its monthly dose of Wonderland infused madness and mayhem.

 

Elana

Top Pick (tie): The Wicked + The Divine #11 (Image Comics) – Stunning art, emotionally compelling characters a big fat mystery and a whole lot to say about being young and about pop culture and fandom.

The comic has been picked up by DeConnick and Fraction’s new TV production company so you better start reading this book before it hits the small screen so you can brag about liking it before it was mainstream.

Top Pick (tie): The Humans #5 (Image Comics) – Bikersploitation meets apesploitation meets 70sploitation. This new issue puts us on the road to trucksploitation too (yes that’s a genre! Haven’t you seen Convoy? I haven’t but whatever).
This underground comic styled book is one of the best comics of the year. Neely’s art is evocative, expressive and funny but it is also technically outstanding. He’s a remarkable draftsman and inker. Reading this book will remind you why hand lettering and coloring makes such a big difference.

Oh and there’s sex and drugs and violence and monkeys and a soundtrack to download.

Airboy #1 (Image Comics) – Robinson is a strong writer who’s known for excavating emotional resonance and intellectual stories out of overlooked gold and silver age heroes.

And that’s the joke here.

The preview makes it clear this comic has a different project in mind. He’s created a meta comic about the making of an air boy comic (air boy being a square golden age hero) and the drugs one takes to do so– starring non other then James Robinson & Greg Hinkle (this book’s creative team). There are Hunter S Thompson references.

Sure! Why not!

Spiderwoman #8 (Marvel) – Hopeless’s run has always been a fun read but as of last issue it’s turning out to be a comic that has something to say. Last issue included a big reveal that makes us question a lot of our assumptions about criminals and about women. I want to see where this goes and I’ve never been as intrigued with this book as I am right now.

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #6 (Marvel) – I love that front headline of this comic always states that she has all the powers of a squirrel and all the powers of a girl. Because both girls and squirrels have more power then anyone gives them credit for and this book wants you to remember that. Also it’s hilarious fun and totally beginner friendly.

 

“Big Daddy Cool” Johnny Dellarocca

Top Pick: Bat-Mite #1 (DC Comics) – It’s freaking Bat-Mite! What else do you need?

Airboy #1 (Image Comics) – Another great pulp hero by another established “classic” creative team (see a pattern here?). I am particularly interested in the concept behind this series, and the previews suggest that this is a “breaking the 4th wall” type of series that will have healthy does of action, adventure and comedy. Well, see but it is definitely worth a look!

Justice Inc.: Avenger #1 (Dynamite) – I’m going to be honest and upfront.  I have never been a fan of The Avenger. I was hoping the Justice Inc. series from Dynamite would change that, but it didn’t. That series for me wandered and was too disjointed. Plus The Avenger was written like a spoiled whiner. Saying that, I wasn’t a Daredevil fan either. Until Mark Waid took over the book. Now mark Waid is writing The Avenger. I’m a little excited.

The Phantom #3 (Hermes Press) – There are two Phantom books out this week. While I love the concept of Dynamite’s King series, it hasn’t quite hit the right notes (unlike Flash Gordon). However, Peter David’s series from Hermes Press not only hits the right notes, it is an orchestral work of a master!

Princess Leia #4 (Marvel) – Another Mark Waid title, and in my opinion the best of the Star Wars line, and my top pick of the month. It’s a shame the series is only 5 issues. Waid and Dodson have created magic with this one!

Review: Princess Leia #3

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princessleia003When Marvel first announced that it would be releasing in continuity comics, fans get pretty interested.  Perhaps the height of the point of interest was for the ongoing main series, set between episodes IV and V, which would help to fill in some of the blanks for the characters.  So too were many interested in the Darth Vader series, presenting the complex villain as something more than just pure evil.  It seemed though that many did not know what to make of the Princess Leia miniseries.  As Geroge Lucas had conceived the concepts for Star Wars partially from the book “Hero of a Thousand Faces”, it meant that the princess was archetypal in many respects.  That she was a princess but also often a damsel in distress.  For the time she was maybe a strong female action lead, but through the modern lens she was shown to be somewhat dated.

The series set off to change those conceptions, but it did not come fast.  Another main problem with the character was that she was also among the less developed of the characters in the original trilogy, acting as a mostly unexplained parallel to Luke’s journey, though one with less focus.  This meant too that this series took longer to establish itsself and its characters.  The second issue saw the establishment of the Princess and her assistant/sidekick as credible players, but it is in this third issue where the two manage to come out looking like champions.  It can be said that in some respects that there is more potential for female characters in fiction.  As they tend to not have as much brawn to rely on, they are forced to rely more so on their brains, and that is the case here as Leia is led into a death trap, but then turns that to her advantage.

What follows is thus the strongest issue thus far of this series, and proof that the creative team was wise to go the route of using the Princess as one of its primary early focuses for establishing something more in the Star Wars continuity.  There will be fans that will find this to be too much of a stretch from what came before in the movies, but this is also Princess Leia taken from the 1970s and dropped into the modern day.  The end result is engaging and fun, and promises that the rest of this series will be a good ride.

Story: Mark Waid Art: Terry Dodson
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

 

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

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BitchPlanet04_CoverWednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!

We’re bringing back something we haven’t done for a while, what the team thinks. Our contributors are choosing up to five books each week and why they’re choosing the books.

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.

Brett

Top Pick: Bitch Planet #4 (Image Comics) – This is the series I look forward to reading every single issue and count down until I can get the next in my hands. Taking important societal issues and packaging them in an entertaining 70s(ish) exploitation story… brilliant! This issue focuses more on the sports team that’s being but together, plus obligatory shower scene(s)!

Fubar: Mother Russia #1 (Alterna) – Stalingrad. 1943. One baby. One rifle. Two million zombies. A Soviet sniper risks her life to protect something she hasn’t seen in a long time: a perfectly healthy two-year-old boy who has just stumbled right into the middle of the zombie apocalypse.

Mayday #1 (Black Mask) – A washed-up, drug-addicted screenwriter and a transgender bartender stumble onto a Satanic cult’s plan to sacrifice people all across LA (geomapped in the form of a pentagram, of course) and bring on Armageddon. If that doesn’t interest you…

The Order of the Forge #1 (Dark Horse) – How about some alternate weird history? George Washignton. Paul Revere. Ben Franklin. This is American history you don’t learn about in school (cause it’s not exactly true, just really entertaining).

Pisces #1 (Image Comics) – A former Vietnam Vet pilot trains with NASA to make first contact. But war trauma leads to dark visions of his future.

 

Edward

Top Pick: He-Man: Eternity War #5 (DC Comics)  –  The last issue left off with some pretty big plot twists.  This series is mixing together fantasy and sci-fi in an amazing way.  This isn’t your childhood’s He-Man.

Jem and the Holograms #2 (IDW Publishing) – The first issue set up the character and provided enough background to get the series going.  It will be interesting to see where the series heads from here.

Jungle Book Fall of the Wild #5 (Zenescope) – The final issue in the final series of the trilogy.  There are lots of answers left for the series, but will they all come here?

Princess Leia #3 (Marvel) – This series got a little bit of a slow start in its first issue but got things moving in its second issue.  This looks like it will continue in this third issue.

Silk #3 (Marvel) – Overshadowed by Spider-Gwen, its fellow spin-off from the Spider-Verse.  This series is better in every way so far.

 

“Big Daddy Cool” Johnny Dellarocca

Top Pick: Convergence Shazam #1 (DC Comics) – I have been looking forward to this series since it was announced. Jeff Parker and Evan “Doc” Shaner may be the perfect creative team for the Capt. Marvel Family. Their work on Flash Gordon demonstrated Parker’s uncanny ability to write fast paced, fun pulp adventures, and Shaner’s clean retro style is the perfect choice for Shazam!

Captain Midnight #22 (Dark Horse) – this series continues to impress me with! Like Jeff Parker, Josh Williamson just really knows how to right the classic pulp character of Captain Midnight! Teamed with X, this story should one of conflict and tough choices!

Convergence Justice Society of America #1 (DC Comics) – Classic Alan Scott and Jay Garrick. Do you need any other reason to get this book?

Convergence Plastic Man & The Freedom Fighters  #1 (DC Comics) – Another return of classic versions of DC characters! And this time Eel O’Brien is leading the Freedom Fighters against the Nazis!

Princess Leia #3 (Marvel) – I am a Star Wars freakasuarus and the in-canon work Marvel is producing are some of the best Star Wars stories being told. This series in particular is my favorite so far because of the way Leia is being fleshed out as a capable pilot, scrappy fighter, and strong military leader. And the artwork is stunning. If you are looking for a solid book featuring a strong female lead, this book is THE one!

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It’s a new week, which means more news, reviews, and more! We have lots of Toronto Comic-Con coverage from the weekend, and tonight we have a new episode of Graphic Policy Radio all about Jem & The Holograms!

Here’s some news from around the web to keep you busy until then.

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The Observer – Marvel Bids Goodbye to Some of Its Heroes – Our own Elana has some words about Marvle’s changes!

New World Comics – The Big Future of Indie Comics – An indie publisher has some interesting thoughts about indie comics to check out.

The Outhousers – Erik Larsen Returns to Twitter, Speaks in Interview – Yeah, maybe not the best site to start at. But then, comic blogs have a bad record of reaching out to the people behind controversies such as this.

 

 

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The Beat – Chrononauts #1

Talking Comics – Princess Leia #2

Nerd Underground – Red One #1

Comics Alliance – Red One #1

Kotaku – The New Transformers Is Off To A Shaky Start, And That’s Just Prime – Thoughts on the new series?

Review: Princess Leia #2

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princessleia002Fans of Star Wars have gone through a few ups and downs as of late.  First they were told that there would be new Star Wars films, but then they were told that the Expanded Universe was no longer canon.  Then they were told that there would be new Star Wars comics from Marvel which would be in continuity, but then they discovered that the comics would be set between episodes IV and V.  This followed with mostly acceptance of the decision to set the stories there, as it was apparently a fertile time for stories to be told, as the first issue of the ongoing Star Wars series was well received.  This carried forward into the Princess Leia series, but for the first time fans met it with neither a high nor a low.  It was neither amazing nor disappointing, and while it was of a high enough quality, it seemed as though fans expected more.

In terms of the character though, she is perhaps the blankest slate of all of them.  She has a rich background thanks to her parents as revealed in episodes I-III, but while she had a prominent role in an action/adventure movie by the standards of the 1970s, by this point in popular culture, she fits a lot more into the princess stereotype than action star.  The first issue of the series sought to break down some of these perceptions of the character, notably that there was always a lot going on in the background of the character that the viewers did not know about.  The problem with the first issue was that it was first necessary to break these perceptions before moving into a place where she could shine on her own.  As in the movies she mostly either tagged along with Han or with Luke on the various plots to overthrow the empire, it was uncommon to see her venture off on her own without reason, but after having been established the action and the fun starts, as Leia tracks down a group of Alderaanians on Naboo and ventures into her back story first to explain more of her own inspirations.

After the relatively flat introduction, this series might have seemed to be heading into the direction of mediocrity, but this second issue evidently does what it needs to do to establish something more for the character.  It may not be exactly the character that the fans are used to, but it doesn’t matter as the character is taken out of the grey zone between those two episodes and thrown into the modern day by doing so.  There are some fun action sequences here but there are also some deeper moments.  It may not be a masterpiece, but the way that this is heading, it will at least serve as an effective modern update for a beloved character.

Story: Mark Waid Art: Terry Dodson
Story: 8.6 Art: 8.6 Overall: 8.6 Recommendation: Buy

 

 

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