Review: Star Wars: Screaming Citadel #1
Rebel pilot and rogue archaeologist wander side by side into the darkest shadows of the galaxy as Luke Skywalker reluctantly teams up with Doctor Aphra! The Doctor makes Luke an offer he can’t afford to pass up…one that leads him to a very rare gathering at the heart of the infamous Screaming Citadel. Will Luke find what he’s looking for? Can Aphra be trusted? Or will they both wind up victims of the Citadel’s Queen?
When it comes to Marvel, Star Wars has been a bright spot for pretty much everything released. Nothing has stumbled, even the few crossovers we’ve seen. That’s why with each new release I find myself so excited to see what’s coming next and where things are going. It’s all perfectly fleshed out and expanded upon the movies and television shows delivering things that feel new with each release. Star Wars: Screaming Citadel #1 kicks off the next “event” that will eventually move to Star Wars and Star Wars: Doctor Aphra. And it does so by giving us a lot to chew on and explore.
Spinning out of the recent story arc, Aphra finds herself with a crystal that contains the artificial intelligence of a Jedi and she needs Luke’s help to unlock it. That leads the two to a mysterious citadel and world where they must find favor with the Queen.
Written by Kieron Gillen, the first issue drops us into the action playing off of the character’s personalities and more importantly acknowledging the history between everyone. Luke is maybe a bit naive and at this point in his life he still might be, that’d be my only knock, but Aphra is such a good bullshitter it still makes sense. What’s impressive to me is Gillen’s ability to add so much that feels new and intriguing. There’s at least a dozen (if not more) things just in this issue that I want to learn more about. There’s new races, things mentioned, characters presented, worlds explored, all of it feels new and fresh and when it is a nod to what we’ve seen before there’s still something new there. 40 years to work with, that’s impressive.
The art by Marco Checchetto is absolutely fantastic and that’s helped by the colors of Andres Mossa who continues to deliver on the Star Wars style Marvel has built. The worlds all jump off the page and pop in a way that’s exciting and reflect the story Gillen has delivered. The aliens look unique and new as well and those last few pages had me uttering “what the hell” as the art delivers the shock and awe Gillen is going for.
It’s Marvel Star Wars. That alone is reason enough to check this out and while it’s not great for new readers it builds upon the various excellent history that we’ve had the ability to enjoy over the last year or so. This first issue delivers and has me anxiously awaiting what comes next.
Story: Kieron Gillen Art: Marco Checchetto Color: Andres Mossa
Story: 9.0 Art: 10 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy
Wednesdays 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!
STAR WARS: THE SCREAMING CITADEL #1
