I Reads You Juniors May 2018 - Update #53

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From ComicBook:  "Fairy Tail" Creator's New Manga Will Be Released Worldwide in English.  It's temporary title is "Eden's Zero."

From Newsarama: IDW Publishing's solicitations for August 2018

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics is registering a trademark for "Cliffhanger!"  That was the name of a creator-owned imprint owned by Wildstorm Productions, which is now owned by DC.

From ComicBook:  There will be a new one-shot "Bleach" manga.

From BleedingCool:  Marvel and Mattel settle over "Cloak & Dagger" trademark.

From Newsarama:  Keith Champagne talks about his Kickstarter-started original graphic novel, "The Switch: Electricia."

From AnimeNewsNetwork: Yen Press to Publish Goblin Slayer: Brand New Day Spinoff Manga Simultaneously With Japan

From Asahi:  Satoru Noda’s “Golden Kamuy” won the Manga Grand Prix at the 22nd Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize after being shortlisted for three straight years.

From NBCBayArea:  Fans Flood Oakland Comic Store for Exclusive Local 'Black Panther' Cover

From WindowsCentral:  A guide to reading comics on Windows 10.

From BleedingCool:  Ten Things Rich Johnston Can Tell You About Justice League #1 by Scott Snyder and Jim Cheung

From ComicBookBin:  New webcomics Johnny Bullet episode #164 in English.
From ComicBookBin:  New webcomics Johnny Bullet episode #164 in French.

From Crunchyroll:  Tite Kubo's "Bleach" Manga Opens Its Official Instagram Account

From ArabNews:  First Saudi manga artist highlights Arab culture through its proverbs

From BleedingCool:  The Full DC Comics Catalogue for August 2018

From BleedingCool:  Frank Miller and John Romita, Jr.'s "Superman: Year One," which was to launch DC Comics' "Black Label" imprint, is already late.

From ComicBookBin:  New webcomic Johnny Bullet episode #163 in English.
From ComicBookBin:  New webcomic Johnny Bullet episode #163 in French.

From BleedingCool:  Stan Sakai, creator of Usagi Yojimbo, receives the inaugural "Joe Kubert Distinguished Storyteller Award."

From Crunchyroll:  Vertical Announces "Kino's Journey" Manga and More at Anime Central

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics not satisfied with Diamond Comics Distributors April 2018 sales numbers because they should have won the month, but did not...

From OtakuMode: The "Shaman King" spinoff manga, "Shaman King The Super Star," debuts in June in Japan.

From KOB:   Mom releases comic book to inspire kids with disabilities

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics is apparently planning a Spider-Man theme crossover for the Fall, "Spidergeddon."

From CBR:  How Neal Adams’ First X-Men Issue Helped Change Comic Book Coloring

From IGN:  Stan Lee sues POW! Entertainment, the company he founded, for $1 billion.

From FineBooks:  World Record Comic Book & Art Auction Surpasses $12.2 Million at Heritage Auctions

From Syfy:  Margot Kidder says her "Lois Lane" was truer to the comic book. Kidder played Lane in the 1970s and 1980s "Superman" films, starring Christopher Reeve as Superman.

From BleedingCool:  The series artists for "Sandman Universe" from DC Comics and curator Neil Gaiman have been revealed.

From BleedingCool:  Warner Bros. trademarks the term "DC Universe," which is apparently the name of Warner/DC Entertaiment's upcoming streaming service.

From HuffPost:  Marvel Introduces Their First Official Chinese Superheroes

From FlickeringMyth:  Marvel Comics marks the Return of the Fantastic Four with twenty variant covers

From FlickeringMyth:  Preview of Marvel Comics' "Quicksilver: No Surrender #1"

From TheComicsReporter:  Koyama Press Announces Fall 2018 Line

From BleedingCool:  Jim Lee says that rumors of a DC Comics reboot are ridiculous.

From Riylcast: A podcast interview with alt-comix icon, Adrian Tomine.

From BleedingCool:  IDW announces James Brown biocomic, "Black and Proud" by Xavier Fathoux.

From BleedingCool:  IDW is going to republish writer Randy Stradely and artist Mike Kaluta's comic book adaptation of James Cameron's 1989 film, "The Abyss."

From AnimeNewsNetwork:  New chapters of "Attack on Titan: Junior High" are arriving.

From ComicBook:  "Powerpuff Girls" get manga makeover.

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics Promoting Relaunches With In-Store Posters

From Kotaku:  Inio Asano Is A Dark Manga Artist For Adults Who Want Something Real

From JapanToday:  Rare sketch art by legendary manga artist, Osamu Tezuka, of his character, Astro Boy, fetches a record price at an auction in Paris, France.

From BleedingCool:  "My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies," an original graphic novel from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, due in October 2018.

From BleedingCool:  Peter Milligan and Alison Sampson Take Hit-Girl to India

From ScreenRant:  Marvel Movies Can’t Lose, So Why Can’t The Comics Win? [This article is good but glosses over Marvel's problems with marketing, advertising, and public relations, to say nothing about market over-saturation.]

From ComicBook:  The cast of "Avengers: Infinity War" surprises fans at a comic book store.

From Crunchyroll:  "Golden Kamuy" among 2018 Eisner Award nominees.

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics teases the "ultimate DC membership," the "DC Universe," which may be related to the streaming service that will carry the "Teen Titans" TV show.

From BleedingCool:  Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph, the stars of Freeform's "Marvel's Cloak and Dagger," promote Free Comic Book Day 2018.

From CBR:  Which "Avengers: Infinity War" scenes came straight from the comic book?

From THR:  John Barber is the new editor-in-chief at IDW Publishing, replacing Chris Ryall.

From WRAL:  Free Comic Book Day 2018 arrives this Saturday.

From BleedingCool:  Rob Liefeld is recruiting for a revival of his "bad girl" comic book, "Glory."

From ComicBookBin:  New webcomic Johnny Bullet episode #162 in English.
From ComicBookBin:  New webcomic Johnny Bullet episode #162 in French.

#IReadsYou Review: BANKSHOT #3

BANKSHOT No. 3 (OF 5)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

STORY: Alex de Campi
ART: ChrisCross
COLORS: Snakebite Cortez
LETTERS: Alex de Campi
EDITOR: Aaron Walker and Randy Stradley
COVER: ChrisCross with Snakebite Cortez
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2017)

Bankshot is a five-issue comic book miniseries from writer Alex de Campi and artist ChrisCross.  Snakebite Cortez is the series colorist and de Campi is the letterer.  Published by Dark Horse Comics, the series focuses on an anti-hero Marcus King, part modern-day Robin Hood, part terrorist, part tech-enhanced super-human or both – on a mission of revenge.

Bankshot #3 takes place in two time periods.  First, the story returns to Tunisia, a decade earlier, where King recuperates in an unnamed hospital.  The revolutionary nanonite procedure that will help him walk again is already showing changes in King – in ways that are almost supernatural.  Jump forward to the present, King is in the Ukraine, tearing through the base of operations of The Dutchman, the man who left King for dead in North Africa, but just when King seems to have snatched victory...  Meanwhile, the CIA makes its boldest move yet against King.

I will keep saying it as long as they keep doing it.  Alex de Campi and ChrisCross are killing it with Bankshot... and then killing it again.  This is pure action-adventure like Jason Borne, James Bond, and Mission: Impossible movies with a dash of the novels of James Rollins.

Bankshot is a pop comic from the action, mercenary, noisy side of the pop comic house.  I like that Alex de Campi has focused on Marcus King's past from a decade earlier to establish him as a character,  but I have to admit that I have a blast when de Campi slams us with some fight comics.  She can get down in the dirt with male writers of action comic books; she is better than many male comic book writers who are allegedly top writers of violent action comic books.

ChrisCross' storytelling captures all the moods and the switches in pace and setting.  He visually and graphically creates a balance between the drama and suspense and the action and violence.  Boy, though, he can draw some wild and crazy fight scenes.  Hurry up, space-time; get us to #4

A
9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: BANKSHOT #2

BANKSHOT No. 2 (OF 5)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Alex de Campi
ART: ChrisCross
COLORS: Snakebite Cortez
LETTERS: Alex de Campi
EDITOR: Aaron Walker and Randy Stradley
COVER: ChrisCross with Snakebite Cortez
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2017)

Bankshot is a new comic book series from writer Alex de Campi and artist ChrisCross.  Snakebite Cortez is the series colorist and de Campi is the letterer.  Published by Dark Horse Comics, this five-issue miniseries focuses on an anti-hero. Part modern-day Robin Hood, part terrorist, or both, Marcus King is on a mission of revenge.

Bankshot #2 takes place in two time periods.  First, a decade earlier, Marcus King was left for dead after the CIA tried to kill him during a mission in North Africa.  He awakens a paraplegic in a hospital in Tunisia, where a nurse, Leah Soraya, cares for him.  After another attempt on his life, Marcus finds shelter in facility where a Soviet scientist may have the miracle tech to restore Marcus.

In the present, Frank, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), plots to stop Marcus, who has stolen untold millions in cash and property from government agencies and wealthy corporations and individuals connected to the FBI and CIA.  Meanwhile, Marcus' incredible body is a subject of interest to a group of scientists and engineers.

Like a Tim Duncan bank shot, the Bankshot comic book is more hit than miss.  [If you don't know Tim Duncan, try Wikipedia and sometimes ESPN Classic.]  Alex de Campi and ChrisCross are, as they say, killing it... and killing it again.

It seems as if some of the best elements of the Blade, Jason Borne, James Bond, and Mission: Impossible movies are blended with a dash of the Iron Man comic books and movies to create something that looks different – for obvious reasons – and is unique.  This is also a comic book that takes on the troubles in the Middle East and North Africa and Russia and Eastern Europe and connects it to the corrupt American security state.  Then, on the pop comic side, Bankshot gives us a hero who can destroy whatever is rotten in international rottenness.

I like that Alex de Campi has focused on Marcus King's past from a decade earlier to establish him as a character, while only serving up the “super” Marcus in small doses.  De Campi is making us care about the man, who is just as important as the colorful hero man.  ChrisCross' storytelling captures all the moods and the switches in pace and setting, and visually and graphically creates a balance between the the drama and suspense and the wild action and violence.  Even after two issues, it is obvious that Bankshot should continue past this miniseries.

A
9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

Review: THE STAR WARS #2

THE STAR WARS #2
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

SCRIPT: J.W. Rinzler
ART: Mike Mayhew
COLORS: Rain Beredo
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Nick Runge
VARIANT COVERS:  Ralph McQuarrie
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (October 2013)

It’s official.  There are too many Star Wars comic book series.  I think the one that puts the franchise over the top is The Star Wars, a new miniseries from Dark Horse Comics.  It is the comic book adaptation of George Lucas’ 1974 screenplay, entitled The Star Wars.  Lucas, of course, would rewrite that screenplay until it would become the script for the Oscar-winning 1977 film, Star Wars, which would also earn a “Best Picture” nomination.

The Star Wars the comic book is written by J.W. Rinzler and drawn by Mike Mayhew.  The comic book opens after the recent “Great Rebellion,” in which the Empire becomes the “New Galactic Empire.”  On the fourth moon of Utapau, Jedi Kane Starkiller lives with his two sons, Annikin and Deak.  After Deak is killed, Kane and Annikin return to their homeworld, Aquilae.  There, Kane convinces his old friend, Jedi General Luke Skywalker, to take Annikin as his apprentice, but the reunion is interrupted by a possible menace to Aquilae.

As The Star Wars #2 (“The Empire Strikes”) opens, General Skywalker moves to protect Aquilae, but the Senate is reluctant to give him the authority to start a war.  Meanwhile, Annikin begins his training and goes on his first mission for Skywalker.

The first issue of The Star Wars comic book relied on the revelation of the unknown or, at least, the largely unseen, to be exciting.  This comic book visualization of Star Wars, early and in the raw, has a lot of appeal, but the novelty has worn off for me.  With this second issue, it is time for the series to deliver on plot, character, and setting.

The plot is convoluted, at least as it is squeezed into 22 pages this second issue.  I think Brian Michael Bendis could have taken just the events depicted in this one issue and turned it into at least a six issue miniseries, and the story would be the better for that.  The characters lack personality; really, they’re just players with little in the way of what one can call character.  Also, there is such an emphasis on action that the story never really examines the exotic and far-flung settings.

Mike Mayhew’s art and especially Rain Beredo’s colors remain good reasons to keep reading.  But for how long...

C+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: THE STAR WARS #1

THE STAR WARS #1
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

SCRIPT: J.W. Rinzler
ART: Mike Mayhew
COLORS: Rain Beredo
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Nick Runge
VARIANT COVERS:  Jan Duursema, Douglas Wheatley
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2013)

Apparently, filmmaker George Lucas had ideas for what would become his film, Star Wars, years before he completed the 1977 Oscar-winning, box office record-setting movie.  In May 1974, Lucas completed the first-draft full screenplay, entitled The Star Wars, the first of four drafts.

Dark Horse Comics has initiated a comic book adaptation of that 1974 screenplay, and the result is The Star Wars, a new eight-issue Star Wars comic book miniseries.  The creative team on The Star Wars is J.W. Rinzler (writer and script adaptation), Mike Mayhew (artist), Rain Beredo (colors), and Michael Heisler (letters).

The Star Wars #1 opens after the recent “Great Rebellion,” in which the Empire has given way to the “New Galactic Empire.”  On the fourth moon of Utapau live Kane Starkiller and his two sons, Annikin and Deak.  Events force great change, which present to Annikin Starkiller the chance to follow in his father’s footsteps.  Meanwhile, the Emperor sets his sights on the Aquilaean System, the last of the independent systems.

Of all the Star Wars comic books that I’ve ever read, The Star Wars is the one that I think will have the least appeal to readers who are either not interested in Star Wars or are only casually interested.  Still, it is good to get this visual and graphical interpretation of early Star Wars, which makes The Star Wars the comic book equivalent of a curio-piece.

If anything The Star Wars makes it obvious how much influence Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Barsoom” book series had on George Lucas.  In fact, Mike Mayhew’s art, with Rain Beredo’s colors, recall the magazine illustration and pulp art from the first half of the twentieth-century that Lucas says influenced his storytelling.  As of now, Mayhew and Beredo are good reasons to keep reading.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: STAR WARS: LEGACY Volume 2 #5

STAR WARS: LEGACY VOLUME 2 #5
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

SCRIPT: Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman
ART: Gabriel Hardman
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Dave Wilkins
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (July 2013)

Prisoner of the Floating World: Part Five

“Prisoner of the Floating World,” the first story arc of the recently launched Star Wars comic book series, Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2, comes to an end.  According to publisher, Dark Horse Comics, Legacy Volume 2 takes place “approximately 138 years after the events depicted in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.”  Legacy Volume 2 focuses on junk dealer Ania Solo, the great-great granddaughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo.

The storyline began when Miss Solo finds a battered Imperial communications droid and a lost lightsaber.  Because of these finds, Ania ends up on the run with her friend Sauk, an ice harvester and refugee from Mon Calamari.  Later, AG-37, an ancient assassin droid, joins them.  Meanwhile, young Imperial Knight, Jao Assam, searches for the master to whom he is apprenticed, Imperial Knight Yalta Val.  The quartet becomes involved in a Sith conspiracy centered on the building of a communications array in the Carreras System.

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #5 opens with Ania blaming herself for everything bad that has happened and rejecting any connections that she has to a family legacy.  Now, Ania finds herself racing between a planetoid and the space station that holds the Carreras System’s communications array, which are on a collision course.  The Sith behind this new conspiracy reveals himself as Darth Wredd, and he stands between Ania and her comrades and escape.

This final issue of Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2’s first story arc has forced me to make this clear.  Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is the best new Star Wars comic book series of 2013 – better even than Brian Wood and Carlos D’Anda’s new eponymous Star Wars comic book series that has been getting a lot of attention.  Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is the best Star Wars comic book since Marvel Comics’ Star Wars (1977 to 1986).

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2’s creative team of Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman are creating Star Wars Expanded Universe fiction that recalls George Lucas’ original Star Wars films.  I don’t know how long Bechko and Hardman will work on Legacy Volume 2, as I’m certain Marvel or DC Comics will hire them away from Dark Horse, if they have not already done so.  In the meantime, we have this great comic book series.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: STAR WARS: Legacy Volume 2 #4

STAR WARS: LEGACY VOLUME 2 #4
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

SCRIPT: Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman
ART: Gabriel Hardman
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Dave Wilkins
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (June 2013)

Prisoner of the Floating World Part Four

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is a new comic book series from the creative team of co-writer Corrina Bechko and co-writer/artist Gabriel Hardman. This Star Wars comic book takes place “approximately 138 years after the events in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.” Legacy Volume 2 focuses on junk dealer, Ania Solo, the great-great granddaughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo.

Young Miss Solo finds a battered Imperial communications droid and a lost lightsaber. Soon, Ania is on the run with her friend Sauk, an ice harvester and refugee from Mon Calamari. Later, AG-37, an ancient assassin droid, joins them. Meanwhile, young Imperial Knight, Jao Assam, searches for the master to whom he is apprenticed, Imperial Knight Yalta Val. The quartet becomes involved in a Sith conspiracy involving the building of a communications array in the Carreras System.

As Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #4 opens, Governor Biala of Shifala begins to realize that she cannot trust Imperial Knight Yalta Val, who has taken control of the construction of the Shifalan communications array. Little does she realize that this Val is an imposter and is actually a Sith warrior.

Ania, Sauk, AG-37, and Jao fall into a deadly trap, and Sauk makes a discovery about a disappearing planet. Can they escape with these secrets and their lives?

Brian Wood and Carlos D’Anda’s new eponymous Star Wars comic book series is getting a lot of attention. However, Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman’s Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is the best new Star Wars comic book series of the year. I’m starting to think that Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is the best Star Wars comic book series I’ve read, after my beloved Marvel Comics’ Star Wars, of course.

Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman have created a comic book with such dense character drama, superb character development, intricate politics, and intense plotting that it reads like a Star Wars novel… after only four issues! This is Star Wars as George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan imagined it.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: STAR WARS: Legacy Volume 2 #3

STAR WARS: LEGACY VOLUME 2 #3
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

SCRIPT: Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman
ART: Gabriel Hardman
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Dave Wilkins
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (May 2013)

Prisoner of the Floating World Part Three

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is a new Star Wars comic book series from Dark Horse Comics and writer Corrina Bechko and writer-artist Gabriel Hardman. The events depicted in this Star Wars comic book take place “approximately 138 years after the events in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.”

Legacy Volume 2 focuses on the character, Ania Solo, the great-great granddaughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo. Young Miss Solo, the owner of a junkyard, is on the run after inadvertently stumbling onto a conspiracy involving the Carreras System. It begins when she finds a lost lightsaber.

As Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #3 opens, young Imperial Knight, Jao Assam, is deep inside the Surd Nebula, as he continues his search for Imperial Knight Yalta Val. Elsewhere, in the Carreras System, Ania and her friend, Sauk (a refugee from Mon Calamari), and the assassin droid, AG-37, are aboard the droid’s ship, trying to escape pursuing snub fighters.

Meanwhile, the Sith continue to manipulate the construction of a communications array in the Surd Nebula. Perhaps, Jao Assam and Solo and company need to find common ground… or space.

Brian Wood and Carlos D’Anda’s new eponymous Star Wars comic book series recalls both the original Star Wars films and Marvel Comics’ Star Wars comic book series (1970s-80s). It is about re-imagining classic Star Wars. The second new Star Wars comic book series, Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin, is fun just because it puts Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine in mortal danger.

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is as “real Star Wars” as a Star Wars comic book can get, as far as I’m concerned. Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 artists, penciller-inker Gabriel Hardman and colorist Rachelle Rosenberg, are doing their best impersonation of Al Williamson, a quintessential Star Wars comic book and comic strip artist, without it being a mere copy or pastiche. So, when I read this well-written series, I look at Hardman and Rosenberg’s art and think that I’m seeing Star Wars personally guided by George Lucas and Al Williamson, even if Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 really isn’t.

Anyone who reads Star Wars comic books must read Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: STAR WARS #5

STAR WARS #5
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

SCRIPT: Brian Wood
ART: Carlos D’Anda
COLORS: Gabe Eltaeb
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
COVER: Rodolfo Migliari
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (May 2013)

“In the Shadow of Yavin” Part Five

Set during the time of the original and classic Star Wars film trilogy, Star Wars is a recently launched comic book series from Dark Horse Comics. Star Wars is written by Brian Wood, drawn by Carlos D’Anda, colored by Gabe Eltaeb, and lettered by Michael Heisler.

Star War’s opening story arc is “In the Shadow of Yavin.” It begins shortly after the events depicted in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. The Rebel Alliance destroyed the Galactic Empire’s fearsome space station, the Death Star, at the Battle of Yavin. However, the Rebellion, still fighting off attacks from the Empire, is trying to find a new permanent home base. Princess Leia Organa has formed a secret squadron of stealth X-wing fighters to help find a new rebel base, but she must also expose a spy within the Rebellion’s ranks

Senator Leia Organa and her secret squadron of stealth X-wings enter the Pybus System, in the continuing search for a new rebel base. As Star Wars #5 opens, Leia and her squadron are fighting off two squadrons of TIE fighters and an Imperial Interdictor. Of course, the Rebels have some success, but the TIE squadrons are commanded by the ambitious Colonel Bircher, and he plans on matching the Rebels trick for trick.

Meanwhile, Han Solo and Chewbacca seek refuge in the underworld of Coruscant, the Imperial center. Is Perla their salvation? Meanwhile, Darth Vader continues to make plans with Birra Seah. Luke Skywalker and Prithi prepare to disobey Leia, again, but at least they mean well.

As I wrote in my review of the fourth issue, this new Star Wars comic book is like having a follow-up to the original Star Wars film. It’s like an imaginary television series called “Star Wars: The Day After” or “What Happened after Luke Destroyed the Death Star.”

Writer Brian Wood has summoned his inner George Lucas and Alan Dean Foster (the ghost writer of the novelization of the first Star Wars movie). Carlos D’Anda’s art goes back in time, recalling Howard Chaykin, the first Star Wars comic book artist, and creates art that looks like classic, 1970s Star Wars comics. In fact, Wood and D’Anda, issue by issue, are building a Star Wars masterpiece.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

-------------------------

Review: STAR WARS: LEGACY Volume 2 #2

STAR WARS: LEGACY VOLUME 2 #2
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

SCRIPT: Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman
ART: Gabriel Hardman
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Dave Wilkins
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (April 2013)

Prisoner of the Floating World Part Two

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is a new series set in the Legacy era. In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Legacy is a time period that begins 40 years after the end of the original Star Wars (or Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) and continues to some indeterminate time.

The events depicted in Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 take place “approximately 138 years after the events of A New Hope.” Legacy Volume 2 focuses on the character, Ania Solo, the great-great granddaughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo. Young Miss Solo is also the owner of a junkyard.

As Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #2 opens, Ania Solo and her friend, Sauk, a refugee from Mon Calamari, are on the run in the sewers of Carreras Minor. Meanwhile, the captors of Imperial Knight Yalta Val make him an offer they don’t want him to refuse. Then, a younger Imperial Knight, Jao Assam, starts to think that Val is in trouble, but now, he must convince the Imperial Court. Also, the lightsaber she found brings Ania more trouble, but AG-37 comes to the rescue.

My review of Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #2 does not hold any new praises. The second issue offers more of the same, and ain’t it grand that issue #1, which provides the same, is so wonderful?

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 creators, co-writer Corrina Bechko and co-writer/artist Gabriel Hardman, are spinning one hell of a Star Wars yarn. They have an excellent character in Ania Solo, and the supporting cast is pretty good, too. If Star Wars by Brian Wood and Carlos D’Anda is the best new Star Wars comic book in some time, then, Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is determined to be more than next-best.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: STAR WARS #4

STAR WARS #4
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

SCRIPT: Brian Wood
ART: Carlos D’Anda
COLORS: Gabe Eltaeb
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
COVER: Alex Ross
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (April 2013)

“In the Shadow of Yavin” Part Four

Return to the days of Star Wars yesteryear in Dark Horse Comics new Star Wars comic book. Star Wars 2013 is set during the time of the original and classic Star Wars film trilogy. Star Wars is written by Brian Wood, drawn by Carlos D’Anda, colored by Gabe Eltaeb, and lettered by Michael Heisler, with covers provided by Alex Ross.

The opening story arc, “In the Shadow of Yavin,” takes place shortly after the events depicted in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. The Rebel Alliance destroyed the Galactic Empire’s fearsome space station, the Death Star, at the Battle of Yavin. The Rebellion, still fighting off attacks from the Empire, is trying to find a new permanent home base and to restock supplies and armaments. Princess Leia Organa has formed a secret squadron of stealth X-wings to help find a new rebel base and also to help expose a spy within the Rebellion’s ranks

As Star Wars #4 opens, Han Solo and first mate, Chewbacca, are aboard the Millennium Falcon, trying to escape from Coruscant, the Imperial center. Now, to save their lives, they will have to get deeper into a snake pit. Meanwhile, Senator Leia Organa and her secret squadron of stealth X-wings enter the Pybus System, in the continuing search for a new rebel base.

Luke Skywalker and fellow squad member, Prithi, have been grounded for their actions. However, Luke is about to make two surprising discoveries. Also, Darth Vader meets Birra Seah; is she an enemy or an ally?

This new Star Wars comic book is like having A New Hope – the day after or what happened after Luke destroyed the Death Star. Writer Brian Wood tells a story that reads as if it were the real thing – the continuing story of the first Star Wars movie. Wood has practically fooled me into believing that this script came straight out of 1977-78.

Carlos D’Anda does what any Star Wars comic book artist should do: draw comics that look like Star Wars. In this case, D’Anda is true to the visual aesthetic of the original film, and his work recalls the early Star Wars comics from Marvel Comics back in the late 1970s. The new Star Wars comic book is the realest Star Wars we can get at the moment.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: STAR WARS: Legacy Volume 2 #1

STAR WARS: LEGACY VOLUME 2 #1
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

SCRIPT: Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman
ART: Gabriel Hardman
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Dave Wilkins
EDITOR: Randy Stradley
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (March 2013)

Prisoner of the Floating World Part One

Dark Horse Comics recently launched a new Star Wars comic book series. Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is written by Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman, drawn by Hardman, colored by Rachelle Rosenberg, and lettered by Michael Heisler.

In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Legacy is a time period that begins 40 years after the end of the original Star Wars (or Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) and continues to some indeterminate time. There was a long-running comic book series, Star Wars: Legacy, which Dark Horse Comics launched after the release of the film, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 is a new series set in the Legacy era. The events of Legacy Volume 2 take place “approximately 138 years after the events in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.” [Of note, the previous series began 130 years after A New Hope.] This new series focuses on the character Ania Solo, who is the great-great granddaughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo and who also owns a junkyard.

Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #1 opens as Imperial Knight Yatla Val leads a mission to the Carreras System in the Outer Rim. This is part of a larger effort by the Triumvirate, which is a unity government made of the Jedi Council, Imperial Court, and Galactic Alliance, to connect the galaxy. The mission meets an unexpected snag.

On an ice mining platform in the rings of Carreras Minor, Ania Solo shows her latest finds to her friend, Sauk, a refugee from Mon Calamari. The young junkyard owner has recovered a lightsaber and an Imperial communications droid, and both will mean trouble for her.

Sometimes, I review books and don’t give a thought to revealing spoilers; if I spill a secret, it either does not bother me much or I wince a only a little. Other times, I am fastidious about saying too much, to the point that my review ends up being a timid paragraph dedicated to secret-keeping.

In this new review, I’m definitely being the latter. I want to be tentative and persnickety about my review of Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2 #1. Co-writer Corrina Bechko and co-writer/artist Gabriel Hardman give this first issue so many layers, such depth, and rich texture that it seems more like the first chapter of a prose novel than the first issue of a comic book. In Ania Solo, they have the potential to create one of the truly exceptional and great Star Wars Expanded Universe characters.

The art by Gabriel Hardman recalls the art Al Williamson produced for Marvel Comics’ adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back in the publisher’s long-running Star Wars comic book series. I don’t know anything about the quality of Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman’s previous work on Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes, but Dark Horse should chain them in the company dungeon and keep them working on Star Wars comics.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

I Reads You Review: STAR WARS: CRIMSON EMPIRE III – Empire Lost #2

STAR WARS: CRIMSON EMPIRE III – EMPIRE LOST #2 (OF 6)
DARK HORSE COMICS

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

STORY: Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley
SCRIPT: Mike Richardson
ART: Paul Gulacy
COLORS: Michael Bartolo
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Dave Dorman
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S.

In the Star Wars Expanded Universe timeline, there is a period known as “The New Republic Era.” This period takes place between 5 to 25 years after the Battle of Yavin (ABY), the climatic battle in the 1977 film, Star Wars, in which Luke Skywalker destroys the Death Star. This era essentially begins a year after the events depicted in Return of the Jedi (1983).

In this period, the Rebel Alliance tries to become a functioning galactic government, a New Republic. However, there are growing pains; imperial loyalists, as well as various insurrectionists and warlords, prove to be obstacles. Luke Skywalker also begins training apprentices in order to rebuild the Jedi Order. Star Wars: Crimson Empire is set in “The New Republic Era.”

Star Wars: Crimson Empire – Empire Lost takes place 13 years ABY (or 8 years into “The New Republic Era”). The New Republic’s power and influence is growing, with Chief of State Leia Organa Solo overseeing the government at Coruscant, the home planet of the New Republic’s government.

In Star Wars: Crimson Empire – Empire Lost #2, a hooded figure ferments hatred of the New Republic by speaking before large crowds, but a raid of a toxic weapons dump only hints at his larger plans. At the same time, Kir Kanos, the last remaining member of Emperor Palpatine’s Royal Guards, meets former high-ranking Imperial military officials, as they plot the birth of a new empire. Meanwhile, Mirith Sinn continues her job as Security Chief. She ensures the safety of Leia and her children, but Sinn reluctantly accepted this position. Now, her skills are about to be tested.

In his back page column to readers, Star Wars: Crimson Empire – Empire Lost co-writer and series editor, Randy Stradley seems proud as he talks about the purpose of Crimson Empire III – to tell stories from the part of the Imperials. Stradley and Dark Horse can indeed take pride in Crimson Empire III. This second issue has the requisite sci-fi action that is Star Wars, but, as will likely be the case with the entire series, it will be able to delve deeper into the political scheming and galactic intrigue that George Lucas only lightly touched upon in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

This looks to be a character driven series, and virtually every lead or major supporting character will be attractive to readers. The most intriguing are Kir Kanos, the former Imperial guard, and Mirith Sinn, the security agent with a dark connection to the Skywalker family.

The art by Paul Gulacy is good, both in terms of style and storytelling. He brings the mood and atmosphere necessary to make the story by Mike Richardson and Stradley work as something more than just science fiction action and violence. Over three decades of drawing comics, and Gulacy is still at the top of his game.


Consume Star Wars: Crimson Empire III - Empire Lost