Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Star Wars #3
Marvel Comics
Aaron, Cassaday & Martin
Star Wars concludes the first arc in what is proving to be a very exciting title with another exciting issue. The comic book isn't trying to break any new ground here. It's continuing a lot of the action, interactions and escapes that were seen in the first film some forty years ago. The plus side to this approach is that the book feels very comfortable and just about anybody can pick the comic up and feel at home. The downside is the readers that are more seasoned won't learn anything new and probably won't be terribly satisfied beyond the initial read-through. I liked the issue and I recommend giving this a shot.
The comic book screams adventure. There's plenty of blaster fire and lightsaber slashing. There's near-death escapes and ships rocketing out of tight spots. The book is a page-turner in this regard. This helps makes this comic book stand out.
However, there are definitely very familiar components at work in here. Threepio is in pieces, the Falcon's ability to escape is questionable, Leia is flying as Chewie repairs, Han is down and out, Luke is whimpering in the corner, Vader chokes out an officer. We've seen a lot of this and yet it still reads great. However, if you are looking for something a little different you won't find it here.
The book's missteps deal with some flow problems. The short amount of time it takes Chewie to round up Threepio and get the Falcon flying seems off. Luke exiting the fireball, flying through the imperials (off-panel) and getting abroad the Falcon is more than questionable in terms of time. At first I assumed they took off without him. I guess you could say too many things occur off panel to satisfy the natural flow of the events in the story, but I prefer it this way as opposed to dragging this out another issue. The keen eye is going to question these events and the likelihood that they can complete in the time they appear to in this comic.
The artwork is good but not great. Obviously, the art direction for this line is to photo reference the movies and when any artist deviates a little bit you get some odd looking main characters. The book gives you some nice action shots and doesn't seem to skimp on details in the ships, backgrounds or battles. The comic looks good.
Star Wars is exactly how you remember it. There's action, action and more action. The comic doesn't explore feelings too deeply or provide characters arcs. The book is going to grab the reader and wow them to death. The comic does provide a very interesting final page that might just be enough to see where the next arc is going. This isn't perfect but it definitely entertains. What else are you looking for?
3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
