Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Star Wars Blood Ties: Fathers & Sons #2 of 4
Dark Horse Comics
Taylor & Scalf
The second issue of the spotlight mini-series about Jengo and Boba Fett accelerates the story in a big way. This issue splits its time between adult Jengo and adult Boba as the story begins to cross generations. The comic book provides the right mix of action, story and some excellent artwork. I wasn't really a fan of Jengo Fett coming into this book but this story has begun to win me over. This is definitely worth checking out.
The issue begins with Jengo coming face to face with a runaway clone. This was an interesting twist to the story because it is definitely reasonable to assume that one of the many millions of clones would have rebelled and left the army. This issue explores that and what types of morals this renegade clone might have. It turns out that this rogue clone had a family as well.
The issue ties itself into the movies well as it replays the death scene of Jengo. This helps ground the story and explain away the possible holes in what Jengo found with the runaway clone and the reasons that Boba wasn't aware of them.
The story jumps a generation to the adult Boba picking up a bounty that ties back to the runaway clone. This part of the comic book just elevates the book to another level. Boba Fett is in all his glory and there are a couple of other familiar faces that enter the mix during the final pages of the book.
I was thrilled that the book diverted from the angle where Boba is a kid tagging along with his old man and settle down in the original trilogy timeline. Boba Fett was depicted exactly how I would have imagined him coming out of his first appearance in Empire Strikes Back. I found the back half of the issue to be a terrific addition to the rich history of the character.
I loved the artwork. This is not the standard bright and colorful Star Wars art as it is dark, painted and murky at times. However, the style, when placed in the original trilogy timeline, fits absolutely perfectly. That timeline has grease, grime and looked worn out when shown on film. The issue's art nailed this perfectly without using the bright colors or the dramatic staging.
Dark Horse continues to find new ways to keep the Star Wars comic line fresh and this new Blood Line series seems like its going to be a hit. By merging together the two trilogy time periods into one story the comic book is potentially bringing together different generations of fans. This story may not have a ton of dialogue in it but when did you ever hear Boba or Jengo deliver a long winded speech? This comic book goes from good to great when Boba takes over and I look for the third issue to be even better. I definitely recommend this comic book.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles
