Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Star Wars Invasion: Revelations #5 of 5
Dark Horse Comics
Taylor, Wilson & Dzioba
The third arc in the Star Wars Invasion series ends with a very loud and very Star Wars- like comic. Reminiscent of Return of the Jedi, the book ends with a space battle and a lightsaber based clash, but the ending leaves quite a few plots open for the next series. Overall, this arc has been very good and extremely well focused. This issue helps to create an impatient wait for the next series to launch.
The book opens with Jedi Dray's true colors showing. He may have a red lightsaber but that doesn't mean he's drifted over to the dark side. In fact, he seems to just be delusional, much like Master C'baoth from the Timothy Zahn Heir to the Empire novel. Dray seems to hate the Vong, but his suggestion about killing officer Kopri, because she is a witness, leads Finn to the conclusion that running from Dray is the best option. This sets up an excellent plot thread for the next mini-series.
The other major part of this comic is the space battle. The Vong are trying to protect a planet that houses their resources while Finn's mother, Nina, architects a battle to help the slaves off the planet. This plot thread helps to solidify the forces of the old Empire and Nina's fleet together as well as sketch out some battle lines.
This book is very good. There is plenty of action throughout it and if you like the space battle aspect of Star Wars then this is an issue to pick up. I can't remember the last comic book that had this many Star Wars movie vehicles flying around and it is a welcome sight. As far as the Dray and Finn angle the book presents great character work and a fresh angle to the whole master-mentor relationship breakdown.
I loved the artwork. To me, Star Wars is a grand view, but a dirty one. Ships, guns, clothes and characters all have a used look in the original films and that is what I like most about this book. The scuffed up Stormtrooper armor, the greasy ships and the blaster-scorched landscape are all present in this book and I thought it fit perfectly with my perception of Star Wars as well as this story.
The beauty of this book is you don't have to have any knowledge of the Vong war from the novels to enjoy this series. This mini-series, more than any other, is showing strong original trilogy roots even without the main characters from the films. I definitely recommend checking out this issue and mini-series if you are a fan of the original movies but maybe haven't found your way into the expanded universe yet.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles
