Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Lando #4 of 5
Marvel Comics
Soule, Maleev & Mounts
"Lando" reaches the penultimate issue with a bit of twist. The comic book brings the dangerous bounty hunter face to face with Lando while his team seems to be coming apart after entering the Sith artifact vault. I found the comic to be a good read but wasn't convinced of the characterization of Lando. The mini-series is worth picking up even if this issue is a fairly tame installment.
After Lobot gets hooked up to the med bay, the four remaining characters are standing around debating how much the treasure is worth when one of the characters seems to be seduced by the dark side. This is a very interesting twist and leaves the characters divided and scattered around the ship. This is when the bounty hunter arrives.
The comic takes a horror genre turn as the characters are all trapped on the ship, with no means to escape, and an invisible evil lurking about. This is a great angle to play on what started out as a heist mini-series. However, the comic book struggles with how to treat Lando and this pulls the suspense right out of the comic book.
Lando is characterized as a coward. One who runs from a fight. One that is a bad blaster shot. One that makes a lot of wise cracks. If the two films he appears in are the only material that we've seen this character in then we know these traits are not true. He's calculated, unpredictable, serious, a threat and charming. He doesn't make wisecracks about "Lando Land." I'm not sure how the lead character's profile changed so drastically between the movies and this comic book, but it seems like Soule is treating this too much like Deadpool or Ant-Man.
The artwork is good. However, there are a number of panels where the anatomy struggles. There is a particular overhead shot where the character's legs seem too tiny for their bodies. On the other hand, the images of the Sith treasure room are very good, particularly the way it captures the dark side. The visuals of the ship are also very eerie and set a good tone for the suspenseful nature of the comic. Overall, the visuals were a good companion to the story.
"Lando" takes a turn for the scary with this issue. The bounty hunter enters the fray as everyone is now trapped on the Emperor's ship with a deadly Sith artifact looking to take over. The comic has good visuals but struggles when trying to nail down the characterization of Lando. Overall, this is a good comic book but could be a classic if only it handled the lead character more in keeping with the films. I recommend giving this a chance.
3 out of 5 Geek Goggles
