– Spoiler Review –
Lando – Double or Nothing issue #4 once again shows how this miniseries struggles to captivate or pull off a completely satisfying characterization of it’s smooth, suave lead.
There’s some heady ideas in this issue, especially when talking about the psychological effects on people from things like slavery and an immense, oppressive government, but this miniseries hasn’t the depth or time to spare those issues anything worthwhile. Just last issue we found out Kristiss and her father Rythus hadn’t spoken to anyone else about their plan to liberate themselves from the Empire, thus it’s met with lackluster response, and in issue #4 Lando finds out about their failure and it’s played off for laughs. I did laugh because while the dialogue exchange was funny, it was more about the ridiculousness of it all: the issue trying to be to serious but stopping to laugh at how it forced these characters to commit failure so it could make Lando the hero.
The over-talkative Lando has been an irritating, unavoidable aspect of Double or Nothing, and it continues here when he’s alone, throwing in plenty of unnecessary dialogue when the art, or less, could’ve done the talking for him. His time with other characters is slightly less annoying, as while it’s definitely not as on-point with the characterization of a young Lando like Solo or Last Shot were (unlike what I initially thought), at least he’s funny and a bit charming during interactions. I was very curious last issue to see how Lando/L3/Kristiss could get the people of the planet to rebel, but I should’ve known it would be Lando pontificating a potentially true story to the crowd and immediately they all give in. Don’t get me wrong, Lando is charming, but the fact his flashy speech got everyone moving, while somewhat funny, is honestly a little disappointing. Once again, this issue wanted to be a little serious, but he inspires people by telling them a story about him being caught with a romantic partner by their relationship partner, instead of Kristiss/Rythus’ emotional appeal? All miniseries long, Lando is the hero, no matter what he says or does, doing zero wrong for most of it, so why should he falter now? Part of me is hoping this all turns out to be one of the Calrissian Chronicles, therefore unlikely to be true, and we can just sweep this one under the rug.
If you ignore any attempts by DoN to be serious or cover interesting subject matter, much like DoN has done itself so far, there’s still some funny bits, great exchanges between L3 and Lando, and an adventurous feel to the miniseries that might make this worth picking up on sale in future. Those aspects have been Rodney Barnes’ strengths, but I think by trying to go all out on Lando’s personality, he’s missed the point of the smoothest talking smuggler in the galaxy and made him, believe it or not, unlikeable. The art team of Paolo Villanelli (art) and Andres Mossa (colors) at least continues to impress issue after issue, from Mossa’s distinctive but bountiful colors to Villanelli’s lush and active art. As random and forgettable as the rehealing spiders were, the art had some really cool effects for the little creepy crawlies.
By issue #4 it’s become clear that Lando – Double or Nothing will continue as is, for better or worse.
+ Art continues to deliver
– I’m sorry Lando, but you can please take a moment to be quiet and reflect
– Of course Lando is the one to spur on Kristiss’ people
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
Lando – Double or Nothing
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