– Spoiler Review –
Life Day #1 lets Marvel in on the festive spirit, arraying a wide variety of writers and artists to bring several stories of Life Day adjacent shenanigans to…well… life. Once you hand-wave away some of the silliness, it’s an issue stacked with great talent and great fun.
Framing Sequence – Written by Cavan Scott, Art by Ivan Florelli, Colors by Chris Sotomayor, Lettering throughout by Ariana Maher
Like most framing stories, this one feels the least developed of the group, but what it lacks in substance at times it makes up for in so many other little ways. For starters, as this takes place sometime after Han lost the Falcon and is estranged from his family, even though it’s only for one panel, it still hits hard that while he’s worried about Chewie’s feelings on Life Day, he’s trying his best to ignore how much it hurts him not to be with his wife and son. It’s only for a panel, where we see a very young Ben Solo with Leia and Han, but it’s clear as much as Han needs to be roaming the galaxy, the pull of his family is still very, very strong. He winds up teaming up with Oga, the proprietor of Oga’s Cantina (yes, the one you can visit at Galaxy’s Edge), to help save Chewie after the Kanjiklub catch up to them on Batuu and her legend only grows with her short appearance here. Han trying to think of Life Day moments in the past for a morsel of wisdom in the present felt flimsy, but once you get into the holiday spirit thanks to all the other stories, it’s easy to hand-wave it off and enjoy the ride.
Ivan Florelli’s art fits well with this sequence’s hand-wavy nature, as it’s charming yet realistic, bold yet sedated, and imbues the tale with lightheartedness. As much as I like Han’s overall look, it reminds me a lot of the exaggerated Power of the Force toys, while he appears a little too young for the era he’s supposed to be in, the cover by Phil Noto feeling a little more fitting for what his age should look like; then again, it’s just another thing not worth stuck up on for long, as it’s best to hand-wave it away. The final page is my favorite, the packed scene at Oga’s and the big hug between Han and Chewie allow the framing sequence its first chance to enjoy the festivities of Life Day, while the Ewok earlier is so dang cute I wanna pinch its cheeks. Chris Sotomayor’s colors are vibrant and offer a good use of shadows, while the big flash bang explosions really showcase the effective blinding nature of white, while Maher’s SFXs are very dynamic, especially the one where the flash bang in the Life Day orb smashes and blinds the Kanjiklub in the cantina.
“Deck the Halls” – Written by Justina Ireland, Art by Georges Jeanty, Inks by Victor Olazaba, Colors by Pete Pantazis
The first tale takes us way back to The High Republic era, sometime after the events of The High Republic comic issue #8, which is when the Jedi ‘defeat’ the Great Progenitor of the Drengir, a deadly plant species the Nihil spread across the Outer Rim to sow confusion and disorder ahead of their deadly attack on the Republic Fair. You don’t necessarily need to know that to enjoy this Kashyyyk set tale, as it follows Jedi Master Nib Assek and her Padawan Burryaga, a Wookiee, as they investigate the planet after receiving a request for assistance from…Attitchtcuk, Chewbacca’s father! Life Day isn’t the same this year, with many of the Wookiees’ looking melancholy or angry, despite the festive time of year, like decorative orbs littering the streets. For Burry, an overly emphatic Jedi, it’s a lot, but to help save his people he overcomes it once the source of the distress is clear: the little orbs are actually young Drengir seedlings, their negative energy and Force presence weighing down the Tree of Life! The Jedi manage to wrangle them all up and the other Wookiees destroy them, hosting the two for a feast afterwards as thanks, Life Day saved. Since Justina Ireland is one of the architects of THR era, I love her handle on Nib and Burry, with Nib the playful, older Master who will tease Burry but be mindful of her surroundings regardless. I wish Burry got to do a little more, maybe be the one to discover what was harming his people’s spirits, but we still go Master and Apprentice saving the day and I’ll gladly take that.
One of my favorite sequences from this story stems from the art by Georges Jeanty, alongside inker Victor Olazaba (both whom work on The High Republic comic), and colorist Pete Pantazis, as instead of more Wookiee growls when Itchy explains the order of events that has led to the Wookiee’s melancholy, instead we glimpse inside his head. This page and it’s panels inside Itchy’s head is a technique similar to pages/panels in THR comic, the panels separated by Itchy’s hair or in THR it’s been Drengir tentacles. It’s a striking way to convey what’s happened, and far more effective than more dialogue, helping conserve space in an already limited window of pages. Since Ariana Maher has also worked on THR, she reuses from lettering from the series, gold bubbles with white font inside to denote the location, so that was a cool connection, while her Wookiee growls are varied and unique, conveying more complex speech than normal.
In the end, “Deck the Halls” was my favorite story of the bunch, which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise with my love of the era it takes place in, but I also felt like it best exemplified Life Day’s message.
“Paid on Delivery” – Written by Steve Orlando, Art by Paul Fry, Colors by Alex Sinclair
Han and Chewie are on a mission for Jabba to procure some deadly weapons from Trandoshan dealers, but Chewie notices Life Day orbs and hears singing, cuing him in on more Trandoshan duplicity. The feud between Trandoshans and Wookiees is as old as the universe itself it seems, as the lizards enslaved the locals of the facility to make bombs instead of medicine. Chewie doesn’t waste time or care much for what fighting the Trandoshans means for their reputation with Jabba, freeing his people and going to bat with the slavers. Han bumbles about for most of it, of course, but he’s there to save his pal…and then the others are there to save them both before plunging into a sedated sarlacc. It’s the story that feels the most shoehorned into fitting Life Day into it, but it stands well enough on its own, entertaining despite the brevity.
Han’s face starts off odd looking, but the Wookiee and Trandoshan designs by the art team of Fry and Sinclair are great, the fur flying on Chewie and the other Wookiees as they free themselves or tussle with the slavers, while the Trandoshans’ look extra menacing, with big claws and bigger teeth. The sickly yellow of the colony and the glow of the sarlacc stomach juice that becomes medicine help make the reveal of its true purpose a big surprise, as how could anything that color be anything other than corrosive, as it usually signifies here in our universe. Maher uses the traditional black boxes, with blue outline and lettering, to denote the location for the other stories, helping them fit more in their era. I also liked the SFX for singing, something she uses again in the next story, as its wavy appearance and musical notes give it a sing-songy feeling. Her SFX for the fisticuffs also stood out, giving each punch between Wookiee and Trandoshan extra weight.
Bonus Thoughts:
- With the amount of tales now featuring Han and Chewie messing up a job for Jabba, was it really just Han’s charm that kept the slug from killing them earlier?!
- Maybe Boba was fished out by Wookiees looking for that special sarlacc juice to make medicine?! I kid, but very interesting to think anyone would want a sedated, adult sarlacc.
“Gift of Light” – Written by Jody Houser, Art by Kei Zama, Colors by Ruth Redmond
Trying to convince more allies to join the Rebellion, Han’s hare-brained idea to cheer up Chewie comes in handy, as the brute gets to bash a bucket head and save some kids spreading the locals’ messages from being caught. Turns out the kids are singing, their music the hidden way the rebels of the planet communicate, singing being something we’ve not seen much of in the Saga. It’s not totally clear why Chewie is melancholy, besides not being home with family, but Han’s final words ensure it’s clear why he’s happy: expanding the Rebellion’s family is the best gift he can get if they can’t make it home to be with his family for Life Day. Even during an important mission for the Rebellion, Han’s looking out for those he cares about, not worried about risking the mission if it means Chewie is at least happy and content on what’s usually a special day for the walking carpet.
Despite some scrunchy faces for Han and Leia to start, it’s a real damn delight to have Kei Zama back!! After their stellar work for War of the Bounty Hunters – 4-LOM & Zuckuss #1, I’d hope we’d see them soon enough and they didn’t disappoint overall. The panels of the ISB agent investigating the dark room get downright spooky, with Chewie’s big paws appearing out of nowhere, as well as his menacing eyes peering from the shadows. Otherwise, Zama’s Chewie is fantastic, from the detailed hair to his overall accurate to film look, and is my favorite out of the whole Life Day special! The Life Day orb projecting stars and colorful lights was a fun final touch for the story, Ruth Redmond’s colors getting a chance to inject a little happiness into the story, as well her Threepio and Artoo stand out as shiny and colorful, it’s a little moody elsewhere, potentially to help fit Chewie’s mood. Maher returns again with the same SFX for the singing, but this time it was a more alien look and feel to it, hinting at it being a little more special than songs to help the time pass by.
Here are a few other things:
- It’s all coming up Life Day these days, it seems. First there was Life Day Treasury, a collection of short fables from within the Saga’s universe, then some spiffy merchandise, of course special dishes and items at the parks, and the whole LEGO Holiday Special from last year. At this point, how about another live-action Holiday Special on Disney+…is that the sequel trilogy character content Kathleen Kennedy is teasing us with? (I sure hope not…they need shows, movies, books, etcetera!)
Life Day #1 could be a fun tradition going forward, as each individual tale managed to spread some Life Day cheer, with some clear stand outs and some room for improvement.
+ High Republic-set tale
+ Overall Life Day cheer
– Some art inconsistencies
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.