– Spoiler Review –
Star Wars Adventures #7 (Vol. 2) goes from the Padme and Anakin focused tale to one about their children having a very sibling-like encounter on a planet familiar to video game fans, while the Tales of Villainy have some darn good pirate fun with the Crimson Corsair!
“The Princess and the Bog, A Twin Tale – Part 1″ Written by Sam Maggs, Art by Liana Kangas, Colors by Brittany Peer, Lettering throughout by Johanna Nattalie
In a tale set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, Leia Organa decides to follow Mon Mothma’s list of potential Rebel base planets, though because she deserves a little vacation here and there, she gives herself a list of lush ones and sends Luke off to investigate the colder ones. Having been involved with politics and the Rebellion for most of her life, she doesn’t get much alone time, so she takes the chance to treasure this freedom while she has it, knowing she’ll be right back into the thick of it upon her return. I totally agree she deserves this break, but it doesn’t last long: When Leia lands on Bogano, she runs into…Luke!! Sibling silliness ensues, and as much as I wanted Leia to have her time alone, seeing her and Luke interact like true siblings without realizing it was a total blast, as heck, Leia and Luke even have an ‘is not, is to’ moment that plays off Han Solo’s line in The Force Awakens about how the Force works.. Sam Maggs’ interplay between the two offers tons of humor and I’m so glad there’s a second part to this tale as I definitely want more.
If Bogano sounds familiar to you, then you’ve played Jedi: Fallen Order! It’s one of the first planets players visit as Cal Kestis in the Metroidvandia inspired game and Luke and Leia encounter several creatures and locations featured in the game. There’s the Binog, the giant dragon-like creature always off in the distance, which Luke so desperately wants to hang out with here, like myself and many players did and never could. Then the boglings, those cute little creatures you can never seem to catch up to, which Luke believes is trying to lead them to somewhere important and of course Leia humors him because she’s an amazing sister without even knowing it. They first arrive at the Zeffo Vault on the planet, a spot where some pivotal stuff goes down in the game, and the bogling doesn’t offer any advice for the visit, which was about the funniest moment in the whole issue. But they follow the bogling again, only to find its siblings are captured by the Empire! So, definitely not a good base spot, but definitely some fun potential for the next issue. I loved the walk through Bogano and the sibling humor so I am eager for more in the other half of this tale.
The art style isn’t as cartoonish as the previous main tale in the last two issues, rather it’s more like a newspaper strip, almost giving me Peanuts vibes, maybe from the way artist Liana Kangas has Leia stomping one way as Luke says they should go the other, or the little effects around Leia’s head to show her frustrations with Luke. Saying it’s a simpler style would be doing it a disservice, as while it might be 2D largely in nature, there’s tons of character Kangas brings to Leia, Luke, and even the boglings that supports Maggs’ goofy script. I particularly loved the shrugging bogling after Luke asks it if it knows why it brought them to the Zeffo Vault, it’s indifferent face and hand up give it extra life. Brittany Peer’s colors almost feel like watercolors, meshed and bleeding together in some places, making Leia’s outfit first seen on Endor look the same despite it not being articulately detailed, while the greens and yellows of the planet and even the vault, which is similar to Luke and Leia’s clothes, so their natural connection to the world and how they belong there, far more than the Imperials in their stark white uniforms that stand out from the Earth-y tones for the rest of Bogano. Letterer Johanna Nattalie keeps the word bubbles small and unobtrusive, giving the art and Bogano itself an empty, idyllic feel, with minor SFX here and there to let Kangas’ shrugs and swirls to do more of the emotional legwork.
Tales of Villainy: “The Crimson Corsair and the Crime Lords of the Barren Rim” Written by Landry Walker, Art by Nick Brokenshire
Landry Walker first brought Sidon Ithano aka the Crimson Corsair aka the Blood Buccaneer to vivid and memorable life in Tales from a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens – Volume 1 in 2016 (out in 2015 as an ebook first) and it’s great to have Walker back for another tale in the storied pirate’s career. What I loved about “The Crimson Corsair and the Crime Lords of the Barren Rim” was its structure, where Quiggold, Ithano’s friend and first mate, spins a web of what the Crimson Corsair might be doing right now that will mess with his captive’s plans to hold Quiggold for ransom against him. The tale is grand and full of twist, turns, and many different layers, and it’s Nick Brokenshire’s art that takes it from a fun tale to awesome, frightening story, with some truly unforgettable moments, like the Corsair’s speeder which would look home in the Hot Wheels line of mini collectible cars! Seriously, it’s a fun way to show the Corsair’s legendary abilities, something we never quite see directly and only adds to his legend. There’s other references to other characters from Walker’s previous tale, like Squeaky the Gamorrean and Kix, the last clone trooper (who we most recently saw in The Clone Wars S7), and it’s just a tightly woven narrative that’s satisfying and enjoyable by its end.
From his first Tales of Villainy, I was hopeful for more work from Nick Brokenshire and I’m glad he’s been back for these last two, especially here. I mean, he drew the Crimson Corsair astride his souped-up speeder, wind blowing his signature cape, shooting at enemies, and the speeder literally looks like the helmet-as-cars line of Hot Wheels toys; it’s so absurdly gorgeous in a page stuffed with other gorgeously colorful images like Squeaky pulling apart a droid sentry, that how can you not want more of his work?! Each member of the team gets a panel or two to their part of the story, with my favorite being Kix’s, as the deep red and shadows add to Walker’s script for Quiggold, as it adds a spooky edge to his words about Kix hearing the whispers of all his fallen brothers, while the clone trooper armor with a cape is killing it for me. Plus, I’m also a fan of the color purple (orange is the favorite) and Brokenshire washes the this tale with a lot of shades of the color for moody affect. Letterer Johanna Nattalie brought different colors to each speaker’s words to help differentiate during the yarn, while she keeps the eyes swinging across the larger than life events to keep the reveals and new moments intact.
Bonus Thought: The Corsair was not only briefly in The Force Awakens alongside Quiggold, he’s also in an episode of Star Wars Resistance!
Here are a few other things:
- The pace of these coming out so quickly now is awesome to see, especially for all-ages fans who weren’t able to read other Star Wars comics at the moment.
Star Wars Adventures #7 (Vol. 2) has fun with two unknowing siblings while it’s pirate tale is quite the memorable yarn.
+ Sibling Fun
+ Absolutely memorable pirate yarn
+ The Crimson Corsair and the Hot Wheels Speeder
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.
IDW’S STAR WARS ADVENTURES (Vol. 2) REVIEWS:
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