– Spoiler Review –
Star Wars #68 doesn’t only start a new arc, “Rebels and Rogues,” it’s also the beginning of writer Greg Pak’s run on the series, with Phil Noto on covers and interiors! It might be the series’ 68th issue, but this refreshing start is a wonderful spot to jump on for anyone who wants some fun adventures starring the Big Three.
Star Wars #68 is heavy on exposition, but it’s necessary so Pak can jump-start his “Rebels and Rogues” arc, which takes the original trilogy’s heroes on a host of separate, but important adventures for the Rebellion’s sake. The series is now nearly at the start of The Empire Strikes Back, the issue even starts with the film’s opening crawl word for word, as Darth Vader has begun sending out the probe droids to locate the Rebellion (and his son), which means this latest arc has Leia, Luke, Han, Chewbacca, and Threepio off to distract and mislead the probes to keep the Rebellion safe. Luke is sent off to lure probes away from a refueling station; Chewie and Threepio are sent to lure Imperials to an uninhabited, tectonically dangerous planet and blow it up to take out them out; while Han and Leia are sent to a seedy core world to make the Imperials think a crime boss is working for the Rebellion, picking a fight and running when the Imps are coming. The issue ends as each group starts their missions, each one hitting unexpected snags, setting up adventures with great potential for humor and excitement. It definitely feels likes a new era for the series, gone is the dourness of some of Kieron Gillen’s run, with a little more lighthearted adventure and humor like Jason Aaron’s beginning to the series 4 years ago. It remains to be seen what Pak will do with the characters and how it’ll all feel until we get further in the arc, but it’s off to a solid enough start I’m feeling the new energy Pak and artist Phil Noto are bringing to the series.
Pak showed his ability to capture the spirit of the Big Three and original trilogy tone during his Age of Rebellion miniseries and it continues here: Han thinks he’s perfect for all three jobs, of course; Leia lets Han think he’s running the show when she has it all well in hand; the bickering between the two, closer now to their first kiss, is pitch-perfect; Luke understanding the depth of his Force-related inadequacies helps build into his desire to seek out Yoda when Obi-Wan gives him his number; Chewie’s kindness towards Threepio is adorable and shows how big of a softy he is; and Pak’s Threepio might be my favorite yet, as pitting the doomsaying droid against an apocalyptic planet provides plenty of humor, as does the team up with him and Chewie.
Luke’s mission is the only one the issue doesn’t deal very much, so I’m not quite sure how to feel about it yet, though some of the solicits have teased it goes in some surprising directions. Han and Leia’s mission gets a tasty dose of drama when a totally not ex-boyfriend of Leia’s, Dar Champion, shows up to help them on their mission. I really enjoyed how introducing him did lead Leia to make fun of the whole Sana Starros introduction that rocked fandom, and her initially, so I can’t wait to see how obviously-into-Leia Han will react to the reveal compared to Leia to his; though now I’m wondering if she ever tells Han about Kier Domadi, as seen in Leia: Princess of Alderaan, as he indirectly mentioned Qi’ra in “The Escape” arc. But the story I’m most looking forward to, especially because it means side characters like Chewie and Threepio get a chance to shine on their own instead of caught up in what the humans are doing, is the pair’s meeting with a race of rock people on the supposedly uninhabited planet. They are often ignored or considered sidekicks, both by their friends and storytellers at times, and now they are dealing with a whole race of beings who were ignored because they don’t fit within known definitions of species. It’s a situation ripe for discussion about droids and trust sidekick’s places in the galaxy and stories itself, but by the way everyone washes over they are blowing up an entire planet to take out a small fraction of the Empire (even calling it their own Death Star), maybe the story won’t be that nuanced.* Regardless, as I said, seeing Threepio and Chewie in charge of their own mission and forced to make decisions should be a highlight and nice change of pace.
It’s been over two years, but Phil Noto has finally returned to doing interior art for Star Wars comics! He’s been prolific when it comes to cover art, of which I am forever grateful, but I have been missing his work since he left the Poe Dameron comic in early 2017. In a way, some of his art here made it feel like this was a crossover of sorts, as Noto previously drew 2015’s Chewbacca mini and Threepio factored heavily into his time on Poe, so I’m used to seeing these two designed that way and now the rest of the cast has morphed to fit with them. Noto’s style is utterly fantastic, from the subtle ways he captures the actor’s likenesses but makes them his own, the depth/full look to each panel, to how his panel layouts help land suspense and humor, I’m so excited what he’ll bring to the table with the rest of Pak’s crazy adventures for our heroes. What I can already appreciate are Han and Leia’s space noir outfits, which are killer because they remind me of a mixture of The Matrix and Star Wars, while the rock creatures look both menacing and friendly, which Noto has proven he can bring the bizarre of Star Wars to life with kaiju’s he drew in the opening salvo of Poe.
Here are a few other things:
- *Doctor Aphra, set roughly at the same time, maybe months earlier, is diving into the greyer shades of the Rebellion in its current arc, “Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon,” where yes, the Rebellion is building an assassination superweapon. It’s as wild and as fun as you can imagine.
- I really appreciated the little nods to the end of Kieron Gillen’s run, “The Scourging of Shu-Torun,” which helps give the series a connective tissue despite the change of writer. Speaking of Gillen, Chris and myself should have a retrospective on his run on the site within the week!
Star Wars #68 is a great beginning to for the new era, as its latest creative team and new arc reinvigorate the series.
+ Intriguing, fun adventures for our heroes to be on
+ Chewie and Threepio with the most potential
+ PHIL NOTO IS BACK
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
STAR WARS
Greg Pak — Rebels and Rogues
Kieron Gillen — Ashes of Jedha (#38-43)| Mutiny at Mon Cala (#44-49) | Hope Dies (#50-55) | The Escape (#56-61) | The Scourging of Shu-Torun (#62-67)
Jason Aaron — Skywalker Strikes (#1-6) | Old Ben’s Journals | Showdown on the Smuggler’s Moon (#8-12) | Rebel Jail (#16-19) | The Last Flight of the Harbinger (#21-25) | Yoda’s Secret War (#26-30) | Out Among the Stars (#33-37)
CURRENT SERIES COMIC REVIEWS:
Doctor Aphra
Aphra (#1-6) | And the Enormous Profit (#9-13) | Remastered (#14-19) | The Catastrophe Con (#20-25) | Worst Among Equals (#26-31) | Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon (#32-37) | Annual: #2
TIE Fighter (miniseries)
Galaxy’s Edge (miniseries
Age of Rebellion (miniseries)
Age of Resistance (miniseries)