– Spoiler Review –
TIE Fighter #5 brings this Alphabet Squadron sister series to an end, and while its focus on characters has been paramount to making it enjoyable, it closes down a little too suddenly.
I’ve enjoyed Jody Houser’s TIE Fighter miniseries, as it has placed its focus on the characters of this specific Shadow Wing squadron, though it hasn’t been enough to make me care too much about these villains. Characters I did enjoy, especially one born from another miniseries, perished in issue #3, so when this finale ends with a focus on the journeys these characters have made together as a squad, overcoming their hardships to complete their latest mission, it didn’t have a lot of impact for me, especially with two new characters included. I appreciate how this series has been trying to show us there are people behind the enemy helmets, brought to life artistically via clear helmets so we can see the character’s faces during flight (a favorite effect of mine), but not knowing when/if we’ll be seeing them again does make investing in them limiting. Alphabet Squadron, an excellent start to a different type of trilogy, so far only mentions Broosh briefly, though the way it ended it could see the characters from TIE Fighter appear in the subsequent releases, but for now there’s just the promise we may see them again. It doesn’t take away from Houser’s great character work that this might be their final appearance or not, but only 5 issues wasn’t quite enough to get me to enjoy most the characters beyond those who perished.
Because of the character focus, the series feels like it ends out of the blue, with their success in the final mission overshadowed by the pronouncement that the Emperor died aboard the Death Star II, leaving these villains to await next orders. In fact, the series felt like it was building to some big operation, but the attack on the mobile rebel recruitment base ends up being over in an issue, with nary a problem. Hop into Alphabet Squadron to see what happens next, but the characters here won’t be included, which doesn’t help the series from feeling like it ended just as it got started.
The back-up story concerns Jeela and Broosh chatting it up on the shooting range, even though Jeela said you shouldn’t talk while shooting last issue, where he helps her see she does fit in with the squad, despite her history and own beliefs that she doesn’t. It’s a coda doubling-down on the character focus and I wish we had gotten more for Jeela before the end.
Beyond one of my favorite ways to represent pilots with helmets, Rogê Antônio (art) and Arif Prianto (colors), had plenty of great space dogfighting panels, giving the small action an epic feel, once again proving to be an excellent pair for the series. For the back-up story, Juan Gedeon (art) Dono Sánchez-Almara (colors) took over, and it’s the closest any of these stories contained art so similar to the main story, making it feel connected, considering it was tied more to the main narrative than previous back-up stories. Joe Caramagna was on the series as letterer.
Here are a few other things:
- I hope we’ll learn about the next two entries in the Alphabet’s trilogy soon and maybe we can have a better idea how this ties into the books beyond being a lite-prequel.
TIE Fighter #5 brings the series to a close on an ending that feels too easy/quick, though its character work still remains a bright spot.
+ Focus on the characters continue
+ Strong art showing for the final battle
– Feels like it just…ends
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
TIE FIGHTER
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