– Spoiler Review –
The next one-shot in the series celebrating Return of the Jedi’s 40th Anniversary takes a mystical turn in the best way possible in Ewoks #1. Writer Alyssa Wong, alongside artists Lee Garbett, Paulina Ganucheau, Kyle Hotz, and Caspar Wijngaard combine for an absolutely delightful and wholly unique experience fans of comics should not miss.
When we first started getting previews of Return of the Jedi – Ewoks #1, they weren’t lettered, which is very typically. Even earlier this week at Celebration Europe 2023’s Marvel panel, the previews shown continued not to have lettering, so I figured it was maybe just for that story or that part of the story. When I started reading Ewoks, it quickly became clear there was no lettering, no dialogue, which I almost thought was an error at first, but by the time Paulina Ganucheau’s artwork wrapped up the “The Woklings’ Tale,” it was clear there wouldn’t be any throughout the issue. Despite initially being thrown off by this choice, it feels not only like the right one, but it results in something truly memorable, something comic fans should not miss. Ewoks is a shinning example of what makes this medium so special, as Alyssa Wong’s script receives various vibrant life from the artists arrayed for the issue, to the point dialogue isn’t needed, showing the power of art and story if used effectively enough together. I also loved the different styles from the artists, as each one feels absolutely fitting on who is telling the tale and its intended audience, Paulina’s being kid cartoon-esque as it’s for the Woklings, while Paploo’s tale is menacing and drenched in darkness as he tries to scare them into kids into being cautious, and the one about Peekpa has a watercolor look to it, a rough and hard-scrabble feel overall fitting of Peekpa’s inventiveness. The irony I have already and will by this review’s end have more words than the entire issue has is not lost on me, but it should be talked about for how well the teams work together to make such a great issue.
“The Woklings’ Tale” Art by Paulina Ganucheau, Lettering Throughout by Joe Caramagna
The cutest tale of them all, I love how the two young characters, one an Ewok and the other a Dulok (which looks like the Grinch), form a bond and friendship despite the fearmongering of their respective parents. While it’s aimed at kids in the context of the issue, and maybe in real life via the art style, its message is an important one which tackles a lot of the hate going on in the world, vocally louder now because there are so many forums for the bad actors to spread their terrible messages. The parents of the two kids manage to come around when they see the kids aren’t fighting what their parents hate, but saving the friendship they love, a key mantra to Star Wars any fan and human being should keep in their heart as they go out into the world and interact with it. Alyssa Wong consistently manages to convey such strong messages in their tales, even if it’s hidden under layers of Aphra’s sarcasm, and their intentions ring through loud and clear thanks to Ganucheau’s art.
I really loved the montage sequence page, where we see the two friends diving into water or saving one another from something poisonous, their parents concerned as they walk out each day on their adventures, cast in shadow inside their homes as their kids leave, while the kids walk out smiling and happy. That the little Ewok’s horse is in on the fun in each panel is also delightful, as it gives me My Little Pony-vibes so it’s just adorable chilling in the water before the two come splashing in. The kids’ defiance of their parents when the two pairs find the secret hideout, holding hands and silencing them with a disappointing look as they point at their no anger/hate sign, helps shame the parents for their actions and not listening or trusting in their kids earlier. This is just a cute tale and the artwork is what seals the deal.
Bonus Thought: Alyssa took to Twitter to reveal the names of the two young ones at the center of the tale: Falloo is the Ewok and Eemee is the Dulok.
“Paploo’s Tale” Art by Kyle Hotz, Colors by Rachelle Rosenberg
Unhappy with the cutesy tale, Paploo makes a scary face as he launches into the issue’s darkest story. It follows a lone Ewok in the woods, who comes upon the bodies of many other Ewoks and finds themselves under attack from the nasty Gorax! The Ewok does its best to escape the Gorax’s lair, but the tale does not end well as they become a tasty snack, though a nice loud SFX “BONK” from Caramagna punctuates the scares with a burst of humor as Chief Chirpa smacks Paploo on the head for scaring the Woklings with the tale. Reader, the amount I laughed, let me tell you, I did not expect to!
Kyle Hotz’s art is menacing yet beautiful, each panel something I could see framed in a museum, and Rachelle Rosenberg’s coloring of the black and white tale is haunting yet easy to follow, while the burst of red on the Ewok’s hood gives the impression of Red Riding Hood, of a fairy tale with a happy ending. There’s a double page spread of the red hooded Ewok running through the woods, trying their best to escape the Gorax, and I quite enjoyed taking in the density of each panel, despite the running pace, looking for where the Gorax was hiding in each one, its spooky, snarly face frightening in Hotz’s work and Rosenberg’s colors. Each panel it looks like our little red hooded Ewok will escape, but then we see its face, terror stricken across it, a shadow creeping over, and the next panel is a hairy Gorax hand picking them up. It seemed very possible for the Ewok’s escape, but when the next panel, taking up most of the page, reveals the full size of the Gorax compared to its prey, it’s clear the Ewok never had a chance. The final panel of the story, the dripping spit from the Gorax’s face and washed in violent red, is a fitting image to end on, as it’s so scary it’s the type of thing you might remember from a nightmare if nothing else. On art alone, this would be my favorite tale of the collection, but the next one is my favorite (though they are all great overall!).
“Peekpa’s Tale” Art by Caspar Wijngaard
I’ll never forget the announcement of an Ewok slicer for the then upcoming Last Shot novel, scoffing at the idea but excited by the potential at the same time, and then after reading the book I was an unabashed Peekpa fan and couldn’t believe I ever doubted it. I’ve been hoping we’d see her again one day, so I was thrilled for her to featured here, though I’ll continue hoping this is just the start. In her tale, we see her doing her thing out on her own, taking down an Imperial Scout Trooper to get the helmet’s goggles (like Rey had in The Force Awakens). We find her working on a ship made out of various Imperial parts, like an AT-ST’s head, though other Ewok’s come and visit her work and mess with her, making fun of her before leaving her be. To them, she’s an outsider and weird, and probably crazy for thinking she can build something like this, but in a few panels where she stands looking up at the stars, dreaming of the galaxy, a smile on her face, she’s not concerned with other’s opinions about her and will continue forward with her plans. Sure enough, seemingly complete, she gets her invention ready to go, the other Ewoks invited over to watch, and we find her confidence wasn’t misplaced: she jets away in her ship, leaving the others behind! It’s hard to describe how neat this moment was to see and it makes me want to read Last Shot all over again. And overall, I just like the message this story sends, about believing in yourself and not relying on someone else’s opinions to assess your self worth, with Peekpa being the perfect avatar for a message like that.
Caspar Wijngaard’s work is something I’ve long been a fun of, especially when he took over the final several issues of the 2016 Doctor Aphra series, and he doesn’t disappoint here. As I mentioned earlier, the watercolor look to the art really matches Peekpa’s spirit and actions, from her hard-scrabbled attitude to the rough look of her ship as she puts it together, piece by piece, from what she’s scavenged. In particular, I loved the series of panels of Peekpa at night, sitting by their light and then staring off into the stars, the swirling purples, teals, and blues providing a hopeful, playful feel to their yearning of the stars; while the subtle change from one panel to next of her putting down her newly acquired goggles over hers cues us in on her confidence and hope for her success with the ship. I also like how we never really get to see the reactions of the other Ewoks as she takes off, one looking surprised, but they are just small dots in the background as she makes her escape, unimportant and needed to be left behind, Caramagna’s SFX for the ship flying off purposely drawing out attention from them.
Bonus Thought: I don’t know if Wijngaard did this on his own or if it’s Wong’s doing, but Peekpa’s ship seems heavily inspired by the INT-4, a Kenner toy that never was in a movie but did technically make it into canon via a game.
“Campfire Framing Story” Art by Lee Garbett, Colors by Java Tartaglia
While there are some cute little moments throughout the framing story part of Return of the Jedi – Ewoks #1, and Chirpa’s smacking of Paploo for scaring the little ones a huge highlight, I love how it ended with one of the little woklings waking up and being fierce towards a shadow on a wall nearby, little aspects from each tale sneaking into the scene, be it the flower crown from “Woklings’ Tale,” the Gorax from Paploo’s, and a little toy ship from Peekpa’s.
Garbett’s art has its own fun, from the cute procession of Woklings coming to the fire to hear the stories, Chirpa batting Paploo on the head with his staff after he frightened the little ones, to the towering inferno of the flames conjuring up an image of Peekpa to give hope and courage back to kids after the creepy tale. Java Tartaglia’s colors make the night around the fire dark but not menacing, just a natural part of their lives, while the roaring flames seem comforting, basking those in its glow in its warmth. The final page incorporating callbacks to the night’s tales is a cute, enduring way to end the tale, the hope and comfort in the little Wokling’s eyes after it vanquished the shadow Gorax and the played with little toy X-wing.
Here are a few other things:
- Also at the Celebration 2023 Marvel panel? New covers for upcoming issues in the Return of the Jedi one-shots series: The Rebellion and Max Rebo.
- Alyssa Wong joined The High Republic’s list of luminous authors, first in an anthology out in September and later for a joint novel in Phase III! We are so lucky!
- Don’t forget, starting April 28 through May 4, you have a chance to watch Return of the Jedi in theaters!
Return of the Jedi – Ewoks #1 is a brilliant collaboration between Alyssa Wong, Kyle Hotz, Caspar Wijngaard, Paulina Ganucheau, and Lee Garbett, as they have created wonderful visions for these Ewoks’ tales that leave an impression readers won’t soon forget, all done without dialogue!
+ Strength of all the art teams delivering stories without the need for dialogue
+ How each artist matched the storyteller and the story itself
+ Prime example of what makes comics so special
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.
RETURN OF THE JEDI ONE-SHOTS
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