As 2016 comes to a close, Marvel’s second year at the helm of the comics included the unforgettable end of the Darth Vader series, the start of Doctor Aphra (the first series lead by an original comic character), an interesting revelation about Anakin during the early days of Obi-Wan’s training, Han Solo in the race of his life, the “Rebel Women Kick Ass in Jail” arc, Poe Dameron’s charming antics, and so much more. Overall, how does the 56 issues of their second year hold up? Better than the first year’s content? In my Star Wars Comics 2016 Year-In-Review below, I’ll show you what I believe did and didn’t work, reveal my Top 5 moments of 2016, and share some fears and hopes for 2017.
— Mild spoilers for all the comics released in 2016 —
Here are the things I liked the most/thought worked the best from the comics in 2016:
A) Expanded Female Universe Part Two
First, here’s a list of all the new female characters introduced in 2016’s comics: Loo Re Anno, Dorae, U’il, Nowk, Sotna, Selentia (Han Solo); Suralinda Javos, Warden Luta, Crèche leader, Wenda, Bett (Poe Dameron); Mother Pran, Kolara, Sera (Obi-Wan & Anakin); Pash (Star Wars); Susina (Doctor Aphra) Queen Trios (Darth Vader). While not as many as last year, the difference between 2016’s ladies from 2015’s is that the already established ones (including characters first seen in the films and novels), along with several of the new characters, either were vital components of the tales they were in or were featured as leads in an arc. Likewise, Doctor Aphra became the first female to headline an ongoing series and the first original female character to do so (among many other firsts). Expanding the already established female characters is a fantastic idea, as someone like Sana Starros has gone on to be much more than her original shock reveal role, now a morally complicated character finding herself willing to stay with the Rebellion, against her better judgement. Queen Trios went on to be the best thing about Vader‘s only barely less-than-perfect arc “The Shu-Torun War,” as her development from reluctant ruler (forced on her by Vader’s slaughter of her family) to a capable and powerful Queen was fantastic to see unfold (and Vader’s role in her development does make one wonder if he was seeing how he might’ve molded Padme had she lived/not ‘betrayed’ him). Suralinda Javos has only had one issue in the Poe Dameron series, but in it she became as enjoyable and memorable of a character as Poe himself, which is no small feat. All in all, a very good trend towards parity with the male characters of the franchise.
B) Ending Darth Vader When it Creatively Felt Correct
If the parade of sequels, reboots, and remakes tells you anything these days, it’s that if you’ve got a good thing going, why end it? In news that shocked Star Wars comic fans around the world, it was revealed earlier this year that the Darth Vader series would end at issue #25…announced after issue #20 had just released! It was sudden and certainly unexpected, but the final arc, “End of Games,” had one hit after another, wrapping up nearly all loose ends, continuing the excellent character work for Vader and Aphra, and going out while it was still at the top of its game. It would’ve been the easier choice to keep asking Kieron Gillen, Salvador Larroca, and Edgar Delgado to keep pushing out more issues as long as people liked the series, but Marvel took the tougher option and agreed to end it when the creative team felt like they’d reached the end of the story they set out to tell. Because of that, Darth Vader goes down as the first true classic ongoing of the new comics and the Emperor is most pleased.
C) Doctor Aphra Gets Her Own Series
Giving an original character their own series was one of my biggest hopes from last year and it’s no secret I was rooting for it to be Doctor Aphra. After a death-defying appearance in the finale to Darth Vader (quite literally), it was announced very shortly after that the ongoing to replace Vader would be Aphra, thus the sudden sound of fans crying out in happiness, never to be silenced. Only two issues in before 2016 closed, but Aphra has quickly lived up to expectations, something that shouldn’t be a shock with Kieron Gillen involved. Not only was this a great moment for fans, but it showed Marvel’s willingness to take a bit of a risk, while also making a big move by giving the first female/POC/LGBTQ/original character the headline of an ongoing series (where the LGBTQ factor is practically non-existent in Marvel’s superhero stories) and hopefully this means they’ll continue in this direction, rather than shy away.
D) Miniseries Recalculated
Last year a few of the miniseries, mainly Princess Leia and Chewbacca, suffered from the truncated format, either trying to shorten a more complex and interesting tale or elongated a tale that didn’t really deserve/need that many issues. This year, there were no true misfires, as both Obi-Wan & Anakin and Han Solo (I’m not counting The Force Awakens here since it was an adaptation and not an original story) told concise, informative, and enjoyable tales in their allotted issues. Han Solo had some of the best Han and Leia interactions in comics this year, even better than Jason Aaron’s work in the Star Wars mainline for once, dealt expertly with Han’s internal crisis between films, and introduced a mysterious new character who largely stays a mystery. It was fantastic, memorable work by a new to SW writer in Marjorie Liu and it was gorgeously brought to life by artist Mark Brooks, with colors by Sonja Oback, so gorgeous in fact that George Lucas bought the original art for the first two issues. Charles Soule, who brought us the classic Lando miniseries, helmed Obi-Wan & Anakin, proving once again he should always be working on some SW comic or another (he’s currently writing the adventurous Poe Dameron series!). Its story revealed Anakin’s crisis of faith with the Jedi Order (a crisis maybe he shouldn’t have overcome because it might have been better for him in the long run), while revealing the earliest of teachings Palpatine gives to groom young Skywalker to his side, drawn in a unique, otherworldly style by Marco Checcetto.
Already for 2017 we know there will be a Darth Maul series (his second canon comic appearance), but can it be at the same level as this year’s miniseries or will we take a step backwards? What else do they have in store? As long as they keep the same quality, I’m looking forward to whatever we’ll get.
Here are the things I didn’t think worked and how to fix them:
A) Star Wars Series Woes
Since its first issue, the Star Wars series has been a fun, rip-roaring adventure for the main heroes like Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, and even the droids and occasionally Vader. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that and at first it was a true blast to read month to month, but as the series nears its second year, fatigue is setting in. They’ve mined the violate and flirtatious budding relationship between Han and Leia to the point it’s gotten a little overkill, as witnessed in the latest arc where it wasted a whole issue on them cutely running around a stolen Star Destroyer in the middle of a humanitarian relief mission, and so far even the newest villains, created so the series doesn’t have to keep mining the Vader-well when it needs a big bad for the heroes to face, have faltered in their introduction by only really showing up for a single issue and largely losing to the heroes. Some of the biggest moments in the series have all happened in the first arc, which finished last year, like Vader learning he had a son and Sana “Solo” Starros’ surprise appearance, and has since mostly been a series full of fun adventures with no real heft to them, as 90% of the lead characters can’t have tons of development due to it mostly being saved for the movie which follows. Sana is so far the only new hero character introduced and she’s at least joined the main cast, which writer Jason Aaron has taken advantage of by giving her character development everyone else can’t, but seriously, she’s been the lone new character up until Pash in December’s Annual #2. While all the other series have been rather good about introducing new female characters and diversifying the GFFA, it’s pretty disappointing that since Sana Starros last year, Pash is also the first new female character the Star Wars series has introduced, but I’m hoping she’s a signal of changes coming for the series. At this point, every encounter the heroes get into in the series is too safe to be enjoyable, considering we know everyone’s fate, so more new characters would help raise the stakes and provide some new ways of looking at our beloved heroes, much like the Annual #2 proved was possible (written by Kelly Thompson, by the way, and not Aaron). The Legends-verse started to fall into this problem, focusing so much on the “Big Three” that new characters and even their children got overshadowed or killed off too often, and while that hasn’t happened yet with the Star Wars series, the best thing it could do is to open up its roster and allow someone new to shine, giving these fun adventures more weight, stakes, and a breath of fresh air. The series is already trying something new with a Yoda arc, where Luke reads an entry in Old Ben’s Journals regarding the Jedi Master, and it’s off to a promising start but we’ll know if it’s truly any good, and worth continuing such expansion of the Journals, once it continues in 2017.
B) Dearth of Female Creatives
This year had both Marjorie Liu and Kelly Thompson joining the Marvel Star Wars comics world and both delivered masterful work. Liu wrote an exceptional Han Solo as he’s learning to come to terms with fighting for someone and something more than himself, while she also introduced us to the enigmatic Loo Re Anno (whose secrets and origin remain a fun mystery), and handled the Leia and Han stuff better than any comics writer yet. Thompson brought Pash aka Bash (she literally beats up stormtroopers with a brick!) into the Star Wars universe, an everyday citizen of the galaxy who gets caught up in the war between the Empire and the Rebellion. Thompson also had a great take on Leia and how she’s struggled with and internalized the destruction of Alderaan but continues to fight. Beyond those two, that’s it. Last year Rachel Dodson and her husband had art duties on the Princess Leia series, but again, she was the only one that year. UPDATE: I was incorrect, as Laura Martin was colorist for the first 6 issues of Star Wars, so there were two female artists in 2015, which really isn’t any better. (End Update) It’s been great that the comics have done such a fantastic job of bringing new and old female characters to the forefront, but it’d be just as good, if not better, if creatively the comics could reach out to more female creatives as well. Comics isn’t the only part of Star Wars failing in this regard, as the films have yet to have a female director, but Kathleen Kennedy is aimed at changing that (Lucasfilm as a company overall has always been a more inclusive workforce at least) so let’s hope Marvel can follow suit as it’ll be a great signal to female fans that they too could one day grow up and write or draw about their favorite universe. And to be 100% honest and open, I can’t necessarily be down on Marvel when my site doesn’t have any female writers for it, something I’d like to change as well.
C) The Force Goes Back to Bed
Let me start by saying I’ve never been a giant fan of film adaptations, no matter the medium, as the film is usually so ingrained in my mind that a book and/or comic’s additions or subtractions stick out like a red painted stormtrooper. There are exceptions to the rule, especially Matthew Stover’s Revenge of the Sith novelization, but unfortunately that was not the case with Chuck Wendig and Luke Ross’ The Force Awakens adaptation. From the first issue, something just felt…off, both in terms of story and art. I really like Wendig as an author, having got into his Miriam Black series’ prior to the first Aftermath’s release as to familiarize myself with his style, but the magic and feeling behind the dialogue, as well as the fast and purposeful story beats of TFA, got drilled down to the bare-bones in the comic, feeling like we’re watching the film on fast-forward. And for the art, Ross didn’t try to copy scenes shot for shot or draw the characters to look like their actors, instead giving us a somewhat pale imitation of them (here’s hoping creating original moments/characters for the upcoming Maul series will show Ross’ strengths). I don’t know if we’ll see a comic adaptation of Rogue One, but if they do I certainly hope it ends up better overall than TFA‘s did.
Though, to be totally fair, this was the same story as the one in the film so I liked the TFA comic better than the Chewbacca series last year.
Biggest Hopes for 2017:
- Qui-Gon Jinn. Sure, I’d prefer a novel, but anything more with Qui-Gon would be a giant plus in my book as he seems to be the most interesting Jedi in the galaxy. How did he find himself on the journey to become one with the Force? What were his years under Count Dooku like? Does he ever speak to Obi-Wan before A New Hope? These aren’t the only questions I’d love to see answered about Qui-Gon, but they are definitely some of the bigger ones. And before 2016 closed, it gave me a little hope for Qui-Gon, as he made his first comic appearance in Star Wars #26! For a well-thought article about Qui-Gon’s never-ending importance, look no further than Eleven-ThirtyEight.
- There’s been plenty of new characters, besides just Aphra, who definitely deserve an increased spotlight and I’d like to see them get the chance in 2017: Chanatha Cha, an old friend of Lando’s, previous lover of Lobot, and is on Palpatine’s speed-dial for bounty hunting jobs certainly has tons of story potential just from those three points alone; Janus Kasmir, the smuggler with a heart of gold who takes in a young Kanan post-Order 66; Loo Re Anno and her race of different dimensional beings; How about a dearly missed face: Evaan Verlaine, someone unafraid to tell Leia like it is, no matter the situation, who got a small, but exciting supporting role in Aftermath: Life Debt; Or Inspector Thanoth, the wily old Imperial who sussed out the truth behind everything Vader was up…including the Sith Lord’s actual identity (and earned himself a respectful death). I think it would be very cool to have a Sherlock Holmes inspired mystery thriller series and who better to lead it than the character inspired by Holmes himself, Thanoth.
- It’s not just original characters I’d like to see get more focus, but another series diving into the past of one of the Star Wars Rebels characters, like say Sabine Wren, Hera Syndulla, or even Zeb, could be an excellent move. The Kanan series was one of the highlights of 2015 (and its final issue released this year gets some love in my Top 5 Moments section below), especially since Greg Weisman, who worked on the show’s inception, wrote the series. Bringing him back (or really anyone) to have a go at filling in some backstory for these characters feels like a no-brainer considering they have a built in fan-base and the series itself can’t always give them the character development they deserve or reveal as much backstory as a 12-issue comic can, both things fans have been clamoring for.
Biggest Fears for 2017:
- I wouldn’t be surprised the tie-in dies in 2017 because so far the comics have been 0-2 for tie-ins to the new films. For The Force Awakens, there was to be a C-3PO one-shot explaining the red arm he has in the film, but numerous delays (which seems to have been more of Lucasfilm’s fault than Marvel’s) pushed the issue from before TFA‘s release to 4 months after it. By then, no matter how intriguing and deep its story went or how spectacularly odd the art was, the delays were stacked against it, leaving it feeling too little, too late. For Rogue One, there was a three issue miniseries, plus a one-shot, announced in March 2016 and was soon cancelled in May without any comment or explanation. Was it taking too long for Lucasfilm to approve the story again? Did its story have to do with something the reshoots were going to change, thus making the comic’s intended subject moot? Will we ever see what content was planned for the issue in a different form? We may never know the answers to those questions and it’s very hard to ignore how much the Force seems to be stacked against the tie-in ventures to this point. I hope they can make it work in the future, as there could be some really great crossover/tie-in potential with the Han Solo standalone film if Sana Starros happens to be in it, but tie-ins seem about as likely to happen these days as successfully navigating an asteroid field.
- Having more series set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. While it was explained the reasoning for so many set in the time period was due to giving them the, “…same feeling as the Avengers line…that all the books take place in the same period and then they can be relevant to each other, they can cross over with each other,” it would be nice to move the focus from there to, well, anywhere else. I think the biggest place most fans would like to see more series set would be between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, but with Ep. VIII yet to release they’ll likely want to keep some of that period’s reveals secret still, hence staying away from such fertile story ground. At least we have the super-enjoyable Poe Dameron series to lead into and expand the galaxy close to TFA.
Top 5 Moments (in no particular order):
Unlike last year, it was a little harder to narrow down 5 truly top moments from the comics in 2016. This might sound like they weren’t as good, but I argue it’s due to there being so many good, little moments that I felt like I had a great top 10 moments instead, whereas 2015 had very clear top moments but not as many of them. In the end, after some meditation and repeating “I am one with the Force, the Force is with me,” I made up my mind and here are the Top 5 (Fun Facts: this is the last year Kanan and Darth Vader will be eligible for top moments and they’ve had at least one spot each the first two years; Aphra and a character’s sacrifice have both had spot each year so far):
Kanan Jarrus’ Various Stories Intermingle (Kanan #12) – Janus Kasmir (a mentor to the young and lost Caleb Dume post-Order 66) makes a poetic return, the Grand Inquisitor appears, and RAE SLOANE (a Vice Admiral at the time) surprises with her commitment to her ‘hobby’ of hunting Kanan down. In an already crowded and packed finale, Greg Weisman was able to deftly bring elements from Kanan’s past, present, and future, tying all the various mediums the character is in, together. Kasmir hadn’t been seen since issue #5, and here he helps a young Ezra Bridger much like he did a young Caleb Dume because that’s who the kid reminded him of; the Grand Inquisitor would go on to be a thorn in Kanan and the rebels’ side for most of the first season of Rebels; and Rae Sloane, a near instant fan favorite, shows she hasn’t quite forgotten Kanan’s meddling in the affairs on Gorse as seen in the first new canon novel, A New Dawn (and thus fans got to see her physically for the first time, drawn by Andrea Broccardo). While Sloane was the biggest surprise of the issue, her inclusion allowed fans to see how truly connected this new era of Star Wars storytelling is, something solidified even more with the Rogue One/Rebels crossovers.
Aphra Lives! (Darth Vader #25) – Since her introduction, Aphra has quickly amassed a following of fans who sat on the edge of their seats issue after issue wondering if anyone could truly survive working for Darth Vader the way Doctor Aphra did. The answer was no, not even a fan-favorite could survive…or at least that’s what Aphra wanted Vader himself to think. In a moment that solidified Aphra as a truly remarkable original character, she manages to survive Vader’s wrath for her ‘betrayal’ by using his penchant for mercilessness against him, predicting he’d shoot her into the cold vacuum of space…a death she escapes thanks to a backup plan. That she knew and understood Vader enough to basically play him like a fiddle, even planting the seeds for the moment from the start, proved if anyone deserved to survive his wrath it was her. That she laughs it off, smiling while the chill from the vacuum of space still lingers, makes her victory (for now) that much the sweeter. Thus the first original character from Marvel gets to headline their very own series, which even though it’s only two issues in at the time of publishing this, Doctor Aphra has already practically been everything I’ve wanted from a potential series with her in it, and then some.
Ladies Kick Ass in Rebel Jail, Save Day (Star Wars #19) – “We’ll win…because there are more of us than you can count. And we’re all sick to damn death of being told what to do.” – Princess Leia. While this line is Leia telling Eneb Ray his pragmatic and doomed view of the Rebellion’s battle ahead with the Empire is incorrect due to the Rebellion being bigger than one person, it could also function as a bit of meta-commentary about the three woman who band together to take down Eneb’s prison uprising. Seeing Leia get Sana and Aphra to work together, despite their caustic history, as well as successfully lead a counter-attack to Eneb’s takeover of the Rebellion’s Sunspot prison, really brought home how impressive a leader she can be. Beyond that, it was an absolute blast to see the women not only take center stage in the 4-issue arc (as Han and Luke were on an extremely extraneous herf-herding sidestory) but be the ones to save the day, especially without any male help. There’s simply not enough of the female characters interacting, period, but having them together here was more than enough to demonstrate how great and natural it can be and thus that we need more of it, much more of it. And unfortunately this moment has gained a sense of poignancy with the tragic passing of Carrie Fisher, a true heroine who’ll be missed in every galaxy.
Inspector Thanoth Sacrifices Himself to Vader for the Eternal Empire/Vader’s Plans (Darth Vader #20) – From his first appearance in issue #8 to his last moments, Inspector Thanoth lived up to the inspiration for his character: Sherlock Holmes. His deductive abilities were shrewd and unmatched to the point he not only figured out all of Vader’s schemes with Doctor Aphra, but also the Dark Lord’s true mission and original identity…and that he himself stood in the way of progress and must be eliminated. In Holmes-ian fashion, Thanoth reveals he believes Vader to be the better man for an Eternal Empire, one that would outlast the death of the Emperor, a goal he knows Vader has in mind with Luke Skywalker at his side. But, just like Aphra possibly knowing Luke’s connection to Vader and therefore Vader’s identity as Anakin, Vader would want to keep that a secret and would hunt down Thanoth, who could probably give Vader quite the chase for a number of years. But since Thanoth and Vader want the same thing, the Emperor dead, Thanoth decides to save Vader the time and effort of hunting him down and asks for his death instead, so that Vader can waste no more time in enacting his plans. It’s a pretty epic and surprising ending for an original character and I love how it shows Thanoth’s commitment to his cause and his deductive capabilities are so important to who he is, he isn’t above realizing he can be part of the problem too. If only the Empire had more men like Thanoth instead of the greedy and ambitious ones who dominate its ranks, one has to wonder if the Rebellion would’ve ever won.
Anakin Wishes to Leave the Jedi Order, Obi-Wan Vows to Follow if He Does (Obi-Wan & Anakin #5) – The idea that at one time, between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, Anakin Skywalker wanted to leave the Jedi Order because he felt it was holding him back from doing the real good he wanted to as a Jedi is big enough in of itself. As the series unfolded, Chancellor Sheev Palpatine is seen subtly beginning his training and manipulation of Anakin, showing him how to take action and use his powers for good without having to wait for the approval of the council or his Master. They are easily some of the best Anakin and Palpatine scenes of the prequel trilogy era and sets up why the young Skywalker would be so adamant about staying friends with Palpatine. It wasn’t until the closing moments of the final issue that we see what the repercussions of Anakin leaving the Order would have on Obi-Wan, and it’s arguably just as big, if not bigger than Anakin wanting to leave: Obi-Wan tells Yoda he intends to keep the vow he made to Qui-Gon to train the boy, even if it means Obi-Wan must leave the Order as well to complete Anakin’s training and keep the Dark Side at bay from the boy. In a single moment, the series ties effectively to TPM‘s closing moments and reveals Obi-Wan’s commitment to his Master is a tie that truly binds, helping set up why he’s so stubborn in his insistence to continuing training Anakin despite the boy’s recklessness. Even better, it presents a fun what-if scenario, as it is quite possible training Anakin outside of Order parameters, much like Palpatine does in secret, would’ve been just what the boy needed and would’ve helped keep him out of Palpatine’s reach, thus keeping the Dark Side influences which seal Anakin’s fate away. Had Anakin followed through who knows what catastrophes could’ve been prevented.
Special Honors: Darth Vader Ends Series with Classic, Impressive Finale (Darth Vader #24 / #25) – A special mention is deserved for the final two issues of the Darth Vader series, as asking me to choose a single top moment from these two is like asking someone who has kids which one is their favorite: you know they actually do have a favorite (aka me picking Aphra’s survival for the normal top 5), but they’ll never actually tell you which one it is because they feel bad for picking one. That means, while pretty much the entire run of Vader is an impressive storytelling feat in the medium of comics, it’s not always easy to pull off a well-rounded, satisfying ending and yet somehow Kieron Gillen, with Salvador Larroca and Edgar Delgado, made it seem effortless in two of the best issues of the comics since 2015 (and the entire final arc is one satisfyingly strong moment after another). In #24 we got a rare and intimate look deep inside the mind of the eponymous villain, as he’s forced inside his own head when Cylo locks down his suit, where Vader does his damnedest to destroy the last bits of Anakin Skywalker inside while calling on the Force to override the physical limitations of his current state. And in #25, everything that had come before gets wrapped up, jettisoned out an airlock, and directed into a sun, bringing Vader back to power after his hand in the Empire’s most disastrous military disaster (aka the destruction of the Death Star) while (as mentioned above) Aphra surprisingly survives. The circle truly is completed when you close the final page of Darth Vader #25, a rare feat fans new and old will be able to experience for years to come.
Runner-up Moments Include: Finding out why Owen dislikes Obi-Wan so damn much; How the egg hatching shows the Poe Dameron series’ commitment to adventure, fun, and insanity; Loo Re Anno’s multi-dimensional family saves the Dragon Void Race; Vader calls out Palpatine
Overall Rankings
The list below is made up of comic series that either started in 2016 or had at least 3 issues of an arc in 2016 (and the C-3P0 one-shot gets included only because it ended up being so good, even if delays still ruined its impact). While there was basically a three-way tie for the top spot last year, which I gave to Kanan, there’s no question who won it this year and I can already imagine Aphra will find that spot by the end of 2017.
- Darth Vader
- Poe Dameron
- Doctor Aphra
- Han Solo
- Obi-Wan & Anakin
- C-3PO (special mention)
- Star Wars
- The Force Awakens
By 2016’s end, I would have to say I feel like it was a better year overall than 2015, which was full of recognizable characters and risk-adverse tales seemingly in an (effective and enjoyable) effort to rope readers both new and old to Star Wars in, while 2016 took quite a few more chances, plenty of which have panned out compared to not. While it was sad to see both Kanan and Darth Vader end this year, we also got Doctor Aphra and Poe Dameron to continue in their stead, both of which are more than worthy successors. As Marvel continues to diversify and test its storytelling waters, it’s the fans that win in the end and here’s hoping for another great and surprising year in 2017.
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor. All comic images are credited to Marvel/Lucasfilm
COMIC YEAR IN REVIEWS:
2015 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022