– Spoiler Review –
With issue #12, the Hyperspace Stories maxiseries from Dark Horse comes to an end, but not before it plays with expectations and answers the lingering, burning question about its connective story, all in a delightful and heartwarming fashion that might just have a holiday message for us all.
All series long, Hyperspace Stories has not only centered on recognizable characters, though introduced a few new ones, its many stories have been told in the margins between films. These little adventures between what we already know offered insights into many favorite characters, and were told in an enjoyable fashion, but also managed to tell us a little about a small doll’s journey through it all. For the series’ final issue, instead of being between the films, issue #12 placed itself squarely in the margins of the movie this time, taking us through Return of the Jedi’s final battle from a new, yet familiar perspective. It starts elsewhere, introducing us to the main character, Evans Basch and how he comes into the possession of the series’ signature doll, but he’s quickly thrown into the main bits when he boards the Millennium Falcon to join Lando Calrissian and Nien Nunb’s team. I thought this was an intriguing way to sort of look back at what this series had done so far, honor it, and show how it all was sort of building to this, even in the issue which take place in the timeline after this finale. In fact, having it honor the 40th Anniversary of RotJ (with only a few weeks to spare) adds to the issue’s idea of commenting on its own contributions to the Saga, saying it’s been vitally filling in margins no matter where it ends up. And by having artist Lucas Marangon for this issue, it’s honoring his past with Dark Horse and Star Wars comics, as he’s responsible for the Tag & Bink art, which showed the two characters fumbling their way through familiar events from the movie. On top of it all, not only did the beginning of the issue include new scenes around a familiar event, it even crafted some new moments afterwards, especially in the reveal of what was in the Wookiee doll this entire time, which meant Hyperspace Stories was doing what it did best, still making its own contributions to the Saga.
The last few issues left me concerned about how the reveal, if we’d even get one, of the MacGuffin inside the Wookiee doll would play out. Would it be worth the 12 issues of build-up and over a year of waiting? My initial reaction to the reveal in the finale wasn’t entirely sure, but the more I’ve thought on it, and really the message it’s an example for, I feel like Cecil Castellucci helped the team stick the landing. During the Clone Wars, way back in issue #1, Viiveenn’s father Yura placed a mysterious object in his daughter’s doll to protect it from the hands of the Separatists, itself initially meant as a gift for forming an alliance during the war. We’ve seen the doll get back to Vivveenn thanks to Finn, Poe Dameron, and Rey, but it was seemingly missing the object at that point given how the series never had another issue set after said scene. It’s issue #12 when Evans gets it from a young girl, who likely got it from the vendor who picked it up in issue #11, and it goes on to become his good luck charm through the events of the Battle of Endor. Leia recognizes the doll, saying she had one just like it, which we learned in issue #2 but it was never clear if it was the same or one of Brewhada’s many copies, and notices the stitching/there’s something inside. It’s revealed the Jedi artifact inside is…a map of ancient Jedi locations across the galaxy! This is both a cool reveal, as we all know Luke goes on some adventures collecting what he can and it’s neat to see this map finally get into his hands and help him do so, but all the questions around the timeline on when Luke did certain things and no clarity on the horizon, it leaves one wondering when we’ll ever get any payoff on this map or any others he was using. Regardless, a map of ancient Jedi locations actually feels worth all the commotion across these 12 issues (though it was stretching thin towards the end), while I’d love it if these sights on the map would one day be revealed to be connected to something from like the Dawn of the Jedi era or something. But beyond the actual item itself, it’s really the message of the doll’s journey which makes this all feel worth it in the end, because after all, it’s not about the destination (or in this case, revelation), it’s about the journey. We saw the doll often in the hands of a child and that’s where Leia returns it to, sans map, by giving it to some orphanage, and letting it spread joy, which it did in the years before and after to all the younglings who held it. We often get so caught up in worrying about what’s canon, is this important to canon, it has to be big galaxy shaking events to make things worthwhile, one can forget it really is about the little things, how the characters interact or help themselves, others, and the galaxy, which make the many adventures in the galaxy far, far away memorable.
Artist Lucas Marangon is here to end what he began, alongside colorist Michael Atiyeh and the usual Tyler Smith & Jimmy Betancourt lettering duo! The opening several pages as Evans, an engineer who does his best to keep a little transport ship afloat until its passengers can escape safely to the planet below, away from the Empire, where more harrowing than expected, with a great intensity given to them by the panel layout, dramatic coloring, and sound FX going big when needed. On one page, as Evans is rushing towards the danger, there’s a little “boom” behind him, at his heels, showing how close danger is to him and this ship, while in the next panel he’s pushing through a throng of people in the hallway, trying to escape, only for the next panel to actually just be one big “boom,” its bubble letters containing an explosion. In the following panel, the way debris rains down around him, Atiyeh’s colors as fiery yellow as the previous panel-encompassing “boom,” linking the destruction to the explosion, and Marangon ups the flames in the following panel, more oranges to increase the heat and danger of the situation from Atiyeh. The smoke hanging over the hallway in the next few panels as he rescues the little girl is ominous, ever present, though I liked how the escape is so bright, like a light in the darkness, to show how it’ll help save the girl. When he hops into a gun turret, the emergency red overtakes the scene, make the situation feel even more dire, as well as how Marangon has Evans hanging his head. And while the Wookiee doll silently staring at the events could be construed as creepy, it’s such a cute depiction it feels as cuddly and comforting as Evans, and later the child who picks it up after Leia drops it off, finds it. Also, the few panels of scenes from RotJ, I liked how either it was just seeing it from a different point-of-view, like when Lando and Han are talking about the Falcon not getting a scratch (which we get to see them talk about later), or a recognizable shot straight from the film, enough so we know exactly what moment in time we’re seeing as it quickly flies through the attack on the second Death Star.
Here is one other thing:
- Hyperspace Stories the maxiseries is over, but a line of original graphic novels under the same name from Dark Horse will take its place in July 2024 (delayed from April) with Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon! Other characters set to come to the new graphic novel line include: Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Rey, General Grievous, Kylo Ren, and Darth Vader.
Hyperspace Stories #12 makes a worthy finale to the maxiseries by commenting on what it’s brought to the Saga and how it doesn’t matter as much as the little things should.
+ Connected story reminds us it’s less about what/if it’s important, and more about who these stories help
+ Marangon and team bring great news scenes and little glimpses of what we know to life
– Wish we had more knowledge to know Luke having this map would be worth it
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.
DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this comic from the publisher at no charge in order to provide an early review. However, this did not affect the overall review content. All opinions are my own.
HYPERSPACE STORIES REVIEWS
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