– Spoiler Review –
The comics close out their Return of the Jedi 40 Anniversary fun with one heckuva good time in the final one-shot, written with aplomb by Daniel José Older and illustrated to delightful and moving chaos by Paul Fry: Return of the Jedi – Max Rebo #1!
Max Rebo and his band look to be having quite the year beyond this issue, with stories about Max and Sy Snootles in the upcoming From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi, though Return of the Jedi – Max Rebo #1 will be a tough act (see what I did there?!) to follow! It has always felt like an interesting story awaits to be told about the unique band members playing the nights and days away at Jabba’s Palace, even in the face of danger and death, and Older’s script opens up said possibilities as we dive into a music-tinged noir story filled with humor, emotion, and relatable actions by its characters. It’s easy to expect nothing less from Older, whose consistent delivery in his two The High Republic Adventures series so far is hard to quantify and a pleasure to enjoy, but it’s always a joy to see he can pull it off again and again, even with different characters and only in the confines of a one-shot. Paul Fry has produced some energetic work for the Han Solo & Chewbacca maxiseries recently, but he seems to take it to a whole different level for this, while Lopez’s colors give the shadows life in a way which lets them deliver on promises from Older’s script. As far as finales go for a series of one-shots, you can’t find much better.
Max Rebo is a gangly, interesting creature, as he and his species are all feet and butts, so it’s easy to write them off and paint them as goofy, but between Older’s script and Fry’s art, Max and his species get the treatment they deserve. It starts like any other day at Jabba’s Palace, Max and the band playing and some tussle breaking out, but a blaster shot gets a little too close for Max’s comfort and it sort of snaps in him then, how his and the band’s situation, on the edge of death so often it feels mundane until now, needs to end. He recalls a mentor, an ol’ Dug musician Quez, who easily could’ve retired and took a comfy gig to live out the rest of his life, felt music was worth dying for and did just that still taking the risky jobs, though Max sees instead a way out in such advice: maybe music is worth killing for, shown in the first of two panels where something isn’t said out loud, but it’s all there literally in the character’s eyes. Max is haunted by Quez afterwards, spurned by both the near-death experience and his decision to kill Jabba, while it doesn’t help death continues to show its face in many ways, be it Oola’s murder or Leia’s threat of the thermal detonator, and he believes his time is up, he’ll be joining Quez soon. The mood presented here, Quez’s ballad on death returning alongside his ghost, dogging Max at every turn as danger spikes with the events we know from the film, is what helps bring the musician-based drama and noir vibes to life here in such a fun and engaging way. Max’s moody narration and Quez’s appearances make it hard to argue with his belief on where things must end with death, though as he arrives on a far better conclusion in the closing pages, spurred on by the parallel story of his fellow bandmates are going through (also about killing Jabba, of course), it’s easy to feel the change in mood and mindset, especially once the issue ends on a page depicted such a bright and promising future. It’s easy to want to see more of Max after this, even if stories of his future are seemingly short-lived, but in a way his sudden death in The Book of Boba Fett is something Max Rebo #1 works in concert with alongside RotJ and its events, while it makes the world of music in Star Wars seem like a fun place to focus on stories in the future.
In concert with Max’s story is that of the two drummers in the band, the Weequay Ak-Rev and Klatooinian Umpass-Stay, two friends who consider one another brothers. They come in conflict when Umpass’ father and chief sends a message for his son to kill Jabba, while Ak-Rev and his clan are sworn protectors of the Hutt. Ak-Rev attempts to sway his clan mother’s opinion on protecting Jabba, but she’s too set in the old ways and shuts down his attempts to get around having to potentially fight his friend and brother; we don’t get to see if Umpass’ goes through something similar, however. It’s their resulting fight in the shadows of the barge, as chaos ensues, that allows Max to see the opportunity for life, stopping them and fleeing then for greener pastures, though we’re left wondering if the two friends made up and get to live on, drumming away somewhere else. Family and certain institutions seem too big to ignore, too stuck in their ways, and too hard to fight, forcing the status quo on those beneath them, their children, because it’s easy, it’s what they know and have come to accept, so why fight it at this point? Any words to the contrary, of reopening the same rebellious thoughts they might’ve had at one point, are squashed like their feelings were by the institutions they protect, even in the face of family and those they declare to care about. With Max choosing to live, to show them the futility of their fight, literally since Leia snuffs out Jabba’s life thus negating their fight, they all decide to leave these lives behind, striking out for something new. Intentional message or not, it’s a good reminder to readers that if the situation they are in is toxic or you can see a better way for the future but aren’t being listen to/allow/etc., choosing to leave it behind can be tough, can seem impossible, but it might just be the best choice for your own happiness.
The moments where what Max is thinking and it’s seen in his eyes is just one of many great things from the art team of Paul Fry, Carlos Lopez on colors, and Travis Lanham’s lettering. Putting objects in characters eyes is not something we’d had much across Star Wars comics overall, so it stood out quite a bit, in a good way, as I liked its usage over more narration boxes and added an emotional component to those moments. When Max realizes he’s not against trying to kill Jabba, the Hutt’s face appears in his eyes, so instead of him saying the quiet part out loud, it stays unsaid yet clear to us readers, giving the impression of how set his heart feels on what his mind has decided. Fry had a lot of work cut out for him to display emotions for Max, but he did a great job by drooping Max’s ears, pulling back his face so his trunk lifts, and relying on the eyes in panels as well, giving the somewhat goofy creature more depth to go along with Older’s script. But he did it with more than Max, as besides some cameos from Han and Leia, the rest of the cast is non-human, so Ak-Rev and Umpass’ friendship is clear from the way they continue on their conversation as a droid bugs them, but then we get a grasp of how much Ak-Rev is disappointed with the clan mother’s orders and yet how he resolves to listen to them, while we also get Umpass’ disappointment in how Ak-Rev snubs him later before they all end up on the barge for its fateful final flight. The coloring by Lopez in the pages after Leia knocks out the lights/closes the shutters is fantastic, only little rays of hope splitting panels as darkness takes hold, appropriate as the two friends erupt into a brawl and Max thinks the end is near, though it begins to get brighter as Max makes up his mind and decides the fighting and death have to end, the darkness not as prominent in the panels afterwards. The scene of them all taking in Jabba’s death was well executed (unintentional pun but I’m keeping it!), Jabba and Leia only seen as shadows, what little light is sneaking through lighting up our main characters and their choice to stop fighting, while it’s casting shadows on the death and death-bringer instead. Lanham’s work with Max’s narration boxes lets the art in each panel sink in, drawing us up and down, highlighting a need to focus on what Fry and Lopez are showing us. Also, I enjoyed how certain dialogue cuts through the middle of a panel, be it’s Han’s line about knowing Jabba’s laugh pointing us as much to the next page as it is meant to point Max away from his choice to almost poison Jabba, while later his little “No” as he reaches in to stop the drummers’ fight gives the impression of how this is more an emotional plea than a demand, a plea of hope and determination to stop losing friends and bandmates.
Here are a few other things:
- Another star whose shining brightness was torn FAR TOO QUICKLY from us all? Garsa Fwip, who makes a cameo here and restores the burning sadness from her death in TBoBF. Maybe we see her again soon, in other stories set before her untimely passing.
- Between the nursery rhyme in The High Republic stories by Older and now Quez’s song here, I love how he keeps adding music to the galaxy. At this point, we just need a musical!!
- From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi is out August 29 and the review embargo is August 15. I don’t think I’ll have mine out then, maybe Chris will, but mine should be out before the final release day!
Return of the Jedi – Max Rebo #1 takes out this series of one-shots with a classic tune from Daniel José Older’s original album: heart, humor, and a message for everyone, while the rest of the band shows off some impressive artistic sensibilities.
+ Heart, humor, and pathos come to the band
+ Art team sings the right tunes
– Could’ve used a little more of Umpass’ side
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
Jabba’s Palace | Ewoks | Lando | The Empire | The Rebellion