Star Wars #33

Our travels in the US continue. We spent last weekend in Annapolis MD, where we attended my cousin's wedding. In addition to wedding-based activities, we toured the US Naval Academy, saw Spider-Man: Homecoming (loved it!), and stopped by Capital Comics, where the Kiddo picked out this recent Star Wars issue.

Title: Star Wars
Issue: 33
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: September, 2017
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles
Editor: Jordan D. White, Heather Antos
Cover: Mike Mayhew

This takes place between episodes 4 and 5, with Luke and Leia are stranded together on an uninhabited island located on a mostly-ocean planet.

Making the wise decision to completely ignore any potential awkwardness resulting from this scenario, the story focuses on Leia, whose narration adds some depth to her character while at the same time explaining how the Princess ended up with some wilderness skills.

This is a nice interlude without a lot of major plot implications. The visuals are good and the insights into Luke and Leia are interesting. There are enough twists to make a decent self-contained story.

Rating: 6/10


 

Darth Vader #21

Back to the random stack of unread comics. This is a fairly recent one that I got this past summer.

Title: Darth Vader
Issue: 21
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: August, 2016
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna
Editor: Jordan D. White, Heather Antos

I am not ashamed to admit that the variant cover with the awesome action figure packaging design totally sold me on this comic. I love this cover theme! So much childhood nostalgia!

That being said, I knew nothing about the Darth Vader series going into this. Apparently it takes place between Episode IV and Episode V, and Vader is trying to get back into the good graces of Emperor Palpatine following the destruction of the Death Star. He is tasked with capturing Cylo, a mad scientist type who turned against the Empire (not to the rebel side, mind you, this guy appears to just be out for himself).

Meanwhile, there's a second plot involving Vader sending a pair of droids who are essentially heel versions of C3PO and R2D2 to retrieve a former ally of his who has gone into hiding.

The bad-guy droids are a little goofy, and it was odd to see Vader in a sort of solo-adventurer heroic role (although it's really no different than things he did all the time as Anakin).

There is also an issue of flavor that can be a problem for me with some Star Wars comics. Cylo's organic-mechanical ships didn't feel authentically Star Wars to me, for reasons I can't pin down to more than just "vibe". To be fair, I think that keeping the flavor of a tie-in when you're being asked to expand on the universe is really difficult. But the stuff involving Cylo still didn't feel to me like it fit.

That being said, the action was good, the dialogue was good, and the ending cliffhanger at least looked entertaining.

Rating: 5.5/10

X-Men #175 Wizard World Boston Edition

Title: X-Men
Issue: #175 (Wizard World Boston Edition)
Date: 2005
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Penciler: Salvador Larroca
Inker: Danny Miki, Allen Martinez
Letterer: Virtual Calligraphy's Cory Petit
Editor: Mike Marts

This is a special edition featuring a variant sketch cover and the Wizard World Boston logo.

The story centers on an outbreak of animal mutations in Africa that brings an X-Men team to investigate. With Logan, Ororo, Havok, Polaris, Iceman, Rogue, and Gambit on the team (and Emma Frost calling the shots from back home), the mutant crocodiles don't stand much of a chance.

Ororo really takes center stage here as her return to Africa opens the floodgates of mixed emotions. Logan, meanwhile, is just being Logan.

This was fast paced, with some good character development for Ororo, and at least some basic attempts at character development for the rest of the team. The surprise ending isn't all that shocking, but it at least serves the thicken the plot.

Rating: 7/10

Namor #2

Title: Namor
Issue: #2
Date: June, 2003
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Bill Jemas, Andi Watson
Penciler: Salvador Larroca
Inker: Danny Miki
Colorist: J.D. Smith
Letterer: Randy Gentile
Editor: Stephanie Moore, C.B. Cebulski, Teresa Focarile

Namor as The Little Mermaid? This is one of those concepts that seems so totally wrong at first glance, but somehow shockingly manages to work. It's set in the 1920s, and a sixteen-year-old Namor is trying to find his place in an Atlantean society that bullies him for his half-human appearance and heritage. Meanwhile, he's reconnecting with a human girl that he played with on the beach as a child.

The artwork is beautiful, Namor's character is a nice mix of shy stranger and confident teenage boy. Sandy, his love interest, is intelligent, strong, and intriguing.

Even the interactions back in Atlantis manage to rise above the fairly formulaic young-adult novel scenarios they present.

Artwork is gorgeous throughout, especially in the one-on-one interactions between Namor and Sandy.

This is a really good story about a superhero that is most definitely not a superhero story.

Rating: 8/10