STAR WARS #1 Review

I remember many years ago when I was in my dad's car. I could have been maybe six...but everything gets fuzzy when you think back. It was in Staten Island sometime in the early 2000s. I'm not sure why I brought it up, but I said, "I have never seen a Star Wars movie" or something like that. My dad then called my mom saying, "He's never seen Star Wars." At that moment we drove to Blockbuster and rented A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. Starting off with The Phantom Menace was an option, but in the end we stuck with how my parents watched them years back, the original trilogy. It was definitely very cool seeing them, I don't think I'd seen any science fiction movies besides the Godzilla films. From Darth Vader's awesome breathing to Yoda's "Do or do not, there is no try," there are many moments that have stood with me. Of course, it's been over ten years since I've last seen them, they've blurred into one big adventure. Me and my family did agree that Return of the Jedi was the best, nothing beats the scene when Vader picks up the Emperor and throws him into the pit, I consider that to be one of the greatest movie scenes of all time. Now with backstory aside, let's move on to the comic. Dark Horse has been the masterminds behind the Star Wars comics for years, expanding the universe. We've had stories from all over the place that predate the films and even take place after. From Dawn of the Jedi to Knights of the Old Republic, it's pretty crazy for people wanting to jump in. This new series is the perfect one for new readers, and fans of the classic films. Taking place after A New Hope but before The Empire Strikes Back, STAR WARS #1 is a really good comic fans should pick up. I've never been a reader of the comics, but once I heard this one takes place in the era of the old trilogy and uses characters from it, I couldn't pass it up. The comic rights revert to Marvel soon, so this looks to be a fine 'final' Ongoing. And what better way than to have Luke, Vader, Leia and all the classics?

It starts out with Luke and Leia talking in space while riding in X-Wings. It's interesting to note that since this takes place before The Empire Strikes Back, Luke doesn't know that's his sister and also doesn't know Vader is his father. The Death Star had been destroyed in A New Hope, this issue references it quite a bit. A lot of readers are like me whom haven't seen the films in years, so this was a fun nostalgic trip. Brian Wood's writing matches that of the films. Luke, an unsure but ready hero and Leia, a caring and confident senator/princess, they work so well together. We also get appearances from Han Solo, Darth Vader, C3PO, Chewbacca...but surprisingly no R2-D2, despite being on the glorious cover. Star Wars has been called 'a very epic space opera,' and in many way that's true, the comic emulates that wonderfully. Character personalities are lifted straight out of the theater, from Han Solo's brashness to Chewbacca being, well, Chewbacca, it's all here. Obi-Wan Kenobi is referenced a lot during the issue, which makes sense since his death wasn't too long ago. For die-hard fans of the movies it could be a bit tedious seeing the many references to A New Hope, but I personally like the references.

Carlos D'Anda handles the interior art, it doesn't disappoint. There's plenty of detail and compliments how the films looked back when it all began in 1977. The definite highlight is Darth Vader, he's drawn with such fantastic detail. (The above image is the main highlight, great stuff.) The cover is one of my favorite parts, it could pass as an official poster. I hadn't realized that Alex Ross had done it, now it all makes sense. it's just gorgeous. I think we already have Cover of 2013 material. As expected, the highlight of the story comes from the Darth Vader scenes. In A New Hope he's portrayed as this evil, very cool-looking commander. It wasn't until Empire when his character was fleshed out. The scenes with him and the Emperor here are truly interesting, and the parts later on compliments this guy's rather emotional background. Another one of my favorite parts is when Leia was talking to Mon Mothma, the dialogue is just fantastic.

STAR WARS #1 is a comic I recommend to fans of the films, the original trilogy specifically. There's plenty to like, the art, the story, the characters, it's a really great comic in the greatest science fiction saga of all time. If you've never read a Star Wars comic, this is the one to pick up. There's plenty of narration boxes and dialogue bringing readers up to speed. With Episode VII coming out in the near future, Dark Horse made a wise decision revisiting the classic films with this series, I'm looking forward to the coming issues.

4.5/5