Dark Horse
Brian Wood, writer
Carlos D'Anda, artist
No, I'm not talking about chicken; this book simply has some nuggets of goodness, but I was expecting a more filling, satisfying read than I got.
The done-in-one single-issue comic book is almost a thing of the past. They still pop up from time to time, but very rarely anymore. I've come to accept that fact of modern comics. But I still expect a pretty complete story when I purchase a trade. I'm not saying the story can't continue into a second or even third volume or beyond. That's kind of the point of the continuing stories most often told in funny books. But a trade typically is a complete story arc. Subsequent trades might build upon what happened, but you still have a satisfying chunk of story -- a beginning, middle and end -- to the specific tale the trade collects.
Not so with this book. This series is meant to take place in the Star Wars universe shortly after the events of Episode IV -- A New Hope but before Episode V -- The Empire Strikes Back. The rebel fleet has defeated the first Death Star and remained intact in the face of the Emperor's assault on their base on Yavin. But they have also been driven from that base and are looking for a new one. Unfortunately, every scouting expedition is met by Imperial forces almost immediately upon reaching whatever planet they have been sent to check out. Mon Mothma, the leader of the rebellion, and Princess Leia Organa suspect a spy in their midst. They hatch a secret plan to ferret out the spy, but things aren't going too well.
Meanwhile, the Empire, despite seemingly knowing every rebel move ahead of time, is not doing very well either. Imperial forces and coffers took quite a hit with the destruction of the Death Star. They try hard to cover with the ships and personnel they still have, but they are stretched pretty thin and still haven't managed to crush the rebellion. The Emperor is displeased with Darth Vader's failure to protect the Death Star, in particular, and takes command of the the flagship super star destroyer Devastator away from Vader. Instead, the Emperor sends Vader to Endor to oversee construction of the second Death Star and think about his failure.
We see a number of other familiar Star Wars faces in this collection, characters like Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Wedge Antilles, R2-D2, C-3PO and others, of course. But most of the action in this particular volume seems to center on Leia and Vader. And while both stories are interesting and nicely illustrated, this entire six-issue trade feels more like a teaser for things to come than a complete story.
I'm very curious to see how the Imperial forces are managing to stay one jump ahead of each rebel scouting party. And Brian Wood is an accomplished writer who makes readers feel Leia's frustration as nearly everything she tries seems to fall apart before yielding any answers.
I'm also quite curious about a woman named Birra Seah and her interactions with Darth Vader. It is obvious that they do not know each other previously, but once this woman comes to Vader's notice (by publicly standing up to him, no less), she very quickly earns his trust. She even renders Vader speechless at one point. My interest is very piqued about her and what exactly is going on with her.
Some critics of "writing for the trade" say that such practices rob single issues of their impact. Whether or not you subscribe to that notion, how much sadder is it when an entire trade feels merely like setup for what is to come next? I am curious where this story is going, and I'm not ruling out buying the next trade in hopes of finding out more about the rebel spy, if one exists, and Birra Seah and her connection to Vader. But if money is tight when the next trade is solicited, the lack of forward momentum will make it that much easier to give this title a pass. And if I do buy the second trade and still find no story progress being made, I'm pretty sure I'll move on. I want a story, not an installment.
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