Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is getting closer and closer. Say what you will about The Last Jedi, but there’s no denying it shook up the Star Wars universe. So it’s time to bridge the gap between movies with new comics, starting with “Allegiance.”
As an unrelated aside, I recently got to visit Galaxy’s Edge on a Disney trip. It was everything I’d hoped for. Oh, and there will be some small spoilers ahead.
Written by Ethan Sacks
Illustrated by Luke Ross
Colored by Lee Loughridge
Lettered by VC’s Clayton CowlesBEFORE THE EXCITING EVENTS OF STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER!
Hounded by the FIRST ORDER across the galaxy, the RESISTANCE is in dire need of ships, weapons and recruits to make a final stand against KYLO REN’S forces. Desperation drives a delegation led by GENERAL LEIA ORGANA and REY to entreat the Rebel veteran’s one-time allies, THE MON CALAMARI, to join the fight – but decades after Imperial occupation enslaved their planet, there are those willing to stop at nothing to prevent another war from bloodying the waters of Mon Cala. A system away, POE DAMERON and FINN have their own mission: to hunt down a weapons cache on the remote moon of Avedot, unaware that they are being hunted by the most notorious criminal gang in the galaxy.
The Last Jedi left the heroes in a tight spot. Luke is dead, the First Order has the Resistance on the run, and the fandom is torn over – well, a lot of things that we won’t be getting into right now. Suffice to say, there’s a struggle ahead for the characters.
The comic captures this well by opening not with the Resistance, but with a planet that’s falling victim to the First Order. Of course, that opening comes after the traditional “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” and a page capturing the style of the opening crawl. We’re shown a peaceful planet, drawn in great detail by Luke Ross and given stunning architectural designs. Lee Loughridge’s color work for this planet uses shades of light blue and green to make it almost glow underneath a yellow sky – it’s a clearly alien world, but a beautiful one. The narration tells us a little about this world and the peaceful people who live in it, while the character designs – centipede-like as they may be – feature large eyes to help us connect to them quickly.
Suffice to say, the planet gets wrecked by the First Order. This establishes their might, ruthlessness, and the lengths they’re going to in pursuit of the last remnants of the Resistance. It’s solid storytelling that sets the stage for all sides in the galactic conflict.
With the stakes established, we’re then given time to focus on individual characters. The comic splits the cast between two teams, cutting between their sides of the story like a movie transitions between scenes. Of course, as a comic, it can also carry dialogue over between scenes, giving us a great transition where Rey comments “It sounds like Finn is having all the fun” as we switch over to a scene where he’s in the middle of a bar fight. It’s a good transition that keeps the story flowing smoothly.
As short as Finn and Poe’s side of the story is, it’s an energetic and amusing scene. The characters have good chemistry (make of that what you will, shippers) and their back and forth is nice. It captures the voices of the actors and characters well, while keeping the story moving forward. The scene quickly sets up a few plot points, which will continue to propel the story forward in the coming issues.
Then we have Rey’s plot, where she goes off on a mission with Leia, Rose, Chewie, and the droids. Of all the characters in the comic, Rey is the only one whose voice doesn’t feel quite right with the character. Her dialogue feels empty, with lines like “Oh yeah? Let’s see how you hold up against the power of the Force” that I can’t seem to read in Daisy Ridley’s voice. At the same time, her monologuing does at least give us a good moment that puts us in her headspace and lets us understand the emotional turmoil she’s experiencing.
Continued belowFortunately, the other character voices are much more solid. Leia’s lament over the destruction the First Order has caused and her renewed determination to do something is true to the character and easy to read in Carrie Fisher’s voice (may she rest in peace). Rose gets all of three lines, but it’s still good that she’s included in the story to come.
Finally, we have the antagonist side of the comic, featuring the First Order. General Hux maintains his pompous, dismissive, and rather angry attitude until he’s threatened by Kylo Ren. Kylo, on the other hand, is driven by an intense determination to chase the Rebellion down at any cost. It provides them with a good contrast to each other and establishes where the characters are mentally and emotionally in the short scenes we’re given.
In short, Ethan Sacks manages to establish the characters and plots nicely while still staying true to the existing characters. The dialogue and voices are strong more often than not, while the story gets built up at an enjoyable pace.
However, when making a comic based off a live-action series, the art does just as much to bring the characters and world to life as the writing. In this case, Luke Ross does a good job capturing the appearances of the characters with artwork that balances the realistic designs with comic book art. While occasionally the panels focus in so close on the characters that the line work detracts from the balance, it’s overall effective.
While I felt the writing was weakest with Rey, it’s the opposite for the art. Everything about how Luke Ross draws Rey, from the way she holds herself in a fight to her body language, feels natural. Each character is expressive enough to carry the emotion of their scenes, whether they’re humanoid or alien.
As previously mentioned, the scenery looks great. From the crystalline architecture of Tah’Nuhna to the garbage planet of Anoat, each world and location feels alive with its own distinct designs and colors. There’s some quite good background work on display, like when Finn and Poe are silhouetted while a bar fight carries on in the scenery behind them, or in how run-down the Resistance camp looks.
There’s a good amount of action in the comic, but it all comes across very nicely. The devastation of the First Order’s attack, the force of each punch in the cantina brawl, and Rey’s fight of frustration against a garbage beast are all drawn with a good eye for action, nice impacts, and fluid motion from moment to moment.
Since this is just the first issue, there are no major plot twists or revelations yet, but it does what a good first issue does. The stage is set, characters are reintroduced, and plots are established. We can look forward to seeing what comes next to carry us on to The Rise of Skywalker.
Final Verdict: 6.5 – A solid comic that helps set the stage for the upcoming issues. The artwork is overall impressive, the plot moves at a good pace, and the characters are well-written more often than not.
