With Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm back in 2012 (was it really that long ago?), it was a rather assured thing that the galaxy far, far away would be coming back to Marvel Comics. Well, it’s here now with the debut of their main titled, aptly named “Star Wars”, by Jason Aaron and John Cassaday. Does it live up to the hype? It is a return to the world of “Star Wars” we’ve been waiting for? Or is it the Prequel Trilogy on paper? Read on for our spoiler free review of “Star Wars” #1 to find out. May the Force be with us.
Written by Jason Aaron
Illustrated by John Cassaday
THE GREATEST SPACE ADVENTURE OF ALL TIME RETURNS TO MARVEL!Luke Skywalker and the ragtag band of rebels fighting against the Galactic Empire are fresh off their biggest victory yet—the destruction of the massive battle station known as the Death Star. But the Empire’s not toppled yet! Join Luke along with Princess Leia, smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca, droids C-3PO and R2-D2 and the rest of the Rebel Alliance as they strike out for freedom against the evil forces of Darth Vader and his master, the Emperor. Written by Jason Aaron (Original Sin, Thor: God of Thunder) and with art by John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men, Uncanny Avengers), this is the Star Wars saga as only Marvel Comics could make it!
So, let’s get this out of the up front: I love Star Wars. I’ve loved Star Wars since I was a kid watching the Original Trilogy on VHS and I even loved it during the dry streak that was the Prequel Trilogy, though I’ll admit my enthusiasm was lessened just a little. Spending this year marathoning The Clone Wars before the release of Rebels and then the two new Story Group books, “A New Dawn” and “Tarkin”, though, has sparked a fire in me that I thought was mostly gone by now. I’m excited for Star Wars again. That excitement of seeing lightsabres and blasters and X-Wings and TIE Fighters that caused me to wear out my original VHS tapes of the Original Trilogy has sparked back to life. Which brings us to “Star Wars” #1 or how Jason Aaron and John Cassady almost made me cry within five pages of a Star Wars.
The thing that you immediately notice when opening the pages is that Marvel are not messing around when it comes to translating Star Wars to comics. In the past, Star Wars comics were usually presented as just comics that took place in the world of Star Wars without really bringing the design aspects of the film into the translation. Marvel aren’t doing that. The first five pages of this comic made my heart skip a beat as it plays out the traditional opening of a Star Wars film from that ‘A Long Time Ago…’ text to the text crawl down to even the pan to a starship landing on a planet. It’s a sense of a design that covers all aspects of the comic (even the credits page is placed at the very end and formatted like the end credits of the films) that show that Marvel are not messing around when it comes to the presentation of this comic.
Nor are they messing around when it comes to the talent involved. With Jason Aaron writing and John Cassaday providing art, this comic could have been about anything and it would have been great. As it stands, this is a comic in which everything in terms of writing and art is focused on bringing the feeling of Star Wars to life on the page. In what might be the smartest move on the part of this comic, Aaron and Cassaday have taken a leaf out of Dark Horse’s book and presented their story as one taking place between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. This allows them to take readers back to a much more familiar time and place within the Star Wars in terms of the characters involved, the settings and the feel of the universe. It also allows them to take these iconic characters and, knowing where they’ll end up in the subsequent films, shape them into the characters they will become.
Continued belowThat means we see here a Luke Skywalker who is still unsure of his abilities as a Jedi, but is focused on helping others; a Han Solo who is brash and more than a little self-centered and his loyalty isn’t fully fleshed out yet; and a Leia Organa on the path from Alderaanian princess to leader of the Rebel Alliance. And the best part is that their likeness, in both the voice of the character and the looks are captured perfectly by Aaron and Cassaday. Each characters’ voice was always at the back of my mind as I read their dialogue, which is perhaps the highest compliment I could give to the character writing of a comic like this as it adapts characters from one medium to another.
On the plot side, Aaron’s writing is just as strong. It starts off rather simply, but it gets into the intrigue and the action right away without spending too much time setting up characters or setting because, of course, most of us are already familiar with both and anyone coming to this world for the first time will surely pick it up quickly enough through Aaron’s clear writing. While I would say there might be one too many familiar faces popping up so early into the series (you’ll know who I mean), the cliffhanger that Aaron creates on the last two pages has completely and utterly hooked me for the next issue.
While Jason Aaron has proved that writing Star Wars is not only something he’s good at, but something he can seemingly do in his sleep, John Cassaday proves that creating the world of Star Wars in his art is something he’s equally great at. This comic is gorgeous. As I mentioned before, Cassaday draws a great likeness of all of the characters which goes a long way in immersing you into the world of Star Wars, but not only that, he is able to capture the aesthetic of the setting and technology of the universe in his art which brings a sense of place to the story. This not only feels like Star Wars, but it looks like Star Wars. Cassaday proves himself here one of the best artists to bring this world to life and a great fit for Jason Aaron’s writing.
For a comic that could easily have come out to so much fanfare and be a Phantom Menace style dud, this comic has excelled in every area. From the writing to the art to even the design of the book itself, this comic bleeds Star Wars from every pore and it is proud of it. Aaron and Cassaday brings us back to a time and place where Star Wars was new and fresh ad while they don’t ask us to forget the films and TV shows that came after 1977, they take us on a journey to show us how those characters develop as they face the Empire. It’s an interesting place to start a comic and this first issue, especially those last two pages, proves that Aaron and Cassaday are on the road to somewhere interesting.
For Star Wars fans old and new, this is a whole heartedly fantastic start to a series that is determined to bring great content to the fans of this universe from creators that are not half-assing this. Even if you’re lapsed fan or you’ve never been to that galaxy far, far away before, there’s something here for you. May the Force be with you and and enjoy a great comic.
Final Verdict: 9.6 – This is not a comic to miss. This is a new era for Star Wars. Gone are the dark times of the Prequels and now is the New Republic of the Lucasfilm Story Group.
