Jason Aaron and Mike Mayhew open up the journal of Obi-Wan Kenobi once again. Read on for our review of “Star Wars” #15 but be warned, there are some spoilers.
Written by Jason Aaron
Illustrated Mike Mayhew
FROM THE JOURNALS OF OBI-WAN KENOBI
• Another tale of Obi-Wan’s exile on Tatooine!
• Owen Lars took Luke in…but he refused to let Ben be part of his life. Why?
• What trouble could have been stirred up by Ben protecting Luke?
Rated T
I’ve still got Star Wars fever. This has been a great few months for the franchise and I’m enjoying every bit of it. Marvel has had a good run so far with their “Star Wars” books. None of the books has been truly awful but “Star Wars” and “Darth Vader”, the two big titles, have found a lot of success with sales and critic response. Unfortunately not all books can be perfect all the way throughout and “Star Wars” #15 is fairly disappointing compared to previous issues.
“Star Wars” #15 gives us a break from the action after the end of the “Vader Down” crossover. Instead of jumping right back into what Luke, Leia and Han are up to, we get another chapter of the lost journal of Obi-Wan Kenobi. The story takes place about a year after the Obi-Wan standalone issue. The drought is over but Jabba still wants to know who defied him. Meanwhile Luke is still showing signs of having similar personality traits to his father. He’s headstrong and becoming a bit of a reckless pilot. Obi-Wan has continued to keep his distance but has kept Luke safe to the chagrin of his uncle Owen. This issue covers that relationship and what the breaking point was that ultimately led Obi-Wan to staying away for years.
The premise of this is fine but it’s a tough sell in just one issue. There’s a lot going on here with Luke’s growing up, Obi-Wan’s thoughts on his situation and a cliffhanger that feels entirely out of place for something that is a one shot all the way through. After having a major argument with Owen, we’re taken to Jabba’s palace where Black Krrsantan is basically hired to find Obi-Wan. I ended up needing to check the solicits for issue 16 because this cliffhanger led me to believe it would be picked up in the next issue. “Star Wars” #16 is the beginning of a brand new arc so as harsh as it seems, what’s really the point of making the one shot not a one shot? The standalone quality of the first Obi-Wan issue was a big part of why it was so good. It was a “filler” that didn’t feel pointless. This teases something that isn’t all that compelling and won’t see pay off for quite some time it seems.
That’s not to say all of the story is bad. I do like seeing a little more of young Luke being a little like his father. I think Jason Aaron gets Luke Skywalker entirely from his voice to his personality. He’s headstrong but in a different way than Anakin was and thankfully Aaron understands this. I also really like how we get to see the protectiveness of Owen. For someone like me, who’s only see the movies and not read much at all of the old expanded universe, this fleshes him out for me and makes him much more tangible as a guardian.
The art in “Star Wars” #15 is alright. I can’t call it bad but I can’t call it great either. Mike Mayhew is a very capable artist but a lot of this looks heavily photo referenced and it makes the characters have that uncanny valley look to them. There are times where Obi-Wan or even Luke are posed like they’re in a still painting and not like characters in sequential art. “Star Wars” should feel big and epic, even when there’s not much going on. “Star Wars” #15 just felt a bit too frigid for my liking. That’s not to say Mayhew does bad work. His pages are structurally beautiful. The actual character designs are very good and the backgrounds are gorgeous. There are some very good pages that focus on Obi-Wan where he’s in action but it’s sadly not enough to get you engaged back into what the natural movement of a comic book should be. The coloring is very good. Mayhew knows how to set the right atmosphere and Tatooine looks perfectly desolate. The vastness of it’s deserts really comes through in his colors and the characters feel a part of the setting despite the sometimes overwhelming frigid feeling.
“Star Wars” #15 is a filler issue and could be skipped. I’m still on board with the series though because it has proven to be very enjoyable. If anything, the problems in this issue make me even more wanting of a flat out solo series for Obi-Wan where these things can be explored in full.
Final Verdict: 6.0 – This isn’t a disaster but it’s not the same quality I’m used to.
