“Star Wars: Empire Ascendant” #1

As Marvel Comics puts an end to the current “Star Wars” series, closing out the era set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, they are giving us a special anthology issue that is tying up some of their previous series as we look forward to the future. Mild Spoilers Ahead

Cover by Riccardo Federici

Written by Charles Soule, Greg Pak, Ethan Sacks & Simon Spurrier
Illustrated by Luke Ross, Roland Boschi, Paolo Villanelli & Caspar Wijngaard
Colored by Guru-eFX, Rachelle Rosenberg, Arif Prianto & Lee Loughridge
Lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles & Travis Lanham

The four stories featured in this 48 page anthology are meant to tie up the loose ends of various series that are either coming to a close are are rebooting as a continuation in the coming months. They follow some known and new characters as their lives lead to the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back and look to the future as the new upcoming series will be set between the events of Empire and Return of the Jedi. This is an era that has previously only been explored in “Shadows of the Empire,” one of the most beloved Expanded Universe stories that was told in a novel, comic book adaptation, video game adaptation, and has its own line of toys. Seen as an equally important story to what is shown in the films, this is the first time it has been revealed that this story could either be altered or swept away entirely. Luckily the good has outweighed the bad when it comes to the recent era of “Star Wars” comics so we can only hope that this luck continues as these new creators look to give us something great. With “Empire Ascendant” #1, we get a well made and nicely varied set of stories that are both quick reads and do a nice job leading us, once again, to one of the greatest sequels of all time.

‘An Echo of Victory’ is the opener to this issue, and it is the most logical as it is set very soon before the beginning of Empire. There have been a few stories that give us additional events set in Echo Base, and Soule looks to not only show us some of the difficulties the Rebels had in making Hoth their home, but also give us an additional connection to both the original trilogy and the new sequel trilogy. His story focuses on two Rebels, a pilot and a ground soldier who (barely) “completed two architect courses at university” tunneling out new areas for the base. Soule’s script is nicely paced setting up the relationship and chemistry between these two characters. It is this kind of character building that benefits a short story of this nature. Even when greater connections come in to play, being able to briefly live with these characters, in these moments, allows us to appreciate them rather than feeling like everything is a silly nod or easter egg. There is also a nice range of emotion throughout. Humor, peril, heartache, and hope are all a part of this story; giving it that genuine “Star Wars” feeling.

Luke Ross knows “Star Wars” having worked on quite a few issues at Marvel. His environments have all the love and painstaking detail readers deserve whether the story is set someplace incredibly familiar or they are building up new worlds. His character designs are both beautiful and capture the larger than life scope that the film characters have had for decades. Completed by Marvel mainstay, Guru-eFX, every panel is gorgeous, but never leaps without a safety net. Palettes are perfectly rendered, but that’s it, it is all a little to perfect with no risks taken.

‘Darth Vader: In The Service of the Empire’ is an intriguing story as it gives us a few peeks behind the curtain at a number of things throughout the “Star Wars” universe, but it has little to offer in the way of anything important, and oddly enough Darth Vader. The story opens 13 years prior to the original trilogy on the planet Mimban (Yes, that muddy place last seen in Solo.), with a sergeant seeing his entire squad wiped out by the enemy. Jump ahead and he is training the latest set of Death Troopers. Ready for battle as a newly formed elite squad, their task is to wipe out a band of Rebels who have stolen plans for a new ground-to-space cannon. Once on the planet the squad does things their own way to mixed results. Vader only appears at the end and has next to nothing to do with the story as a whole. It isn’t a bad story, and Pak’s writing kept me interested throughout, but as a connecting piece between the last Vader series and a new one, there just isn’t anything there. It belongs in a different book, or should have been handled differently. If a character is going to barely grace your pages, they better have a real impact on what is being told, as you’ll find in another story collected here.

Boschi’s artwork is fine. He plays it loose with finer details, but every character and set piece is clear. It, of course, plays it safe throughout. It’s great to see the Death Troopers in action and the mystery around them is never explained away, in fact, they’re almost made more ambiguous and the artwork definitely helps with that. Rosenberg saves the day again. Her colors over Boschi’s pencils is just superb and every bit of emotion is squeezed out by her talents. Decent story, but not enough Vader in your Vader story.

‘Bounty Hunters: Two Sides to Every Sortie’ is a nice change of pace. It’s a great criminal underworld/rebellion story. And it sees the return of Beilert Valance; the cyborg bounty hunter last seen in “Target: Vader” and “Han Solo: Imperial Cadet.” Recruited by Han to escort an important person to Mon Mothma, an engineer who can help get Echo Base’s shield generator up and running, Valance begrudgingly takes the job. No fan of Solo, but even less a fan of the Empire, he knows he should take the job because both the cause and the price are right. Some big twists are turns come at us in this story with Sacks writing the most exciting tale collected in this book. The stakes and emotions are felt here, and that’s all fans can hope for.

Villanelli’s artwork is similar to Boschi’s in that his characters’s facial details are loose, but he does an excellent job with detailing clothing and environments. Prianto’s colors are great, it all feels very painterly and dynamic. Action sequences have true kinetic energy that is only brought out by his skill. He does a great job with light and shadow, and the way he plays with the reflective surface of the Stormtroopers’s armor is wonderful and really takes me back to some older artwork from Star Wars stories past.

The final story in this collection is ‘Doctor Aphra: Epilogue’ and it truly serves as an ending to her own series and as a lead in to what will happen to her throughout the rest of the OT era. This was a really interesting story that seems unsure of where it is going, or what it is trying to tell until the end. It also has nearly no Aphra in it, but unlike the previous Darth Vader story, this one works so much better. Aphra is tied to every part of this story, some of her closest allies are showcased throughout. Her presence is felt on every page, whether she is seen or not. It very much feels like a eulogy, even though we know this character has more stories to give us.

Spurrier’s script is moving and incredibly intriguing from start to finish. As various characters who have been touched by Aphra’s unique was of living life come together at Echo Base, the story really moves forward and away from what we’ve seen over the last few years. It truly works as way of closing one door and opening another. Fans of Aphra will be happy with this chapter end.

Wijngaard’s pencil are reminiscent of some of the best animation we’ve gotten for Star Wars properties over the years. He brings a soft quiet to the design and structure of the story that is mostly missing from “Doctor Aphra.” This quiet perfectly suits the story Spurrier is telling. It is a quiet send off to a friend that these characters may never see again. Loughbridge’s colors do the same heavy lifting as the base illustrations. This looks like a spectacular animated feature and it is a blended style that we could use more of in “Star Wars.”

Overall, “Empire Ascendant” #1 is a mixed bag in both quality and plot, but each story is tied directly to the events that will unfold in The Empire Strikes Back, so the connective tissue is there in that respect. For a 48 page special issue, I flew through it and whether I fully enjoyed a certain plot, or story beat, it was an engaging page turner from cover to cover. It also benefits from having some true great working on it, so there is little to complain about. It might not be appreciated by every reader, but hey, that’s the Star Wars fan base for ya.

Final Verdict: 7.5, A nice variety of stories that have a clear purpose that is both a fun read and well-intended narrative bridge. It somehow works for both new and old readers and never really suffers from “Star Wars” fatigue.