COMIC REVIEW: FTN reviews Star Wars #3

Written by Brian Wood

Art by Carlos D’Anda

Colors by Gabe Eltaeb

Fans of Star wars and comics, this is the book you have been looking for. (I know, I just couldn’t resist.) Brian Wood has taken us all the way back to the late 70’s/early 80’s with this book, delivering not only a great story, but racking up serious nostalgia points along the way. In the last issue we saw Darth Vader get a big demotion from Palpatine after his failure at Yavin IV, and in this issue we find out what his new assignment is, overseeing the second Death Star being built over Endor! Wow, what a way to connect Return of the Jedi with this book! The double splash page we get of the Death Star in early construction surrounded by Star Destroyers is an eye-popping wonder with some stunning work from D’Anda and Eltaeb.

Meanwhile, Leia is busy training her covert team to find a new home for the Rebellion and root out an Imperial spy in their midst. Her first roadblock seems to be Luke Skywalker and his brash attitude, undermining Leia and doing whatever he wants, looks like a bit of Han Solo has already rubbed off on the kid. When he starts to butt heads with Leia exclaims, ‘I’m the best pilot you got. I took on the Death Star for you.’ Even though he has been a big player for the Rebellion, he still has that ‘it’s not fair’ farm boy attitude, which even though it makes me grimace, it shows that Luke still hasn’t reached the maturity level we see him exhibit in Empire Strikes Back and even more so in Return of the Jedi, it’s a perfect character depiction for the time period we are in.

Han Solo and Chewbacca find themselves in a heap of trouble when a meet with one of Mon Monthma’s contacts on Corusant goes sideways. Turns out dude was snitching to the Imperials and Han and Chewie find themselves doing what they do best, blasting their way out of a sticky situation. Since we don’t get a conclusion on their situation, I am very eager to see where they end up in the next issue. Leia finds herself in some bad assery too, testing out new updated X-Wings, which are sure to blow TIE fighters out of space. The only problem is that the Empire got their hands on better TIE Interceptors as well as we see them gearing up in the end.

Folks, the art on this book is beautiful! The look and feel fit perfectly into the Star Wars Universe and get along beautifully with Wood’s story. The colors are deep and rich and really strut their stuff on the splash pages. Even if the story sucked, which it far from does, I would pick up this book for the art alone. One thing the team of D’Anda and Eltaeb has down pat is space. Every panel that takes place in space is done so well that I find myself gazing at them for minutes after I’ve already finished the page.

Overall, this is the book to read. Wood’s story is not only great, it really shows that he understands the time period in the Star Wars Universe that he’s working in, which may seem small, but for an obsessive Star Wars like fan can make all the difference between a good book and an excellent book. His dialogue is spot on for every character as if he is channeling Lucas from 1979. The art is top notch and is some of the best that I have seen from any of the Star Wars titles that Dark Horse offers. If you aren’t reading this book, pull your head out of the sand; crawl out from whatever nuclear bunker you are hiding in, and head down to your local comic shop. Wood, D’Anda and Eltaeb are doing some work that any Star Wars fan doesn’t want to miss.

4.5 out 5 nerds

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