The new Star Wars comics - a general discussion thread — Page 19

So I finished reading the whole Vader line (including Vader Down). All in all I really enjoyed it. A enjoyable set of books that doesn’t take itself to seriously, with some legitimately awesome moments (and a fair number of silly ones). Vader’s a total bad ass and most of the new characters are pretty fun. The final storyline is a real treat, and the whole thing transitions the Vader in ANH to the Vader in ESB quite well. Not for the faint of heart when it comes to PT references, but, if you don’t mind those, I think you should check it out.

These were the first comics from the new canon that I’ve read, and I must say it makes me hungry for more. I can’t imagine reading these issue by issue, though - I was lucky enough to borrow all the trade paperbacks from my brother and just read at my own pace. I did get Shattered Empire and Poe Dameron Vol. 1 for Christmas, though, and I’m really excited to get into those, especially the latter.

Tobar said:

Shattered Empire is the best modern Marvel storyline that I’ve read thus far, followed by Kanan.

Cool beans. I got my brother the Kanan omnibus for Christmas in hopes he’ll let me borrow that too someday.

I don’t see the appeal of Shattered Empire. A series of disjointed, haphazardly executed vignettes do not in my opinion a good miniseries make.

In Doctor Aphra #2, there’s flashbacks that take place on Garn and involve a character named Rur. Fans of 1977-1986 Star Wars comics may have heard of Garn and Rur.

I’ve read just about everything so far, though I didn’t finish Chewbacca or Obi-Wan & Anakin. Here’s what I think:

-Lando, Han Solo, and Doctor Aphra are great right out of the gate. Aphra in particular is doing exactly what I hoped it would when it was announced, which is using the archaeology angle to flesh out some of the deep history stuff that got wiped away with the reboot. I can’t wait to see where they go with this, it has the potential to expand the universe more than anything else I can think of in the new continuity.

-Kanan surprised me. After how mediocre the A New Dawn novel was, my expectations for Kanan’s comic were pretty low, but it ended up being one of the most enjoyable books out there. It’s also nice to get away from the space between episodes IV and V on the timeline, which is already getting to be oversaturated.

-Poe Dameron started off kind of meh, but the current arc has really drawn me in a lot more. The flashbacks to Terex immediately after the Battle of Jakku are really fascinating. I’m hoping for some further info on Lor San Tekka as well.

-Star Wars and Darth Vader are pretty uneven. When they’re good, they’re really good, but they’re not always good. Vader being finished, I’d say it’s definitely worth a read on the whole, even if the quality isn’t consistently stellar. Star Wars is enough fun that I’m happy to continue reading it, but if you take these things really seriously I don’t know if I can recommend it.

-Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and Shattered Empire are not very good and only worth checking out if you’re a completist.

-I have no memory of Obi-Wan & Anakin. I read the first issue when it came out, then didn’t pick up my comics for a couple of months and just never got to the other issues when I finally went and got my giant stack of books. They’re on the shelf and I’m sure I’ll get to them eventually, but I don’t feel any sort of burning need.

Out of curiosity, does the Poe Dameron series show off any of the T-85 X-wings that the Republic supposedly has? I’m kind of curious to see if there’s any difference between it and the T-70 series shown in the film.

I do remember that the Palpatine scene in the first issue was really the only thing that interested me about it.

Though I think Chaykin’s adaptation of SW is ugly ass, at least it gave the readers a difference experience than the one offered by the film. Why bother publishing a comic adaptation if it’s just gonna be a carbon copy of the film, with no additions/differences to the plot?

http://www.starwars.com/news/in-marvels-new-darth-vader-series-we-will-see-the-sith-lords-rise-the-construction-of-his-lightsaber-and-more?cmp=smc|830249160

This comic sounds interesting, but what the hell? They’re just going to call it “Darth Vader” and make the first issue number 1 like they haven’t already done that exact thing?

Charles Soule: In my head, I call this book “Vader: Year One.”

Why not just make that the official title of the series? The only reason I can think of is that it’s too similar to Batman: Year One.

DominicCobb said:

http://www.starwars.com/news/in-marvels-new-darth-vader-series-we-will-see-the-sith-lords-rise-the-construction-of-his-lightsaber-and-more?cmp=smc|830249160

This comic sounds interesting, but what the hell? They’re just going to call it “Darth Vader” and make the first issue number 1 like they haven’t already done that exact thing?

Wait, what the hell? I prefer Soule to Gillen so I’m sure I’m going to enjoy this, but this feels seriously halfassed at first blush.

I mean, I get that comic companies do this all the time, but the last Vader series finished what like 4 months ago? And it’s not like it’s a reboot or anything either.

Regardless, I’m looking forward to it.

DominicCobb said:

I mean, I get that comic companies do this all the time, but the last Vader series finished what like 4 months ago? And it’s not like it’s a reboot or anything either.

This is Marvel & DC’s patented sales gimmick. They pull it all the time – regardless of how long a title has run, regardless of whether or not if they’re doing yet another stupid multiversal reboot – just to boost sales.

Regardless, I’m not looking forward to it.

FTFM

I don’t think many kids do read comics anymore. DC & Marvel certainly don’t market to them, what with their impenetrable continuity, ultraviolence, decompressed storytelling, and high prices.