What I thought of...Star Wars #2

Star Wars #2: The Empire has the Rebels trapped on the largest weapons factory in the whole galaxy! While Luke battles it out with Darth Vader, Han and Leia fight to get to Luke, and then get the heck off this planet!! If you thought "the gang" was in trouble before, you haven't seen anything yet!
The Good: Wow. This is a pretty monumental task. Trying to pack EVERYTHING good about this issue into this review. So, I'm going to take what I enjoyed the MOST and lay it out for you. First, Aarons descision to write the story of the MAIN Star Wars characters. A lot of times, authors who write Star Wars stories quickly abandon Luke, Han, Leia and the rest to make way for the characters that they created, and showing how the Star Wars movies where really about THEM, and the movie characters are just background noise. Not so, here. Jason Aaron keeps the story focused on the main characters, only adding additional characters when he absolutely has to. Second, the pacing of this comic is INSANE!!! I mean, we're talking wall to wall action!! It just never lets up, but along the way, a pretty great story is told.
The Bad: Gun to my head? I'd say that this issue artist John Cassaday misses the mark by a SMALL margin on the likenesses of the actors in this issue. Not even remotely enough to actually bother me, just enough to make me notice that a couple of panels looked a bit off..
The Verdict: Don't even ask. Just go buy this comic!!!!

That's no moon...it's a comic book!

Star Wars #1: Guess what? You get the Star Wars comic that you always wanted. Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, C-3PO & R2-D2 against Darth Vader and the Empire. That's IT. No 1,000 years before the Battle of Yavin, no Clone Army, no Separatists, no 200 years in the future. This. Is. Star. Wars.
The Good: Almost everything. First off, the story. Jason Aaron puts together a fantastic first issue to get the ball rolling. This issue isn't a wasted origin story because, let's face it, you really don't need one. The best compliment that I could give this book is that it FELT like Star Wars. All the characters are acting like themselves: Han's a cocky, arrogant con-man, Luke's an innocent young man, Leia is...well, Leia, ect. One of the things that impressed me the most about this book was the lack of movie dialogue. Many times in licensed comics, characters say the same famous lines from the movies over and over and over again, but that doesn't happen here. Aaron has the characters down pat, and it really shows. The art by John Cassaday is fantastic. I have to admit, when I saw his preview pages I was a little nervous. To me, he's really hit or miss with character likenesses, but here, thankfully, he's dead on.
The Bad: This comic does not feature ANY of the characters from the 1985 Droids cartoon, except for Artoo and Threepio, and that is a CRIME, because that was the greatest cartoon ever. OK, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who shares that opinion, but I had to make up SOMETHING negative, right?
The Verdict: I don't care if you're reading this at home, on your phone while you're in a car, on your tablet while you're on the treadmill, STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND GO BUY THIS COMIC BOOK. I honestly haven't enjoyed a comic this much in a loooooong time, and if this is just the beginning of what Marvel has in store for us with it's Star Wars line, then sign me up!!

What I thought of....Star Wars #3

Luke vs Leia! Han & Chewie!! Darth Vader!! All this in more in the latest issue of Dark Horse's Star Wars comic written by Brian Wood.
The Good: If you love the classic trilogy as much as I do, this book is for you!! The issue is PACKED with story. There's a Han Solo & Chewbacca vs the Empire story, a Luke Skywalker/Princess Leia story, a Darth Vader story, and the ongoing arc of the traitor within the Rebellion. Did I mention that it's all AWESOME? Brian Wood is KILLING it on this book!! Not to mention Carlos D'Anda's art really bringing this comic to life. This is a natural, believable, tale that would take place after Episode 4, and I love everything about this book.
The Bad: The names. I have a feeling that I should know some of the supporting characters, but I don't. I think POSSIBLY they're established characters in the Expanded Universe, but I'm not sure. If any of you EU fans are out there reading this and I'm wrong, please leave a comment or drop me a line. That's pretty much my only complaint, and it's a very small one.
The Verdict: Yup, this comic is worth the $2.99, so I suggest you buy it. This comic totally reminds me of the old "anything goes" Marvel Comics series that was published after the first movie. There's some interesting stuff that takes place between Luke & Leia, and yes, you'll snicker at it, but again remember, Wood is writing this book as if Episode 4 was the only Star Wars movie that's ever existed. And, sometimes, I wish that were true.

What I thought of ...Star Wars #2

Last month, Star Wars #1 was honestly my favorite Star Wars comic since the Marvel Comics series, way back in the 70's and 80's. So, I went into this with great excitement. Let's just say, it didn't disappoint at all.
THE GOOD: All of it. Seriously. Writer Brian Wood manages to cram this issue with just about EVERY  Star Wars character that he can, but nothing ever seems forced or crowded, or needlessly thrown in the story. If you read last issue, you know that Princess Leia has been assigned to find a traitor in midst of the Rebellion. This issue, the suspects are introduced and let the mystery solving begin!! Also...HAN & CHEWIE!!!!! How awesome is that?
THE BAD: Ummmmm.....nothing. OK, if I HAD to pick something, I'd say that judging by the cover, I was looking forward to seeing Boba Fett in this issues, but he's technically not. So, that was a bummer. But yeah, that's the only thing that I can come up with. Oh wait, there's a reference to the prequels. Didn't need that.
THE VERDICT: BUY THE HELL OUT OF THIS ISSUE!!! It's great, it's CLASSIC Star Wars, and it's just a damn good comic book. It WILL have you on the edge of your seat waiting until next month, but hey, that's what comics are for!!