Review: STAR WARS ADVENTURES Destroyer Down #1

STAR WARS ADVENTURES: DESTROYER DOWN NO. 1 (OF 3)
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Scott Beatty
PENCILS:  Derek Charm; Jon Sommariva
INKS: Derek Charm; Sean Parsons
COLORS: Derek Charm; Matt Herms
LETTERS: Tom B. Long
EDITORS: Bobby Curnow; Denton J. Tipton
COVER: Derek Charm
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jon Sommariva
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2018)

“Destroyer Down” Episode I: “Explore” and “The Ghost Ship” Part 1 “There and Then”

Star Wars Adventures is an all-ages Star Wars comic book series from IDW Publishing.  The series is geared toward readers ages 7 to 10 and features one and two-part stories that are not steeped in Star Wars continuity.  Star Wars Adventures features a rotating cast of characters, and the stories range from settings that take place before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace all the way up to Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) and beyond.

There have already been two spin-off miniseries, Star Wars Adventures: Forces of Destiny (January 2018) and Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle (October 2018).  Each was a five-issue miniseries published weekly.  The third spin-off miniseries is entitled, Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down.  This three-issue comic book miniseries is written by Scott Beatty.  The stories are drawn by artist-colorist Derek Charm and the art team of Jon Sommariva (pencils), Sean Parsons (inks), and colorist Matt Herms.  Tom B. Long letters the stories.

Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down #1 is set before the events depicted in the 2015 film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  The first story, “Explore,” opens on Jakku, where the remnants of the Galactic Empire made its last stand.

Legend has it that the shifting sands of Jakku swallowed the Imperial Star Destroyer “Spectral.”  It has been lost for two decades and rumors of hauntings and buried treasure have arisen around its legend.  Now, an epic sandstorm has revealed the ruins of the Spectral, and the renowned scavenger, Rey, now races to claim whatever lies within.  However, salvage and junk boss, Unkar Plutt, and a host of shady types plot to take whatever Rey finds and perhaps, also to harm her.

In the second story, “There and Then,” the Rebel Alliance fighter group, the “Shepherd Squadron,” engages remnants of the Imperial Navy in the last days of the Empire.  It is, however, just a prelude to the last days of Spectral.

IDW Publishing declares in its press releases that its Star Wars Adventures comic books and its “Young Adult” titles are “dedicated to bringing the element of FUN back into comic books...”  IDW sure has.  I cannot think of a young adult or kids' comics title from the publisher that I have read that is not just fun to read, but is also a blast to read.

I could have read Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down #1 in one sitting even if it were 100 pages long.  I plain love it.  Destroyer Down may be better than Tales from Vader's Castle, which got better with each issue and turned out to be pretty damn awesome itself.

I think I have already praised artist Derek Charm Star Wars works to the heavens, but I am also a fan of Jon Sommariva's fantastic Star Wars Adventures art.  Both are good storytellers who make wonderful Star Wars comic books that can be enjoyed by comics fans of all ages.  Inker Sean Parsons and colorist Matt Herms also shine with their work on Destroyer Down #1, and letterer Tom B. Long delivers his usual stellar work.

With this series, Scott Beatty is showing that he is no slouch next to writers of Star Wars comic books for older readers.  He has convinced me that this comic book is the shit, so I am going to recommend that we get down with Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down.

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: STAR WARS ADVENTURES: Tales from Vader's Castle #1

STAR WARS ADVENTURES: TALES FROM VADER'S CASTLE No. 1
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Cavan Scott
ART: Derek Charm; Chris Fenoglio
COLORS: Derek Charm; Chris Fenoglio
LETTERS: Robbie Robbins
EDITOR: Denton J. Tipton
COVER: Francesco Francavilla
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Chris Fenoglio; Francesco Francavilla; Derek Charm
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

“The Haunting of the Ghost”

Star Wars Adventures is an all-ages Star Wars comic book series from IDW Publishing.  The series is geared toward readers ages 7 to 10 and features one and two part stories that are not steeped in Star Wars continuity.  Star Wars Adventures features a rotating cast of characters, and the stories range from settings that take place before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace all the way up to Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) and beyond.

There has already been one spin-off miniseries, Star Wars Adventures: Forces of Destiny, a five-issue miniseries published weekly in January 2018.  The second spin-off miniseries is entitled, Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader’s Castle.  This five-part comic book event will see a new issue in comic book stories every Wednesday in October 2018, of which there are five.  Fan-favorite Star Wars Adventures creators, writer Cavan Scott and artist Derek Charm, team up with a roster of guest artists for this special miniseries, which will explore the creepiest corners of the Star Wars universe just in time for Halloween.

Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader’s Castle #1 (“The Haunting of the Ghost”) opens with an adventure of Lina Graf that is recounted in her journal.  Graf, an ace pilot and engineer, is a commander in the Rebel Alliance and is captain of the freighter star ship, “The Auric.”  She and her crew:  Skritt the technician; Lieutenant Hudd; XM-G3, the former bodyguard droid; and CR-BR, a droid that has been Graf's life-long companion and is an intelligence specialist, are on the run from Imperial TIE fighters.

Graf is forced to land “The Auric” on the planet, Mustafar.  To lift everyone's spirits, CR-BR recounts a tale involving Kanan Jarrus, Captain Hera Syndulla, and the astromech droid, Chopper, aboard their star ship, “Ghost.”  Both Graf and company and Captain Syndulla and company may not escape from situations that are not only difficult, but are also both scary.

Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader’s Castle #1 has a framing sequence, which focuses on Lina Graf and her crew and that is written by Cavan Scott and drawn by Derek Charm.  This will apparently run through all five issues of Tales from Vader's Castle.  I am interested to see where this story goes, but it is only seven pages long – five to start the issue and two to finish.  So I cannot really grade it, but I can say that it has potential.

The main story stars characters from Disney XD's popular “Star Wars Rebels” series and is written by Scott and drawn and colored by Chris Fenoglio and lettered by Robbie Robbins.  It is a nice little story that stays true and consistent with the characters' television iterations.  This is certainly the kind of Star Wars comic book tale that I would have loved as a kid, and it is one of the better Star Wars Adventures stories that IDW has published over this first year or so of publishing all-ages Star Wars comic books.  I am surprised, but delighted, by how much drama and tension Scott and Fenoglio pack into 13 pages.

Chris Fenoglio holds his own as a Star Wars Adventures artist against the formidable Derek Charm, who seems to be the marquee Star Wars Adventures artist.  Robbie Robbins' lettering simply looks like perfect comic book lettering to me.  I hope Cavan Scott writes more stories set in the world of “Star Wars Rebels,” preferably with Chris Fenoglio as artist.

Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader’s Castle is a publishing mini-event that I can get behind.  I recommend it for young Star Wars comic book readers, and those young at heart... like me.

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE POWERPUFF GIRLS: Power Up My Mojo

THE POWERPUFF GIRLS: POWER UP MY MOJO
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Haley Mancini and Jake Goldman
ART/COLORS: Derek Charm; Nicoletta Baldari; Phil Murphy
LETTERS: Andworld Productions
EDITORS: Sarah Gaydos; Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon
COVER: Chad Thomas
MISC ART: Derek Charm, Nicoletta Baldari; Ben Carow; Chad Thomas; Grace Kraft; Philip Murphy; Julia Vickerman; Ian McGinty with Meg Casey;
ISBN: 978-1631408717; hardcover 6” x9” (April 18, 2017)
76pp, Color, $12.99 U.S., $17.50 CAN

“The Powerpuff Girls” (1998 to 2005) was an animated superhero television series created by Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network.   The show centered on Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, who were three kindergarten-aged girls endowed with superpowers.  They were created by the scientist, Professor Utonium, who mixed sugar, spice, and everything nice and accidentally added “Chemical X.”  The professor would become the girls' father.  The girls and the professor lived in the fictional city of Townsville, USA.  The city's mayor frequently called on The Powerpuff Girls to help fight criminals using their super-powers against the city.

DC Comics published a number of comic books based on “The Powerpuff Girls,” including an ongoing series that ran for 70 issues from 2000 to 2006.  IDW Publishing started publishing comic books based on The Powerpuff Girls in 2013.  One of IDW's efforts was The Powerpuff Girls, a 2016 six-issue series, which was written by Haley Mancini and Jake Goldman, two staff writers on the 2016-2018 reboot of the original “Powerpuff Girls” series.

IDW collected issues #4 to #6 of that series in the 6” x9” hardcover comic book, The Powerpuff Girls: Power Up My Mojo.  [The first three issues of the 2016 series were collected in The Powerpuff Girls: Homecoming.]  Mancini and Goldman wrote issues #4 to 6.  Derek Charm illustrated and colored issue #4.  Nicoletta Baldari drew and colored issue #5, and Phil Murphy drew and colored issue #5.  Andworld Productions provided the lettering for all three issues.

The Powerpuff Girls: Power Up My Mojo features three full-length, full-color stories.  In the first (from issue #4), the mayor of Townsville asks the Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup to lead the upcoming bicycle race, “the Tour de Townsville.”  There is just one problem.  The Powerpuff Girls don't known how to ride bikes.  As luck would have it, they meet the mysterious Penny Farthing and her “Magic Time-Traveling Bicycle.”  Penny offers to teach the girls how to ride bikes, so what does that have to do with... Him?!

In the second story (from issue #5), the girls enter “the Townsville Soapbox Derby” with Bubbles driving a soapbox car, but Mojo Jojo has a diabolical plan to use the race to give him all the power.  In the third story (issue #6), the Powerpuff Girls take on their adversaries, Bianca and Barbie a.k.a. “The Fashionistas.” to recover a pair of “1000 carat diamond pumps.”  This time, however, the Fashionistas have something to stop the girls, the “sassy ray,” and woe be a town or a scientist father that runs afoul of three sassy superhero girls.

IDW sent me a review copy of The Powerpuff Girls: Power Up My Mojo about a year ago, but circumstances kept me from reading it until recently.  I really wish IDW would have sent me the previous book because...

I really like The Powerpuff Girls: Power Up My Mojo.  This is simply a fun comic book to read.  I was a fan of the original Powerpuff Girls animated TV series and of the series stars, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup.  [I have not seen the 2016-18 reboot.]  The three stories contained in this collection delight me the same way the TV series did.  I am sure that writers Haley Mancini and Jake Goldman could turn these stories into episodes of the series (if they are not already), because these three stories are pure Powerpuff – sugar, spice and all.

I am familiar with artist Derek Charm from his work on Archie Comics' Jughead and IDW's Star Wars Adventures.  Charm can draw comics in several media cartoon and animated styles, and he produces killer Powerpuff Girls.  Artists and colorists, Nicoletta Baldari and Phil Murphy, also draw illustrations that capture the sparkly, Powerpuff style.  Andworld Production's glittery lettering fits in perfectly with the sugary, effervescent art and graphical storytelling in this collection.

I could read two or three more books like The Powerpuff Girls: Power Up My Mojo.  IDW has produced at least two more Powerpuff Girls comic book miniseries since the 2016 series.  I hope IDW keeps them coming, and I need to look for the ones they already have published!

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: STAR WARS Adventures #1

STAR WARS ADVENTURES No. 1
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Cavan Scott
ART: Derek Charm
LETTERS: Tom B. Long
COVER: Derek Charm
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Elsa Charretier with Tamra Bonvillain; Eric Jones; Jon Sommariva; Chris Samnee with Matt Wilson; Tim Lim; Chris Uminga; Craig Rousseau; Mike Maihack; Tim Levins
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2017)

“Better the Devil You Know” Part 1

Star Wars Adventures is a new all-ages Star Wars comic book from IDW Publishing – yes, IDW and not current Star Wars comic book publisher, Marvel Comics.  Announced at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, Florida this past April, the series is geared toward readers ages 7 to 10 and will reportedly feature one and two part stories that are not steeped in continuity.

Shortly before the recent launch of Star Wars Adventures, IDW published a graphic novel adaptation of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, also geared towards readers of all ages.  The art for Star Wars Adventures is also intended to “bridge the gap” between Star Wars and traditional Disney animation.  Star Wars Adventures is written by Cavan Scott; drawn and colored by Derek Charm; and lettered by Tom B. Long.

Star Wars Adventures #1 (“Better the Devil You Know” Part 1) opens on the planet of Jakku and focuses on Rey, the hero of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  She is a scavenger of Imperial war ships that are now wrecks on the desert planet.  Rey discovers that her “junkboss,” Unkar Plutt, has been taken prisoner, and the reason is something she found.

Star Wars Adventures may be geared towards elementary school age readers, but I, who was in elementary school a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, love it.  In fact, I adore Derek Charm's art because I have been a fan of animation-style comic book art for a long time.  [ I think that love goes back to the early issues of DC Comics' Batman Adventures comic book, which was the comic book tie in to the classic early 1990s animated television series, “Batman: The Animated Series.”]

I think this comic book is closer to traditional, classic comic books with its striking visuals and clear, effective, adventure storytelling – that does not have to run six issues.  I think writer Cavan Scott and Derek Charm are going to do in 30 pages what many comic book creators cannot do in 100+ pages – give readers a comic book story that reminds us of why we first came to love comic books.

I can't wait for the second issue.

Tales from Wild Space – “Stop, Thief!”
STORY: Cavan Scott
PENCILS: Jon Sommariva
INKS: Sean Parsons
COLORS: Charlie Kirchoff
LETTERS: Tom B. Long

The back-up, “Tales from Wild Space,” looks to be an anthology feature which will star various Star Wars characters from different eras and which will be narrated by an explorer named Emil Graf.  It does not “Wow!” me as much as the lead feature, but this could be good.  Besides, I like the surprising mix of Star Wars characters that it offers.

“Tales from Wild Space” just makes me more certain that Star Wars Adventures will be one of my favorite comic books.

9.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: COSMIC SCOUNDRELS Trade Paperback

COSMIC SCOUNDRELS (TPB)
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Andy Suriano and Matt Chapman
SCRIPT: Matt Chapman
ART: Andy Suriano
COLORS: Andy Suriano with T Dang
LETTERS: Christa Miesner and Andy Suriano
COVER: George Caltsoudas
SERIES COVERS: Andy Suriano
MISC. ART: Andrew MacLean; Warwick Johnson Cadwell; Dan McDaid; Alexis Ziritt; Aaron Conley; Veronica Fish; Ron Salas; Tanner Johnson; Paul Maybury; Jake Wyatt with Rico Renzi; Paul Harmon; Derek Charm; Chris Schweizer; Rob Schrab; Terry and Rachel Dodson with Rico Renzi; Derek Hunter; Wilfredo Torres; Tony Fleecs; Michel Fiffe; Scott Kowalchuk; Kali Fontecchio; Jeffs Sims; Rico Renzi; Nick Dragotta; Andy Suriano
ISBN: 978-1-68405-024-6; paperback (December 2017)
144pp, Color, $19.99 U.S., $25.99 CAN (December 19, 2017)

Cosmic Scoundrels created by Andy Suriano and Matt Chapman

Cosmic Scoundrels is a five-issue miniseries published by IDW Publishing in 2017.  In December 2017, IDW collected Cosmic Scoundrels as a full-color trade paperback that reprints all five issues of the miniseries and reprints all of the miniseries' covers and variant covers.  There is also a 20-page dossier of characters, ships, planets, concepts, etc. used in the minseries and miscellany like faux-advertisements and comic strips.  Cosmic Scoundrels is written by Andy Suriano (story) and Matt Chapman (story and script).  It is drawn by Suriano; colored by Suriano and T Dang; and lettered by Christa Miesner and Suriano.

Cosmic Scoundrels was created by two veterans of American television animation, Andy Suriano and Matt Chapman.  Suriano is a character designer, storyboard artist, and concept designer who is known for his work on “Samurai Jack” (2001-2004) and “Star Wars: Clone Wars” (2003-2005), and Suriano is also an Emmy Award winner.  Chapman is an animation writer and voice actor for animated series, having worked on the Disney Channel's “Gravity Falls” (2012 to 2016) as both a writer and performer.

A sci-fi action-comedy, Cosmic Scoundrels focuses on Love Savage and Roshambo, two space-fairing scoundrels and thieves.  Love Savage, with his long blond hair, looks like a rock star and is indeed in a rock band.  Roshambo is the tough-guy, military type and sports a pair of powerful gauntlets on his wrists.  These two bachelor scalawags travel the spaceways aboard their ship, “the S.S. Fistpuncher,” and get a little mothering from the ship's artificial intelligence (A.I.), “Mrs. Billingsley.”

Trouble starts for the two when they rob the Dimetrotron Brothers of some supposedly valuable cargo.  What they find in one of the crates is a toddler with a huge electronic collar around his neck.  Alternately calling him, “Tad Jr.” and “Roshambo Jr.,” our scoundrels fight to keep the baby from the clutches of very powerful forces that insist on obtaining the child.  By the end of this adventure, many secrets will be revealed, and Love Savage and Roshambo will find themselves exposed.

You don't have to read many pages into Cosmic Scoundrels to see that it is a celebration of the spirit of animated television series.  Cosmic Scoundrels is basically the kind of Saturday morning cartoon we wish existed.  The story's vivid colors seems to emanate from a cathode ray tube, blasting electron beams from behind animation cels.

The lettering is like a cat on a hot tin roof which gives the story a wild and crazy vibe.  The narrative is kind of all over the place, but readers can use the protect-the-baby plot line as a kind of yellow brick road that will take you to the back-to-Kansas ending of the story.  Sometimes, the story is a little too wild and wooly, so focus on Cosmic Scoundrels' explosive graphics and graphical storytelling.

Cosmic Scoundrels does have a flavor that recalls films like The Fifth Element and Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, as well as the 1981 animated film, Heavy Metal.  Fans of anime and animation will feel the groove of “Cowboy Bebop,” “Futurama,” “Galaxy High,” and “Samurai Jack,” to name a few.  It is as fun to read Cosmic Scoundrels as it is to watch such animated series.  This comic book does have some story padding, and the lead characters, Love Savage and Roshambo, beg for some character development.  Hopefully, the Cosmic Scoundrels have a future that reveals more about them.

7 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: CLUE (the Comic Book)

CLUE (TPB)
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Paul Allor
ART: Nelson Daniel
LETTERS: Neil Uyetake and Gilberto Lazcano
COVER: George Caltsoudas
SERIES COVERS: Nelson Daniel
MISC. ART: Nicoletta Baldari; George Caltsoudas; Derek Charm; Agnes Garbowska; Valentina Pinto; Sara Richard; Alan Robinson with Jay Fotos; Nick Roche with Nelson Daniel; Gabriel Rodriguez with Nelson Daniel; Brent Schoonover; Jon Sommariva; Charles Paul Wilson III;
EDITORS: Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon and Carlos Guzman
ISBN: 978-1-68405-118-2; paperback (March 2018)
144pp, Color, $19.99 U.S., $25.99 CAN (February 7, 2018)

Clue is a murder mystery board game that was created in England and was first manufactured in 1949.  It is currently the intellectual property of Hasbro, the American game and toy company.  The object of the game is to determine who killed “Mr. Boddy,” where the murder took place, and what the murder weapon was.  Game players assume the role of the six suspects.

IDW Publishing, which has the license to produce comic books based on many Hasbro properties, published a six-issue miniseries based on the game, entitled Clue (of course).  Clue #1 to 6 (June to November 2017) was written by Paul Allor; drawn and colored by Nelson Daniel; and lettered by Neil Uyetake and Gilberto Lazcano.  In February, IDW collected the miniseries in a full-color trade paperback that reprinted the entire story, with bonus pages and the series' regular and variant covers.

Clue is set on a dark and story night... in and around the isolated, stately manor of Mr. Boddy.  There, Boddy is throwing a special dinner party, and his butler, Upton, welcomes the guests, a prestigious and celebrated, if not conniving lot.  The male guests are Colonel Mustard, the war hero; Professor Plum, who is always the smartest and dumbest person in a room; Nicolae Martin “Mister” Green, hedge fund manager and “pharma bro;” and Detective Ochre, who is also a grandfather and a gardener.

The female guests are Senator White, who is a politician and a CEO; Dr. Orchid, the toxicologist; Miss Scarlet, the rapper from Australia; Mrs. Peacock, the widow and aristocrat; and Detective Amarillo, a jogger and a cellist.  One of them is going to kill Mr. Boddy, but when the lead suspect turns up dead and murdered shortly afterwards, everything is thrown into confusion.  Add a mysterious flower, “Surobi Zinnias,” and readers have a murder-conspiracy with enough twists and turns to leave more people dead and even more under suspicion.

IDW Publishing sent me a review copy of the Clue trade paperback.  I was not happy to get it, honestly, because I was not really interested in reading it.  I had thought about picking up an issue of the miniseries during its run last year, but passed on that.  Of course, when I did finally get around to reading Clue I enjoyed it.

I believe that Mel Brook's two most famous films, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles, are successful because they both look like and work as the film genres of which they are spoofing – “Universal Monster” movies for the former and Western films for the latter.  Clue works as a spoof of the murder mystery genre because it is indeed a murder mystery comic book.

I found myself racing through much of this trade paperback, trying to find out how many whodunits there actually were.  Writer Paul Allor pulls off a nice spoof of the cozy, murder-mystery genre.  It is witty and funny, but Allor also makes the readers interested in the mysteries, chasing the killers and their conspiracies across the narrative.

Artist Nelson Daniel draws an exciting story, and he makes each character visually unique, which is important in selling the idea that each character has his or her own story and/or something to hide.  I find that Daniel gives the characters an odd sense of constantly being annoyed, a sense of entitlement, that nothing should be in their way.  I guess that is what makes their motivations seem genuine.

By the time I finished reading Clue, I wanted more. There are a few sequences that seem unnecessary, but overall the comic book is strong.  I think that this is reason enough to recommend this to comic book readers looking for something offbeat.

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: STAR WARS ADVENTURES Volume 1: Heroes of the Galaxy

STAR WARS ADVENTURES, VOL. 1: HEROES OF THE GALAXY
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Cavan Scott; Landry Q. Walker; Elsa Charretier and Pierrick Colinet
PENCILS: Derek Charm; Jon Sommariva; Elsa Charretier
INKS: Derek Charm; Sean Parsons; Elsa Charretier
COLORS: Derek Charm; Charlie Kirchoff; Sarah Stern
LETTERS: Tom B. Long; Robbie Robbins
PIN-UPS: Derek Charm; Elsa Charretier with Tamra Bonvillain; Jon Sommariva; Chris Samnee with Matt Wilson; Mike Maihack; Craig Rousseau; Tim Lim; Chris Uminga; Eric Jones; Tim Levins
COVER: Derek Charm
ISBN: 978-1-68405-205-9; paperback, 6” x 9” (October 2017)
80pp, Color, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN

“Better the Devil You Know” Parts l and 2; Tales from Wild Space - “Stop, Thief!” and “The Flat Mountain of Yavin”

Star Wars Adventures is a new all-ages Star Wars comic book from IDW Publishing – yes, from IDW and not from current Star Wars comic book publisher, Marvel Comics.  Announced at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, Florida this past April, the series is geared toward readers ages 7 to 10 and features one and two part stories that are not steeped in Star Wars continuity.  Star Wars Adventures will feature a rotating casts of characters, and the stories will range from settings that take place before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace all the way up to Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) and beyond.

Now, comes the first book collection of Star Wars Adventures.  It is entitled Star Wars Adventures, Volume 1: Heroes of the Galaxy.  It collects Star Wars Adventures #1 and #2 and the Star Wars Adventures Ashcan, which was given out at San Diego Comic-Con International 2017 ahead of the release of Star Wars Adventures #1.

The main story of Star Wars Adventures #1-2 is a two-part tale, entitled “Better the Devil You Know,” written by Cavan Scott; drawn and colored by Derek Charm; and lettered by Tom B. Long.  “Better the Devil You Know” opens on the planet of Jakku and focuses on Rey, the hero of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  She is a scavenger of Imperial war ships that are now wrecks on the desert planet.  Rey discovers that her “junkboss,” Unkar Plutt, has been taken prisoner, and the reason is something she found.  Rey realizes that dealing with Plutt, terrible as he is and can be, is better than dealing with the aliens determined to kill him.

Each issue of Star Wars Adventures has a back-up feature, “Tales from Wildspace.”  This anthology-like features various Star Wars characters from different eras of the Star Wars universe and is narrated by an explorer named Emil Graf.  The two “Wildspace stories here are “Stop, Thief!” (Star Wars Adventures #1) and “The Flat Mountain of Yavin” (#2).

I like Star Wars Adventures.  I know that it is geared towards elementary school age readers, but I, who was in elementary school a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, love it.  I like Derek Charm's art, which is a blend of animation-styled art and the art found in Archie Comics.  Cavan Scott's storytelling in “Better the Devil You Know” is true to the spirit of Star Wars – emphasizing adventure, imagination, and, of course, wisdom and justice.

The story from the Star Wars Adventures Ashcan (written by Landry B. Walker and drawn by Charm) is narrated by C-3PO and R2-D2 and presents a rather interesting overview of Star Wars history.  That overview alone, especially the Luke Skywalker parts, is worth the cost of this book.

“Tales from Wild Space” does not “Wow!” me as much as the lead feature, but it is a good back-up.  Besides, I like the surprising mix of Star Wars characters that “Wildspace” offers.

I think Star Wars Adventures is closer to traditional, classic comic books – with its striking visuals and clear, effective, adventure storytelling – than many comic books available in comic book shops today.  This is a comic book that reminds us of why we first came to love comic books, and I think Star Wars Adventures Volume 1: Heroes of the Galaxy is a great way to introduce young readers to comic books.

[This volume also includes a section of character designs by Derek Charm.]

A+
9.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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