#IReadsYou Review: FALLEN ANGELS #1

FALLEN ANGELS #1 (2020)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Bryan Hill
ART: Szymon Kudranski
COLORS: Frank D'Armata
LETTERS: VC's Joe Sabino
EDITOR: Jordan D. White
EiC: Akria Yoshida a.k.a. “C.B. Cebulski”
COVER: Ashley Witter
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Mark Bagley and John Dell with Israel Silva; Gabriele Dell'Otto; Greg Land with Frank D'Armata; Pepe Larraz with David Curiel; Rob Liefeld with Romul Fajardo, Jr.; and Tom Muller
44pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (January 2020)

Rated T+

The X-Men created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; Fallen Angels created by Jo Duffy and Kerry Gammill

“Bushido”

The X-Men are a Marvel Comics superhero team and franchise created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Jack Kirby.  The X-Men #1 (cover dated: September 1963) introduced readers to a professor and his students who had unique powers and abilities because they were “mutants.”

One of the X-Men spin-off titles was Fallen Angels.  Created by writer Jo Duffy and artist Kerry Gammill, Fallen Angels was more accurately a spin-off of the X-Men spin-off, The New Mutants.  The Fallen Angels was a team that featured two New Mutants, Sunspot and Warlock, and Boom-Boom of X-Factor.  The team's only appearance was in the eight-issue miniseries, Fallen Angels (cover dated:  April to November 1987).

This past summer (2019), writer Jonathan Hickman revamped, rebooted, and re-imagined the X-Men comic book franchise via a pair of six-issue comic book miniseries, House of X and Powers of X (pronounced “Powers of Ten”).  October 2019 welcomed “Dawn of X,” the launch of six new X-Men titles.  The new series are Excalibur, Marauders, New Mutants, X-Force, X-Men, and the subject of this review, Fallen Angels.

Fallen Angels 2020 is written by Bryan Hill; drawn by Szymon Kudranski; colored by Frank D'Armata, and lettered by Joe Sabino.  Fallen Angels focuses on the outsiders of Krakoa, mutants who don't belong in paradise because of their anti-heroic pasts.

Fallen Angels #1 (“Bushido”) opens as Kwannon does something bad.  Meanwhile, on Krakoa, the living island and mutant nation-state, Psylocke is in a state of meditation, in this new world of “Mutantkind,” unsure of her place in it.  But she gets a warning, a demand that she face a new threat, a god named “Apoth,” and it seems as if Psylocke's past is starting to come back to her.  Seeking the aid of Mr. Sinister and gathering the mutant warriors, Cable and X-23, to her side, Psylocke begins her personal mission of revenge.

I have come across commentary on the inter-webs that Fallen Angels is the best of the first wave of “Dawn of X” titles.  I am sorely disappointed to say that I have practically nothing to say about it.  The first issue barely registers with me, which is surprising.  I am a fan of Bryan Hill's writing, and his potent, forceful storytelling always moves something in me.  I'll check in on Fallen Angels later, but I still think that fans of this new X-Men direction should check out at least the first issue of all six titles.  In the meantime, I don't have a grade for Fallen Angels #1.

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.

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Review: HOUSE OF X #1

HOUSE OF X No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Jonathan Hickman
ART: Pepe Larraz
COLORS: Marte Gracia
LETTERS: VC's Clayton Cowles
EDITOR: Jordan D. White
EiC: Akria Yoshida a.k.a. “C.B. Cebuski”
COVER: Pepe Larraz with Marte Gracia
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Mark Brooks; Marco Checchetto; John Tyler Christopher; Dave Cockrum with Jesus Aburtov; Mike Huddleston; Joe Madureira with Peter Steigerwald; Phil Noto; Sara Pichelli with Dean White; Humberto Ramos with Edgar Delgado; Skottie Young
56pp, Color, $5.99 U.S. (September 2019)

Rated T+

The X-Men created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

“The House That Xavier Built”

The X-Men are a Marvel Comics superhero team created by editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.  The X-Men debuted in the comic book, The X-Men #1 (cover dated: September 1963), and the focus of that comic book was Professor Charles Xavier a/k/a “Professor X” and his small circle of students.  Each student had a unique power or ability granted to them because each student was a mutant, and each had a code name.  The students were Scott Summers (Cyclops), Jean Grey (Marvel Girl), Warren Worthington III (Angel), Henry “Hank” McCoy (Beast), and Bobby Drake (Iceman).

From time to time, the X-Men concept is changed in some way via a relaunch or revamp.  The most famous was the debut of the “new X-Men” in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (cover dated: May 1975).  Once consistently among the bestselling comic books in the United States (and often the bestselling comic book), the X-Men have fallen on hard times, especially over the last decade.  Part of the problem is that the editorial powers that be at Marvel Comics have spent much of the last two decades revamping, relaunching, remaking the X-Men, and especially involving the X-Men line of comic books in ultimately pointless title crossover events.

However, fans and readers have hope for this new X-Men thing.  The latest remodeling comes via a pair of six-issue miniseries, House of X and Powers of X, published biweekly on an alternating schedule.  The first to debut is House of X.  It is written by written Jonathan Hickman; drawn by Pepe Larraz; colored by Marte Gracia; and lettered by Clayton Cowles.

House of X #1 (“The House That Xavier Built”) opens on a world that has changed.  In the last half year, Professor Charles Xavier (a.k.a. “Professor X”) has been rolling out his master plan for mutant-kind.  Xavier wants to bring mutants out of the shadow of mankind and into the light once more.  On the island of Krakoa is a home for mutants only, a place where they can be safe.

As a gift to the ever-suspicious humanity, Xavier is offering miracle pharmaceuticals.  However, seeing Armageddon in this new world order, a secret organization of humans has activated the “Orchis protocols.”  Plus, the activities of Sabertooth and Mystique earn the attention of the Fantastic Four, and this issue story also stars Magneto, Cyclops, and Jean Grey to name a few.

“Did you honestly think we were going to sit around and take it forever?” is what Cyclops asks the Invisible Woman during a standoff between the X-Man and the Fantastic Four.  Fight the power, indeed, but this first chapter of House of X is as much about evolution as it is about self-defense.  In Jonathan Hickman's radical revamp of Marvel's X-Men franchise, the mutants of the Marvel Universe have more than a sanctuary; they have a home.  Apparently, they are going to spend their time in their new home being great and striving for greater – socially and scientifically, and that is making humans, especially certain human interests, suspicious and preparing for war.

I don't know where Hickman is taking Marvel's X-Men line, but, in House of X #1, he has created the kind of first issue that makes readers so curious that they just have to come back for more.  At the local comic shop I visit, all issues of House of X and Powers of X have been sellouts.

In this first issue, the art by Pepe Larraz is pretty, but the graphical storytelling does not come across as being as striking and as radical as Hickman's script is.  However, Marte Gracia's coloring is a glorious display, and Clayton Cowles' lettering keeps the shifting ground of House of X #1's story and book design coherent.

Will House of X #1 be a seminal moment in the history of X-Men comic books?  We will see, but it is a must-read for anyone who has ever been a fan of X-Men comic books.

8.5 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.


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Review: BLACK PANTHER #1

BLACK PANTHER No. 1 (2018) (Legacy #173)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Ta-Nehisi Coates
ART: Daniel Acuna
COLORS: Daniel Acuna
LETTERS: VC's Joe Sabino
EDITOR: Wil Moss
COVER: Daniel Acuna (based on the work of Brian Stelfreeze)
VARIANT COVERS: Artgerm; Tom Beland with Jordie Bellaire; Jamal Campbell; Olivier Coipel; Jack Kirby; Michael Kelleher with Paul Mounts; Pepe Larraz with Marte Gracia; In-Hyuk Lee; Yasmine Putri
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (July 2018)

Black Panther created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Rated “T”

“The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda” Book 1: “Many Thousands Gone”

Black Panther is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.  The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 (cover dated: July 1966).  Black Panther was T'Challa, the king and protector of the (fictional) African nation of Wakanda.  Black Panther was also the first Black superhero in mainstream American comic books.

Ta-Nehisi Coates is an African-American writer, journalist, and commentator.  Coastes is also a national correspondent for The Atlantic, where he writes about cultural, political, and social issues, particularly as they regard to Black people in America.  Coates' second book, Between the World and Me (released in July 2015), won the 2015 National Book Award for Nonfiction.  In 2015, he was the recipient of a “Genius Grant” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Black Panther and Ta-Nehisi Coates (with artist and designer Brian Stelfreeze) came together two years ago in a relaunch of the Black Panther comic book series.  Now, Coates is taking Black Panther in a new direction again, “The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda,” and a fresh series start.  Coates writes this new Black Panther with Daniel Acuna as series artist and colorist and Joe Sabino as the letterer.

Black Panther #1 (Legacy #173) opens by recounting the story of how a detachment of Wakandans founded a “small, desolate colony on the outer edges of the cosmos,” two thousands years ago.  Eventually this colony became its own empire, an oppressive empire.  Now, a miner a.k.a. “Nameless,” a slave on the mining planet, “Gorée,” rises to lead a rebellion.  And a legend is reborn.

In previous reviews of Ta-Nehisi Coates Black Panther, I have favorably compared what Coates is doing with the character to what British comic book writer, Alan Moore, did on his legendary tenure on DC Comics' Swamp Thing.  I wrote that Moore created a personality for the title character and built a world of supporting characters, bit players, and an intriguing fictional mythology that allowed him to explore Swamp Thing's character and motivations.  I said that the result of Moore's efforts was once-in-a-generation comic book storytelling.

Coates has taken what Black Panther writers and artists did before him and is doing what Alan Moore did with Swamp Thing – create a fictional comic book world that is wealthy with possibilities and does not really need the main universe.  Coates' Black Panther is also once in a generation comic book storytelling.  Now, Coates is taking Black Panther to somewhere the character has never gone – as far as I know.  In the far reaches of outer space, Coates will prove whether or not he belongs in the upper echelons of comic book creators.  With Black Panther #1 2018, Coates offers intriguing possibilities via interesting characters and provocative concepts.

Daniel Acuna seems to be the perfect collaborator for this new Black Panther.  His art is at once classic comic book space opera in terms of compositions and colors.  However, he makes his space faring tale look different with striking character and costume design.  Acuna is also pushing himself up the latter of recognition as a comic book storyteller.

In an unobtrusive manner, letter Joe Sabino picks his spots to convey the drama and evoke emotions in this story.  In many ways, Sabino is the gatekeeper who lets us into this far-flung world of story.  He is part of creative team that seems destined to take Black Panther to infinity and beyond.

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: X-MEN: Red #1

X-MEN: RED No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Tom Taylor
ART: Mahmud Asrar
COLORS: Ive Svorcina
LETTERS: VC's Cory Petit
COVER: Travis Charest
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Mahmud Asrar with Ive Svorcina; John Tyler Christopher; Phil Jimenez; Phil Jimenez with Nolan Woodard; Rob Liefeld; Skottie Young; Pepe Larraz with Edgar Delgado
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (April 2018)

Rated T+

X-Men created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

“The Hate Machine” Part 1: “Heal the World”

Last year, Marvel Comics launched a publishing event, entitled “ResurrXion,” in an attempt to shoot new life in its moribund X-Men line of comic books.  This initiative involved the debut of several new X-Men comic book titles, including the color-coded X-Men: Blue and X-Men Gold.

Still trying to pump life into the X-Men, Marvel has launched a new X-Men color-coded comic book, entitled X-Men: Red.  It will feature an X-Men team led by the resurrected, original Jean Grey, also known at times as Marvel Girl and Phoenix/Dark Phoenix.  This new comic book is written by Tom Taylor; drawn by Mahmud Asrar; colored by Ive Svorcina; and lettered by Cory Petit.

X-Men: Red #1 (“Heal the World”) opens with Heather, a young mutant, being hounded by a mob of neighbors who want to kill her because she is a mutant.  Her rescuers are Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Gentle, Namor, Trinary, Honey Badger, and Wolverine (Laura Kinney).  Two months earlier, Jean Grey, newly brought back to life, decides that in order to protect mutants from a world that still hates them, she will need to find a way to protect the entire world.  Of course, not everyone wants that.

Once upon a time, someone who thought they were being smart “man-splained” to me that corporations existed to provide goods and services.  I didn't say anything at the time, but I firmly believed that many corporations, if not most, existed first and foremost to make money for their major stockholders and chief executives, officers, and/or managers.  That includes corporations that own comic book publishers like Marvel Comics.

I imagine that in the early 1980s, the people that called the shots noticed how popular the Marvel Comics title, Uncanny X-Men, had become with readers and how its story of a band of mutants who fought for a world that hated and feared them really resonated with fans.  That love had turned Uncanny X-Men into the top-selling comic book, at least in North America.  So why make a lot of money from just one X-Men comic book title when Marvel could make a even more money with more X-Men publications?

First it was one graphic novel... or two, and then, an X-Men spin-off series and a miniseries featuring the most popular X-Men character (Wolverine).  What started as a few X-Men and X-Men-related spin-offs became a trickle, then a stream, and the stream became a deluge.  I think Marvel officially started ruining the X-Men, not when it became a franchise, but specifically when that franchise launched the comic book, X-Factor (cover dated: February 1986).

In the three decades plus since the debut of X-Factor #1, there have been many quality X-Men publications, but most X-Men comic books have been, to be generous, average at best.  The X-Men went from being something special into nothing more than a cynically exploited cash cow for whatever money-grubbing corporation or CEO that owned Marvel Comics at any given time.

Writer Tom Taylor tries to recall the halcyon pre-X-Factor days of Uncanny X-Men in X-Men: Red.  Writer Marc Guggenheim tries to recall the storytelling of the classic X-Men scribe, Chris Claremont (who is arguably still the best X-Men comic book writer ever) with X-Men: Gold, but the results are mixed.  I feel like being cynical and saying that it is too late to make X-Men great again, but Taylor seems to be on to something here.  I would like to see where this goes.

I do think that artist Mahmud Asrar is already delivering excellent work.  I don't need to wait and see with Asrar; I am already declaring his art and graphical storytelling here a winner.  I think Asrar's illustrations, which are beautifully colored by Ive Svorcina, make this issue's story, “Heal the World,” seem as if it is indeed part of a promising larger story.  I have considered Asrar a star-creator in the making since I first saw his art in The New 52 title, Supergirl (2011).

So I see red, X-Men: Red that is.  I will keep reading as long as Taylor and Asrar are making something that seems special like the Uncanny X-Men at its speak from mid-1970s to the mid-1980s.

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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Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for December 18, 2018

MARVEL COMICS

OCT180766    FANTASTIC FOUR #5    $7.99
OCT180844    SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #1 DJURDJEVIC FANTASTIC FOUR VILLAINS VA    $3.99
OCT180840    SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #1 SG    $3.99
OCT180889    UNCANNY X-MEN #7    $3.99
OCT180890    UNCANNY X-MEN #7 CHRISTOPHER ACTION FIGURE VAR    $3.99
OCT180795    X-FORCE #1    $4.99
OCT180798    X-FORCE #1 DJURDJEVIC FANTASTIC FOUR VILLAINS VAR    $4.99

Review: STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE - Cassian & K-2SO Special #1

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE – CASSIAN & K-2SO SPECIAL No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.  Please, visit the "Star Wars Central" review page here.]

WRITER: Duane Swierczynski
ART: Fernando Blanco
LETTERS: VC's Clayton Cowles
COVER: Julian Totino Tedesco
VARIANT COVER: Pepe Larraz
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (October 2017)

Rated “T”

Released this past December, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was the eighth live-action Star Wars film.  It was also the first Star Wars film that did not directly focus on the main story line of the previous films (the struggle for the fate of the galaxy, pitting the Jedi and the New Republic against the Sith and the Galactic Empire or its antecedents and descendants – with the Skywalker family at the center).

Rogue One was a stand-alone film that is set immediately before the events depicted in the original Star Wars (1977) film.  In Rogue One, the Galactic Empire grows ever more powerful, but a determined rebellion against it continues to gain strength.  A small band of rebels embarks on a mission to obtain classified information about a rumored new Imperial weapon – the Death Star.

Marvel Comics is currently publishing a comic book adaptation of Rogue One, entitled Star Wars: Rogue One Adaptation.  Marvel recently published a one-shot comic book set before the events depicted in Rogue One.  It is entitled Star Wars: Rogue One – Cassian & K-2SO Special.  The story is written by Duane Swierczynski; drawn and colored by Fernando Blanco; lettered by Clayton Cowles.

Star Wars: Rogue One – Cassian & K-2SO Special #1 focuses on two characters from the film.  The first is Cassian Andor, a Rebel Alliance Captain and Intelligence officer, who is the film's male lead.  Diego Luna played him in the film.  The second is K-2SO, an Imperial enforcer droid now owned by the rebellion.  Actor Alan Tudyk provided K-2SO's voice, and he performed the motion-capture acting for the character during the shooting of the film.  K-2SO was created in post-production via computer-generated imagery (CGI).

Star Wars: Rogue One – Cassian & K-2SO Special #1 finds Cassian and two rebel spies, Kertas and Rismor, arriving on the backwater world of Wecacoe.  According to rebel sources, this planet is where the remains of a decommissioned Imperial Cruiser that has fallen into private hands is located.  Cassian's mission is to sneak inside the ship and uncover Imperial security protocols.  Standing in his way is an unexpectedly large content of Stormtroopers and a feisty droid.

Star Wars: Rogue One – Cassian & K-2SO Special #1 is basically a short story that tells how Cassian Andor came into possession of the Imperial droid, K-2SO, that we see with him in film , Rogue One.  The story's actual length is 30 pages, and it has a sleight plot.  The story is not really a heist tale so much as it is a stop-and-rob or dash-in-grab tale with Cassian doing the stealing, while Kertas and Rismor run interference.  Readers should not expect any character development or reveals, but the story, for what it is, is expertly executed by Swierczynski.

The art and graphical storytelling by artist Fernando Blanco is good, if not spectacular.  Blanco obviously comes across as a credible Star Wars comic book artist (which is not something everyone call pull off).  His layouts, coloring, and page design make up for slightly awkward figure drawing.  I think Blanco is an artist that will continue to improve, and I hope to see more Star Wars comic books drawn by him.

B+
7 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 syndication rights and fees.

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Review: HAN SOLO #1

HAN SOLO No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon. Visit "Star Wars Central" review page here.]

WRITER: Marjorie Liu
ART: Mark Brooks
COLORS: Sonia Oback
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Lee Bermejo
VARIANT COVERS: Mike Allred; John Cassaday; John Tyler Christopher; Scott Koblish; Pepe Larraz; Phil Noto
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2016)

Rated “T+”

“Part 1”

Everyone's favorite scruffy smuggler, Han Solo, now has his own comic book as part of Marvel Comics' recently launched line of Star Wars comic books.  A five-issue miniseries, Han Solo is written by Marjorie Liu; drawn by Mark Brooks; colored by Sonia Oback; and lettered by Joe Caramagna.

Han Solo #1 opens between the events depicted in the films, Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980).  Han Solo needs to take on some smuggling jobs in order to pay his debt to crime lord, Jabba the Hutt, but Han has been feeling kind of strange.  Every job offer seems wrong, so Chewbacca says that Han is spooked.  Then, Han gets a call from Princess Leia Organa, delivered in a most peculiar manner.  Her request involves “The Dragon Void Run,” a race Han Solo has always wanted to enter, just not like this.

I have to admit that I have not been crazy about all the new Star Wars comic books that Marvel Comics has released since the beginning of 2015.  The Chewbacca miniseries and that awful C-3PO one-shot come to mind.  However, Han Solo, judging from the first issue, seems like it will be a winner.

I think that this “new hope” begins with writer Marjorie Liu (Monstress), who captures the essence of Han Solo.  He is a loner, used to looking out for himself, but, in spite of his protestations, he knows what's right and wrong.  He balances a sense of justice or “moral compass” with the desire to survive and thrive.  He can look out for number one and also help his friends.  There is tension in this balance – an ebb and flow, a constant tug between me-first and taking-one-for-the-team.  When a writer can capture this furious conflict within Han Solo, she is halfway to writing an engaging, intriguing, and truly enjoyable Han Solo comic book.

Artist Mark Brooks strengthens this series' potential.  He fills the pages with evocative backgrounds that recall the original Star Wars film trilogy.  Brooks creates stylish space ships and an alien menagerie that gathers familiar Star Wars people and beings, but also adds some bits from his own imagination.  Sonia Oback gives Brooks' art a look similar to classic sci-fi film and science fiction art.

I pretended that I was not expecting a lot from this Han Solo miniseries, but I am expecting this to be really good.  So far, so good...

A

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


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: KANAN: The Last Padawan #6

KANAN: THE LAST PADAWAN No. 6
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon. And visit the "Star Wars Central" review page here.]

WRITER: Greg Weisman
ART: Jacopo Camagni
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Pepe Larraz with David Curiel
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2015)

Rated T

Book 1, Epilogue: The Last Padawan

“Star Wars Rebels” is a 3D CGI animated television series that appears on the Disney XD cable network.  Produced by Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm Animation, “Rebel” is set 14 years after the film, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), and five years before the events depicted in the original film, Star Wars (1977).

“Star Wars Rebels” takes place during an era when the Galactic Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and features several new characters.  One of them is the former Jedi, Kanan Jarrus, who has spent years hiding his Force powers and lightsaber.  He is the star of the comic book series, Kanan: The Last Padawan.  The series is written by Greg Weisman (a former executive producer of “Star Wars Rebels”) drawn by Pepe Larraz, colored by David Curiel, and lettered by Joe Caramagna, with covers by Mark Brooks.

Kanan: The Last Padawan #6 leaves the past and opens sometime in the period in which “Star Wars Rebels” takes place.  Kanan Jarrus, the former Jedi Padawan, Caleb Dume, is now part of the motley crew of the freighter starship, “The Ghost.”  This six-person rebel cell is one of many small clusters of rebels fighting the Galactic Empire.  In addition to Kanan, there is the teenaged Ezra Bridger; the Twi'lek, Hera Syndulla; Mandalorian teen artist, Sabine Wren; Lasat honor guard, Zeb Orrelios; and astromech droid, C1-10P (aka “Chopper”).

As the story opens, Kanan returns to the planet, Kaller, where his life as a Jedi-in-training effectively ended.  The crew of the Ghost is on the planet to pick up supplies to help refugees.  However, upon arrival, Kanan and his rebel companions find the supply crates empty.  As they begin a search for these supplies, which they simply must have, Kanan fears that the ghosts of his past are beginning to catch up with his present.

Kanan: The Last Padawan #6 offers a change from the previous issues of the series, which all occurred in a time years before the events depicted in “Rebels.”  Also, Jacopo Camagni draws this issue, while series artist, Pepe Larraz, draws only this issue's cover.  Stylistically, it is not a big change, as the art in Kanan tends to stay close to the design and art direction of “Rebels.”

That is what Kanan: The Last Padawan tries to be – true to the animated series upon which it is based, and it succeeds at that.  Among Marvel's Star Wars comic book series, Kanan is almost the odd man out, as it is distinct, in a number of ways, from the other series.  However, that makes it a good tie-in comic book, giving readers two extra “Star Wars Rebels” stories per year.

I am curious to see where this series goes.  “Star Wars Rebels” has so much potential for delving into the years before the setting of the original Star Wars film trilogy, as well as offering some surprises.  Kanan: The Last Padawan reflects that, so I am in for the long haul.  It is not a great comic book, but it is a very good one.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: KANAN: The Last Padawan #1

KANAN: THE LAST PADAWAN #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

WRITER: Greg Weisman
ART: Pepe Larraz
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Mark Brooks
VARIANT COVERS: Phil Noto, Kilian Plunkett; Lucasfilm Ltd.; Skottie Young
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (June 2015)

Rated T

Book 1, Part 1: The Last Padawan

“Star Wars Rebels” is a recently launched 3D CGI animated television series.  It is produced by Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm Animation and is set in the Star Wars universe, of course.  “Rebels” is set 14 years after the film, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), and five years before the events depicted in the original film, Star Wars (1977).  “Rebels” premiered on October 3, 2014 as a 44-minute, television film, entitled Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion on the Disney Channel.  “Rebels” premiered as a TV series on October 13, 2014 on Disney XD.

“Star Wars Rebels” takes place during an era when the Galactic Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and features several new characters.  One of them is the former Jedi, Kanan Jarrus, who has spent years hiding his Force powers and lightsaber.  The fourth title in Marvel Comics' return to publishing Star Wars comic books returns to the time when Kanan was a Jedi Padawan (apprentice).

Entitled Kanan: The Last Padawan, this new series is written by Greg Weisman, a former executive producer of “Star Wars Rebels,” who also wrote several episodes of the series.  Kanan is drawn by Pepe Larraz, colored by David Curiel, and lettered by Joe Caramagna, with covers by Mark Brooks.

Kanan: The Last Padawan #1 opens 15 years before “Star Wars Rebels.”  Jedi Master Depa Billaba and her Padawan, Caleb Dume, are on the planet Kaller.  Master Billaba leads a contingent of the Grand Army of the Republic against Separatist droids.  The Jedi and the clone troops hope to chase the droids and their leader, General Kleeve, from the planet.  Don't expect the Kallerans to be grateful.  Meanwhile, there is darkness on the horizon.

First, I have to say, “Wow, who is Pepe Larraz?”  What a fantastic artist.  He reminds me of the art team of Stuart Immonen and Wade von Grawbadger.  With colorist David Curiel, Larraz captures the mercurial nature of Master Billaba and the wild and inquisitive nature of Caleb Dume.  Larraz's compositions capture the boundless potential of the young Padawan.  I also need to at least mention how good the cover art by Mark Brooks is.

As for the story, I found myself surprisingly intrigued.  I have not read many comic books written by Greg Weisman, but what I have read I've liked.  He makes the relationship between Master and Padawan seem genuine, balancing authority and obedience with camaraderie and patience.  I expected Kanan: The Last Padawan to be the least of the new Star Wars comic books, but Weisman is writing an intriguing story that demands to be read.

I can't wait for the next issue of Kanan: The Last Padawan.  Marvel Comics has delivered another winning Star Wars comic book.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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