Saturday, May 6, 2017

Review: STAR WARS: The Force Awakens #1

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS ADAPTATION No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

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

WRITER: Chuck Wendig
ART: Luke Ross
COLORS: Frank Martin
LETTERS: VC's Clayton Cowles
COVER: Esad Ribic
44pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (August 2016)

Rated “T+”

“Episode VII, Part 1 – The Force Awakens”

When it was released in late 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the first Star Wars film in 10 years (since 2005's Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith).  It was also the first film in the franchise to be produced by The Walt Disney Company, which now owns Lucasfilm, Ltd., the Star Wars studio.  The Force Awakens became the highest grossing film in the history of North American theatrical box office (adjusted for inflation, of course).

Marvel Comics recently released its comic book adaptation of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  This five-issue miniseries is written by Chuck Wendig; drawn by Luke Ross; colored by Frank Martin; and lettered by Clayton Cowles.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens #1 opens thirty years after the destruction of the second Death Star (at the “Battle of Endor,” as seen in 1983's Return of the Jedi).  Luke Skywalker has vanished, and the First Order, which rose from the ashes of the Galactic Empire, will not rest until it finds him.

The Resistance, a military splinter group of the New Republic, believes that it has found a clue to Skywalker's location.  General Leia Organa has sent the Resistance's best pilot, Poe Dameron, to Jakku to obtain the information on Luke's whereabouts.  On this desert world, a First Order stormtrooper, a little droid, and a scavenger will decide the fate of this mission to find a Jedi legend.

As comic book adaptations go, Marvel's Star Wars: The Force Awakens is on the front end of middle-of-the-pack.  It does not have the allure of my childhood favorites, Marvel's adaptation of the original Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back.  However, Star Wars: The Force Awakens #1 starts slows but becomes a fast-paced thrill by the last few pages.  Even the art by Luke Ross (with its Chris Samnee styling) is stronger by the end.

While I knew that I was definitely going to buy the first issue, I was not sure about the rest of the series.  Star Wars: The Force Awakens #1, however, is good enough to keep me interested until the end.  I don't consider this a must-have Star Wars comic book, but why not have it?

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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