Here is today's Guest Review by
Shadowhawk from
Shadowhawk's Shade,
The Founding Fields, and
Just Beyond Infinity, for Dark Horse Comics'; Star Wars #8, and Image Comics'; Lazarus #3. I have also added my rating after each review. If you have any questions about my rating or want to discuss anything just leave me a comment.
Star Wars #8
Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles intentionally allow themselves to be captured by the Empire to discover how Colonel Bircher is tracking the Rebels’ movements. Meanwhile, Darth Vader sends a spy into his own ranks to find out the same thing. And Han and Chewie go blaster to blaster against Boba Fett!
Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly—the Local team goes galactic!
Star Wars #1 is one of the bestselling single issues of 2013!
Preview
Taking the Fight to the Empire
Issue #8, released this Wednesday proves to be among the best the Brian Wood has written till now. And this is largely because he finally hit a great emotional beat with Leia and played to the relative strengths of each character. In the previous issue, we see Luke mourning his uncle and aunt, who raised him as their own son and made him who he is. This time, we see Leia mourning her lost world in the ashes of its remains in a ceremony that is personal and very private. The entire scene gives her an emotional vulnerability that we never got to see in the movies, and for that alone, this issue deserves the highest of praises.
What I find really interesting about Wood’s characters, whether here or in his creator-owned project Mara with artist Ming Doyle or his ongoing all-female team X-men book is that he can really hit the small, personal emotional beats with his characters. This is one of the reasons why love Gail Simone’s work so much, since she does the same thing very often and it adds a great dimension to the character. Whether superheroes or superathletes or whatever, all these characters are portrayed extremely well and with depth. I was already a fan of Wood’s Leia, but this issue takes that fan feeling to a whole new level. We’ve only seen Leia as the tough, determined leader until now, and her facade has finally cracked, and in a good way. Highlight of the entire issue.
Then we have the rest of the stuff going on, as Luke and Wedge carry out a dangerous mission behind enemy lines and Han is still caught in his escapade from Coruscant while being chased by both Boba Fett AND Bossk. That’s a dangerous mix of adversaries to have on your tail, and Han knows that full well. That’s why all his high-flying antics in Coruscant’s skies are so damn fun. Typical Han Solo-style Corellian fun, make no mistake. And where the other men are concerned, Wood gives some great callbacks to the original movie, which serve to further establish the friendship between Luke and Wedge. Just great work all around.
Read the rest of Shadowhawk's review on Here
My Rating
Cover & Solicit - 3/5
Art, Colors & Inking - 4/5
Layout & Flow - 4/5
Story - 4/5
Verdict - 3.9 - (Buy Star Wars #8) SAVE 10%
Lazarus #3 - Family, Part Three
"FAMILY," Part ThreeForever, now a "guest" of Family Morray in Mexico, shares a message and ultimatum, and gets to know her opposite number, the Morray Lazarus, Joacquim. In Los Angeles, the Twins continue their plot against their father, using Forever as their pawn.
Preview
Three
Greg Rucka’s first foray into this title was an excellent comic that I highly enjoyed to the point that I wish I could go forward in time and read the next five issues back-to-back. That’s the kind of excitement I felt upon reading issue #1. The world that he’s created here, is a fully-fledged world with some unique rules of existence and traditions of behaviour, giving the series a very grand but still modest outlook.
All the drama that can be found in this book, whether political intrigue or family infighting, is portrayed really well, with Rucka hitting the story beats with just the right mix of awesome and “must read more”. And Michael Lark’s pencils, with Santiago Arcas’ colors, are just as great. There are so many subtle tones that can be found in the book, giving it a really rich feel in terms of context and the narrative itself.
All of it creates a situation where things are ready to boil over after a certain point is reached. There is a ton of repressed feelings from several characters, and the outpouring of those repressed feelings is something that is at the heart of this series.
Most of all, it is the protagonist Forever Carlyle who impresses the most. Even though we are only three issues into this brand-new series, I can’t help but feel that Rucka’s characterization is spot-on, and that he really, really gets how to write a self-empowered and strong female character without having to descend into objectification. Throughout the two issues, Forever is always prominent and a lot of the events in both issues surround her, whether or not she is in the scenes he questions.
Read the rest of Shadowhawk's review on Here
My Rating
Cover & Solicit - 3/5
Art, Colors & Inking - 3/5
Layout & Flow - 5/5
Story - 5/5
Verdict - 4.1 - (Buy Lazarus TPB Vol. 01) SAVE 10%
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