By: Kyle Scully
Life Day
Written by, Michael Moreci
Art by, Megan Levens
Colors by, Charlie Kirchoff
Letters by, Jake M. Wood
The Hostage
Written by, Shane McCarthy
Art by, Megan Levens
Colors by, Charlie Kirchoff
Letters by, Jake M. Wood
There are many generally accepted truths about Star Wars. Darth Vader is a great character. Duel of the Fates might just be one of the best lightsaber fights in the whole saga. The Star Wars: Holiday Special is a shapeless, Wookiee-filled entry with no conflict, bad effects and even worse acting.
Star Wars Adventures #3 brings Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn to the Wookiee celebration of Life Day, a central component of The Holiday Special. Writer Michael Moreci tackles this dark entry in the Star Wars canon and makes into something much palatable. Qui-Gon is able to use the event as an important teaching moment for Obi-Wan just before the event is interrupted by Trandoshan raiders. Qui-Gon is taken along with several Wookiees leaving Obi-Wan to mount a rescue on his own.
This was a fun, energetic story with two iconic Star Wars characters. The dialogue really captured both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s voices. You know it’s a good book when you can hear Liam Neeson speaking in your head. The art is bright, dynamic and easy to follow. Life Day, as presented in this book, seems much more joyful and celebratory than it ever came across in the special.
The action is sharp and direct. The movements within each panel detail strong gestures and powerful motions. Lightsabers strike fast. Punches are thrown hard. There some especially nice splash pages that highlight some particularly engaging moments. The book ends on a solid cliffhanger but it doesn’t leave you wondering what will happen next. Hopefully the next issues offers a few surprises, otherwise its promising start could end up falling flat.
The back-up story features Darth Maul being held prisoner by a rival crime organization. The crime boss thinks he has the upper hand but of course he’s very misguided. It doesn’t take long for Maul to take control and remind the man how powerful he really is. The same artists as the first story provide some strong work unfortunately this tale isn’t nearly as engaging. Maul is a great character but the narrative is incredibly predictable. A captured Maul feels very unlikely which robs the story of any authenticity. You never once believe he would get taken against his will. The Savage Opress cameo is a nice treat and I’ll take as much Maul as I can get but he deserves better than this formulaic entry.
This book is a solid entry and I’ll certainly pick up the next volume but some overly standard tropes keep it from being a great issue.