STAR WARS: SKYWALKER STRIKES #1 | Review

From a Galaxy Far Far Away, Star Wars, the legendary and greatest space adventure of all time graces us yet again, this time in the form of a comic book. From writer Jason Aaron and Artist John Cassaday comes Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes. A trilling production from Marvel comics who take over this franchise from Dark Horse (Who in my opinion were getting lame as hell), the issue promises to stay loyal to the original movie trilogy and at the same time present a new and expansive story to the already massively popular Star Wars.

The moment I laid my eyes on the cover, the theme song was ringing in my head, and as it should be! Based between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, the story picks up after the destruction of the Galactic Empire’s Death Star at the hands of the Rebel Alliance. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia are undertaking another “covert” operation to further cripple The Empire (Covert in quotes because every plan in Star wars goes up in flames). With the team disguised as smugglers from the Outer Rim, they infiltrate an Empire moon base.

Wow! This thing is amazing! First off, the art caught my eye right off the bat. The characters look exactly like their movie versions to the point it’s creepy! The force was strong in the artist, and the story no less. The dialogue is so “Star Warsy”, with the usual charm of humor the way it was in the original trilogy. Over all the feeling! It nails the feeling of the original movies so hard I felt like that 5 year old watching Star Wars for the very first time all over again. To top things off, this issue had a surprise installed that I wasn’t expecting.

There isn’t much to say about this comic book other than it’s a work of brilliance. Tackling an already popular franchise and presenting it in a new form is challenging, but the comic looks so effortless and natural. The comic starts at such a high note, I’m convinced it was made by true fans for the fans. Devoted Star Wars followers will go nuts for this with no doubt in my mind as I did, on the other hand, new comers who have no previous knowledge of the Star Wars universe may struggle a bit with the story, as it jumps right in to matters, but also I’m confident they will love this comic.

My Decree:

This expansion of the original movies doesn’t feel squeezed in or rushed, as the story fits in perfectly to the point it feels canon. The only thing wrong with this comic is that it’s not long enough. Though a major event occurs so early in the series, that didn’t bother me as it added to the excitment. I’ll be following the future issues very carefully because this is going to be another memorable ride, I can sense it. Marvel/Disney has massively increased my confidence in how they will handle the upcoming “The Force Awakens” movie with how they handled this comic book. Issue #2 review? Bet on it!

 [10] – A DEITY!!!

Comic Books courtesy of Between the Lines, comic book store at Village Market, Nairobi. CLICK HERE for more 😉