 |
| STAR WARS No. 4, June 2015 |
Whilst there is undoubtedly an awful lot going on within
the twenty pages of the best-selling comic of April 2015, the vast majority of
it regrettably concerns simple plot and character development as opposed to any
pulse-pounding ‘laser-pinging’ action. In fact besides a clumsy attempt by
Jason Aaron to imitate the infamous ‘Han shoots first’ cantina scene from the
film “A New Hope”, the only real tension to be gleaned from Issue Four of “Star
Wars” is the edgy threat-laden verbal sparring between Darth Vader and Jabba
the Hutt.
This confrontation between two of the saga’s most
villainous giants is tremendously well-written, and whether they be negotiating
over supply shipments from the Outer Rim in the gangster’s palace or taunting
one another whilst chasing down wild banthas on board the criminal’s pleasure
barge, their every word seemingly drips with poisonous menace.
In addition, despite this rather surprising lack of
action for such a ‘swashbuckling’ science fiction title, this magazine still
proves to be something of an enjoyable read as the Alabama-born author slowly
starts pushing his playing pieces around George Lucas’ galaxy, far far away… and
simultaneously tries to align his narrative with those of the other “Star Wars”
books concurrently being published by “Marvel Worldwide”.
Disappointingly though this fourth instalment of
“Skywalker Strikes” arguably doesn’t provide much justice for the script’s main
protagonists, with a bandaged Han Solo and his co-pilot Chewbacca effectively
side-lined for the entire periodical on account of repairing the Millennium
Falcon. Luke, despite some significant ‘screen time’ ineffectively battling
training remotes, doesn’t fare much better either. As Aaron suddenly turns the
aspiring Jedi into a youth full of concern, fear and anxiety; something which
is dishearteningly far removed from the carefree adventure-seeking farm boy
seen on the ‘big screen’.
Interestingly there is a discernible stylistic change in some
of John Cassaday’s illustrations when compared to the artist's previous pencilling
on the series. Such a prominent variation in the Eisner Award-winner’s work is
especially noticeable in his depiction of Leia Organa, which appears to
demonstrate a complete departure from his former philosophy of trying to portray the
princess as a ‘perfect’ likeness of the actress Carrie Fisher.
 |
| The regular cover art of "STAR WARS" No. 4 by John Cassaday and Laura Martin |
No comments:
Post a Comment