Star Wars: Age Of Republic - Jango Fett #1 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: AGE OF REPUBLIC - JANGO FETT No. 1, March 2019

Having previously “written Poe Dameron, Thrawn, Rogue One, and more from Star Wars” it may well have been hard for some within this one-shot’s 41,371 strong audience to believe that Jody Houser’s “experience with Star Wars fans has been incredibly positive, actually”, if the Emerson College graduate’s narrative for “Training” is typical of her penmanship “in a galaxy far, far away.” Indeed, despite this twenty-page periodical supposedly being about “the best mercenary in the galaxy during the final years of the Republic”, its focus disconcertingly soon shifts away from the bounty hunter and instead lamentably places the spotlight upon Jango’s cloned offspring Boba instead; “This is my son… He’ll be helping us on this job. Part of his training.”

Fortunately however, the presence of a small child in the midst of an abduction mission on Ord Mantell doesn’t mean that the third-generation geek’s narrative is in any way absent of pulse-pounding action, as the book sets ‘its stall out straight from the start’ with a rather entertainingly brief flashback scene depicting its titular character at the height of his career jet-packing in to assassinate some wealthy target despite the man’s two formidable-looking bulky bodyguards. This cold-blooded ‘hit’, tremendously well-drawn by artist Luke Ross, firmly establishes the Mandalorian’s well-established reputation, and not only helps underline just why Fett’s new crew of underachieving ‘D-List’ killers are so nervous around him, but also perhaps explains why the likes of Tiver and Rinn underestimate young Boba later on when they fatally try to double-cross the lad’s ruthless father by placing a pair of curved blades to the youngster’s throat.

In fact if anything, Houser’s script significantly ramps up the violence once everyone’s attention is firmly fixed upon Darth Vader’s future hireling, as he efficiently dispatches the first of his would-be captors with a hidden firearm, and then almost enthusiastically uses his other opponent for live target practice before blowing the Gand’s brains out with a well-aimed shot. Having previously presented the team’s successful mission in a rather light-hearted, humorous manner, so sudden a shift towards a much darker tone may well have caught many a bibliophile by surprise, especially when it subsequently appears that Jango’s son is going to blast the unarmed Rodian, Neelda, simply for not trying to stop his comrades’ coup attempt…

The regular cover art of "STAR WARS: AGE OF REPUBLIC - JANGO FETT" No. 1 by Paolo Rivera

Star Wars: Age Of Republic - Obi-Wan Kenobi #1 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: AGE OF REPUBLIC - OBI-WAN KENOBI No. 1, March 2019

Disappointed Star Wars fans eager for an Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off movie featuring Ewan McGregor were probably still very relieved in January 2019 that “The Walt Disney Company” hadn’t yet committed to any ‘Silver Screen’ motion picture if Jody Houser’s narrative for this twenty-page periodical was indicative of the storyline the entertainment conglomerate might have been contemplating. For whilst the “author who wrote the 2017 comic adaption of the film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” certainly provides the book with a somewhat scintillating conclusion as Ben battles a formidable array of space pirates on the planet Dallenor with his lightsaber, the Jedi Knight’s confrontation with Hudso Shaku is frustratingly fleeting and follows something of a tedious tale about the titular character’s doubts as to whether he is suited to train an adolescent Anakin Skywalker in the ways of the Force; “Perhaps the Master is meant to be as much a student as the Padawan.”

Of course Ben’s misgivings as to his ability to make good upon his “promise to his dying master to train” Shmi’s son in the ways of the Force has arguably always been an underlying theme of George Lucas’ as to just why the prophesied Chosen One would eventually transform into the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Yet the Rod Parker Fellowship-winner’s story seems to take such great delight in portraying Qui-Gon Jinn’s former student as a distrustfully impotent teacher that Kenobi even has to be ‘told’ by Yoda to take his young apprentice with him on their first “quest” together, and debatably few of this publication’s 36,392 readers were subsequently surprised when the diminutive Skywalker, rather than the boy's bearded companion, ultimately bests the leader of the Krypder Riders by hurling a small scattering of stones at the back of his bird-shaped head. 

On the plus side to Issue One of “Star Wars: Age Of Republic – Obi-Wan Kenobi” however, artists Cory Smith and Wilton Santos do seemingly try to keep the future Clone Wars General constantly within the book’s spotlight, courtesy of some well-pencilled panels which quite delightfully capture the Scottish actor’s facial likeness. In fact, alongside Walden Wong’s inking and Java Tartaglia’s colouring, this “third one-shot in the comic book anthology series” is a rather visually enticing affair, even if the beak-faced inhabitants of Dallenor disconcertingly look far too cartoonish to be taken seriously as the antagonists of “Mission”.

Writer: Jody Houser, Pencilers: Cory Smith & Wilton Santos, and Inker: Walden Wong

Star Wars: Age Of Republic - Count Dooku #1 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: AGE OF REPUBLIC - COUNT DOOKU No. 1, April 2019

“The seventh one-shot in the canon comic book anthology series Star Wars: Age of Republic”, this twenty-page periodical’s storyline probably didn’t win over many new fans to George Lucas’ prequel universe with its sedentary pacing and politically-charged plot focusing upon Count Dooku simply “laying the groundwork for his Sith-Master” on the planet Sallust. Indeed, the former Jedi doesn’t even ignite his lightsaber in anger until this publication’s very end, when the disillusioned nobleman is forced to fight alongside Jak’zin against “the very [criminal] group my master asked me to seek out.”

Admittedly, this demonstration of Jedi swordplay undoubtedly provides “the Cost” with some much-needed action, and invariably reassured its audience that Yoda’s one-time Padawan was just as adept with the close-combat weapon as actor Christopher Lee’s portrayal demonstrated in the 2002 silver screen motion picture “Attack Of The Clones”. But such pulse-pounding panels are debatably disconcertingly few for a comic based upon one of the franchise’s most memorable antagonists, even if much of the suave, silver-haired villain’s menace comes from his stealthy manipulation of matters behind-the-scenes; “Gain his trust. Discover what his mission on Sallust is. And ensure that he doesn’t learn about the alliances you are there to build.”

Just as disappointing is this book’s missed opportunity to provide Darth Tyranus with some much-needed background as to just why Dooku left the order and “fell to the dark side of the Force”, or depict an intriguing insight into his days as a “respected Jedi Master” training Qui-Gon Jinn. Instead, all Jody Houser’s lack-lustre narrative delivers is a tantalising glimpse of the Count’s “duelling demonstrations with Master Yoda” at the Jedi Temple, and a ton of dialogue-driven debate involving the uninteresting Representative Kap Klyp, as well as the Sith’s successfully stealthy attempt to solicit the reason behind a Jedi Knight’s presence on the “obsidian world of lava streams and turquoise lakes.”

Mercifully, despite this comic’s less than scintillating first half it does contain the excellent artwork of Luke Ross, whose sketches of the tiger-headed Jaz’zin and titular character are a real treat to the eyes. In fact, such is the São Paulo-born illustrator’s ability to capture the likeness of Christopher Lee that it is arguably easy to belive that any perusing bibliophile reading this magazine quickly started to imagine the late English actor performing the penciller’s storyboards.

The regular cover art of "STAR WARS: AGE OF REPUBLIC - COUNT DOOKU" No. 1 by Paolo Rivera