Star Wars: The Force Awakens #6 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS No. 6, January 2017

Having literally romped through Han Solo’s infiltration of the First Order’s headquarters in its previous instalment, those 33,455 followers still purchasing this motion picture adaption, must surely have been wondering just how Chuck Wendig was going to populate a twenty-two page periodical when so little of J.J. Abrahams’ ‘silver screen’ story remained to be told. Perhaps predictably the answer was simple, the Pennsylvania-born writer would just draw out Kylo Ren and Rey’s lightsaber battle for as long as Luke Ross’ artistic talent allowed, and pad out the rest of the publication with plenty of wordless X-Wing battle sequences as Black Leader ‘gives the target everything he’s got’…   

Unsurprisingly, such an unimaginative approach to the narrative for Issue Six of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” badly slows down what should have unquestionably been the most exciting element of this mini-series' cataclysmic conclusion, and so rather than racing headlong through the trenches of Starkiller Base in an S-foiled Starfighter, or following Finn’s pulse-pounding confrontation with the dead smuggler’s treacherous son, much of this comic’s pace is instead bogged down with numerous poor-pencilled panels depicting the likes of Chewbacca repeatedly firing his bowcaster at Snoke’s protégé or holding, and then triggering, the detonation activator to a plethora of explosive devices dotted about the First Order’s facility; “It isn’t working! What do we do?”

To make matters worse though, despite this edition’s evident desperate need for additional material, the “Star Wars” novelist still fails to provide any extra insight into the events taking place, and arguably (once again) squanders the perfect opportunity to include at least one of the cinematic release's ‘deleted scenes’, such as Finn and the Jakku scavenger’s desperate flight from Solo’s death scene on board a stormtrooper skimmer. Indeed, there’s even the odd feeling that every now and then Wendig still feels he’s somehow running out of room, and subsequently his script seemingly omits important facts like Poe Dameron spotting an opportunity to fly straight inside the enemy oscillator in order to destroy it, General Hux realising “the fuel cells have ruptured” before facing his Supreme Leader, and Rey tapping into the Light Side of the Force in order to steel herself during her duel with Ren.

Writer: Chuck Wendig, Artist: Luke Ross, and Colorist: Frank Martin

Star Wars: The Force Awakens #5 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS No. 5, December 2016

Covering an incredible amount of story from Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt’s screenplay, this tumultuously superficial film adaption must have mortified many of the comic’s 39,329 readers in October 2016, with its brief account of Finn’s reunion with Poe at “the Resistance Base on D’Qar” and all-too sudden demise of Han Solo at the hands of his troubled son, Benjamin. True, Chuck Wendig’s narrative for Issue Five of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” does manage to exude plenty of pace and action, as Rey makes her escape “from the evil clutches of the First Order” and Black Leader is subsequently given “full authorisation to attack” Starkiller Base. But all these 'key' sequences are over so quickly that anyone within the book’s audience who were unable to previously watch the motion picture would surely have been scratching their heads as to just what was taking place…

Indeed, arguably crucial components of the franchise’s celluloid plot are seemingly just glossed over in order for the Goodreads Choice Award-winner to ensure that his script concludes with Kylon Ren’s treacherous killing of the Millennium Falcon’s captain and resultantly, the twenty-page periodical never explains just how Dameron helped his former stormtrooper friend end up briefing General Organa on Armitage Hux’s “hyper-lightspeed weapon built within the planet itself’, nor how precisely the Jakku scavenger convinces her guard to “remove these restraints. And leave the cell. With the door open… And you will drop your weapon!”

Just as clumsily handled is actor John Boyega’s sporadically humorous portrayal of FN-2187. Somewhat amusing on the silver screen, the character’s over earnest desire to demonstrate that “I’m in charge now, Plasma” is utterly lost in translation on the printed page due to Wendig disappointingly not penning for the elderly Solo to paternally advise the ‘kid’ to “bring it down.” Likewise, the duos’ “surprisingly honed comic timing” during Finn’s 'intense' attempt to later locate Rey deep inside the First Order’s base is similarly poorly realised, and disappointingly doesn’t convey any of the impressive interplay found within the 'aborted rescue scene' whilst watching “the direct sequel to 1983's Return of the Jedi.”

Perhaps providing the final nail in this comic’s coffin though, is the flat, oft-times wooden and inconsistent artwork of Luke Ross. Clearly able to occasionally delight, such as expanding upon Captain Plasma’s unceremonious journey down a garbage chute by actually pencilling the Commander's fall into the trash compactor, the Brazilian artist frustratingly struggles to imbue any semblance of life into the likes of the story’s silver-haired smuggler or his long-time love interest, Leia…

Writer: Chuck Wendig, Artist: Luke Ross, and Colorist: Frank Martin

Star Wars: The Force Awakens #4 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS No. 4, November 2016

Despite portraying some of the more memorable scenes found within the 2015 American “epic space opera film directed, co-produced, and co-written by J. J. Abrams”, Chuck Wendig’s script for Issue Four of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” must have come as a crushing disappointment to the adaption’s 38,079 readers. Indeed, it is probably extremely unlikely that anyone within the comic’s audience who had not already ‘enjoyed’ multiple viewings of the silver screen version, would even understand what the American author's storyline was actually about, as Kylo Ren’s “destruction of a new generation of Jedi, trained by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker” is trampled into the tiniest of top corner, stamp-sized panels imaginable, and General Hux’s “last day of the Republic” doomsday weapon initially appears to destroy a nearby forest rather than Hosnian Prime, the “current capital of the New Republic (and home to the Senate).”

Sadly, such befuddling summarisations of the $2.068 billion grossing-film are seemingly ‘par for the course’ for this twenty-page periodical’s narrative, with the First Order’s sudden appearance on the planet Takodana and subsequent attack upon Maz Kanata’s cantina, proving all the more surprising without any explanation as to just why the “military faction ruled by Supreme Leader Snoke” believes destroying the establishment will help them capture the droid BB-8. The assault certainly looks a little ‘out of sorts’ with the preceding explosive death of Chancellor Lanever Villecham, as both scenes involve Han Solo’s son, and therefore somewhat suggest Darth Vader’s petulant protégé has ‘transported’ himself from the Resurgent-class Battlecruiser, the Finalizer, onto the Mid Rim planet within the space of a few heartbeats…

Similarly, there is absolutely no build-up whatsoever to “traitor” Finn’s light-sabre battle with a fellow stormtrooper, nor his contrived capture along with the crew of the Millennium Falcon; “Don’t move! TK-338, we have targets in custody.” In fact, whether it be Po Dameron’s welcome arrival at the head of the Resistance’s most able x-wing squadron, Rey’s chilling abduction to Starkiller Base, or General Leia Organa’s emotional encounter with the elderly Corellian smuggler at the publication’s conclusion, Wendig frustratingly provides little rationalisation as to why any of the events are transpiring as they are.

Ultimately however, this comic’s biggest disappointment is the poor pencilling of Luke Ross. Better “known for his work on books such as Gen13, Spider-Man, Green Lantern, Indiana Jones and Captain America”, the Sao Paulo-born artist disconcertingly seems to consistently struggle with this book's subject matter, whether it be the maniacal look upon Hux’s face as he enthusiastically yells “Fiiiiire!”, Han Solo's almost comical facial expressions during an otherwise scintillating shoot-out, or the woefully blob-headed First Order stormtroopers depicted throughout the book’s more action-orientated passages.

Writer: Chuck Wendig, Artist: Luke Ross, and Colorist: Frank Martin

Star Wars: The Force Awakens #3 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS No. 3, October 2016

Continuing “the search for Luke Skywalker”, Issue Three of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” certainly starts off well enough with a sense-shattering chase through the maze-like corridors of The Eravana that sees Rey and Finn matching wits with a fearsome Rathtar, and Chewbacca exchanging laser bolts with the Guavian Death Gang. But whilst this scintillating set-piece soon leads to the Millennium Falcon going into light speed whilst still “inside the hangar”, and the First Order being informed “that Han Solo has the droid”, what then follows must surely have disappointed this comic book adaption’s 41,575 readers.

Admittedly, Chuck Wendig's script diligently conveys the exploits as seen in J.J. Abrams’ motion picture, yet rather than simply pad out proceedings with splash pages featuring Maz Kanata welcoming the heroes to her castle, it might have been more interesting for the Pennsylvania-born writer to pen some of the cinematic release's ‘deleted scenes’, such as Unkar Plutt having his arm ripped off by an angry wookie for threatening Rey, or simply better flesh out the action aboard the Corellian’s Baleen-class heavy freighter by giving Tasu Leech and the “notorious criminal organization” Kanjiklub a bit more ‘screen time’. 

Instead, all the American blogger delivers is a lack-lustre, and arguably choppy, narrative which leaps from Supreme Leader Snoke, to the Millennium Falcon, to Takodana, to The Finalizer, and then back to Kanata’s castle for a two-page treatment of Rey walking down some dimly-lit stairs and finding Luke’s long-lost lightsaber in a chest… A terrifically tense scene in the movie when supported by atmospheric sound effects, clanks and noises, but hardly the sort of minimalist action one can similarly enjoy when purely printed on paper.

Somewhat more successful than Wendig’s inauspiciously faithful summary of the film’s events, are Marc Laming’s breakdowns. Decidedly more detailed than this mini-series’ regular illustrator, the British designer’s drawings of Chewbacca and a silver-haired Han Solo are wonderfully realised, with the elderly smuggler’s craggy facial expressions proving to be a particularly well-rendered representation of actor Harrison Ford’s features. In fact, apart from the stand-in artist’s ‘amateurish’ panels involving Snoke and Hux within Starkiller Base, it genuinely seems a pity that the former “Fleetway Publications” penciller isn’t a permanent replacement for Luke Ross.

Writer: Chuck Wendig, Artist: Marc Laming, and Colorist: Frank Martin

Star Wars: The Force Awakens #2 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS No. 2, September 2016

Having quite literally flown through the opening of the motion picture during its premiere edition, Chuck Wendig’s script for Issue Two of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” depicts the events “in a galaxy far, far away” at a much more considered pace, and, despite the adaption adding little to J.J. Abrams “epic space opera”, additionally provides its 49,423 strong readership with an opportunity to just watch Rey and Finn’s initially prickly relationship strengthen into a far closer, more mutually respectful friendship; “Your last shot was dead on! You got him with one blast! It was perfect!” In fact, even when the ‘legitimate’ owner of the "garbage freighter” the pair have commandeered from Jakku makes a dramatic appearance towards the end of the comic, the Pennsylvania-born writer’s narrative still predominantly focuses upon the exploits of the young scavenger and former stormtrooper.

Perhaps this book’s most noticeable change in story-telling tempo from its preceding instalment comes at the twenty-page periodical’s very beginning, with its pulse-pounding depiction of the Millennium Falcon skirting sand dunes and dodging laser blasts from two First Order TIE-fighters. The vast majority of this scene genuinely relies upon the breakdowns of Luke Ross rather than the pen of the John W. Campbell Award Finalist due to neither of the protagonists having a great deal to say as they fight for their lives aboard the “stolen Corellian TY-Model freighter”. But rather than therefore simply summarise the pair’s flight from the desert world within the space of a handful of frames, the Brazilian artist is given almost half the magazine to pencil Rey’s phenomenal ‘force sensitive’ piloting skills and her companion’s 'sharpshooter' ability with a cannon “stuck in forward position!”

Indeed, the “exclusive Marvel Comics artist” actually utilises this different story-telling medium to his advantage and includes ‘footage’ which wasn’t even filmed as part of the actual movie, such as a wonderful ‘flashback’ panel depicting Han Solo riding a tauntaun, blowing up the Endor shield generator bunker and kissing Princess Leia like a scoundrel. These character-led moments really help separate Wendig’s tale from just a plain, tired cinematic tie-in, and additionally provide the comic’s audience with an opportunity to better see elements of the adventure such as the smuggler’s Baleen-class heavy freighter and the Guavian Death Gang’s spacecraft as it docks alongside The Eravana.

The variant cover art of "STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS" No. 2 by Chris Samnee

Star Wars: The Force Awakens #1 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS No. 1, August 2016

Surprisingly published some six months after the $780 million profit-earning theatrical release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, this opening issue of the “Marvel Worldwide” movie adaption mini-series really does suggest Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso was in a desperate hurry to get the comic out and into the hands of its 79,626 strong audience. For whilst the thick thirty-page long periodical starts with Kylo Ren’s cold-blooded destruction of the Tuanul Village on the planet of Jakku, it portrays this event some way into the film’s actual beginning and almost irreverently ‘skips’ over both “old ally” Lor San Tekka’s role in giving Poe Dameron “a map to the last Jedi, Luke Skywalker”, and the resistance pilot’s subsequent battle with a small number of stormtroopers.

This ‘summarisation’ of events might be forgivable if it were simply utilised in order to draw the reader straight into the sinister First Order’s conflict. But unfortunately, Chuck Wendig’s narrative actually uses the action-abbreviating technique throughout the entirety of the book, and resultantly omits several arguably key events in the creation of both Rey and Finn’s character development...

The most obvious of these absences is the screenwriter's disconcerting omission of FN-2003’s bloody death during the Tuanul villager’s massacre. An emotionally defining moment during the motion picture, the entire ‘episode’ isn’t even referred to by way of a flashback and instead, almost casually just ‘crops up’ in a text box which explains why FN-2187 has some sort of dirty hand-print caked over one side of his helmet. There’s certainly no explanation given as to the fact that his friend’s death has shaken the assault trooper’s faith in the First Order’s mission, or that this is the reason behind why he later goes on to thwart their plans to destroy General Leia Organa’s “brave” Resistance.

Equally as unsatisfactorily ‘rushed’ as the writing, would appear to be the inconsistent artwork of Luke Ross. Undoubtedly able to pencil Tie-fighters, Star Destroyers and the Millennium Falcon, the former “Jonah Hex” illustrator only sporadically manages to capture a passing likeness of actors Oscar Isaac or John Boyega, and definitely struggles to acquire any of Daisy Ridley’s melancholic wistfulness at Rey being orphaned outside Niima Outpost to a dangerously harsh life of scavenging.

The variant cover art of "STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS" No. 1 by Phil Noto