Star Wars #6
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: John Cassaday
Jason Aaron has impressed with his Star Wars run at almost every turn. His character voices are strong, his tone fits the Star Wars Universe perfectly and he’s been taking advantage of the time period he was given really well. Aaron has been exploring stories that develop in the movies and filling in the blanks rather well. It isn’t until issue #6 that Aaron has truly set his foot down with this series, establishing that he is a big voice in Disney’s new Star Wars empire. Unfortunately, outside of that, issue #6 is more of the same.
I’m sure the majority of you have heard of it, but there’s a BIG shift in the Star Wars canon in this book. The reception has been quite mixed and it’s hard to explain why without spoiling it. However, I can say that I’m neither on board with this twist nor am I upset. The idea is certainly cool but it feels like it may be intruding on very important elements of the Star Wars storyline. It makes complete sense and comes quite naturally out of the characters but doesn’t feel necessary, so far. Aaron has yet to explore the minutiae of his twist and that is why I’m still open towards it. How Aaron deals with it in the coming issues will have a great impact on whether I warm up to the idea or not.
This issue has less plot-lines spread throughout because everything converges into two separate stories in this issue. On one hand, we have Han and Leia fleeing from a group of tie-fighters on a beautiful planet and the other, Luke is fighting his way out of Boba Fett’s grasp.
Aaron writes the Han Leia dynamic as strong as ever but his scenes between them are starting to get a slightly tedious. They constantly bicker but it’s also obvious that they’re in denial about their feelings towards one another. Unfortunately, I think Aaron could be stuck in this territory for a while because Han and Leia’s big developments come in Empire. Hopefully he’ll find a way to make their relationship less static and the end of this issue suggests that he has found his device to do that.
On the other side of the galaxy, Luke has been ambushed by Boba Fett and a good battle ensues. Throughout his run, Aaron has made it abundantly clear that Luke is not in his prime but is still learning how to be a Jedi. He set up a strong place for Luke to be in his hero journey to have thrilling fight sequences but the problem is we know that he’s going to be victorious. We know that Vader won’t meet Luke and so Boba Fett cannot win the fight. This hurt the stakes of this scene that would’ve otherwise been awesome due to John Cassaday incredible talent for cinematic action.
What grows from this story, however is Aaron best Vader moment yet. I’ve complained about Aaron’s portrayal of the character, calling it lackluster and mediocre when put next to Kieron Gillen’s solo-book. This was mostly due to his clunky dialogue and unnecessary prominence in issue #4. Vader appears for a short scene to close this issue off and it is perfect. It’s an important event in Vader’s life and Aaron doesn’t use any dialogue to communicate his emotions. But it works. This is how much Vader should be in this book and this is the type of the scene he should be in.
John Cassaday presents his swan song to the title with issue #6 and he will be sorely missed. You could tell that this issue was a tad rushed with some of his wonky facial expressions but that’s never where Cassaday was at his best. Cassaday has always thrives during his action sequences. His paneling for the battle in this issue boosted the scene from decent to strong. His unique cinematic flair made it feel like I was watching a Star Wars fight, making it all the better. But Cassaday also shines this issue as he draws the silhouettes of characters in a beautiful landscapes. I will miss Cassaday on this title and I hope that his replacement will live up to the impressive visual quality established in this first arc.
Star Wars #6 was a bit of a mixed bag at times but ended with the goods outweighing the bads. Aaron brings forth a huge twist in Star Wars canon that will undoubtedly be controversial and fortunately, I feel indifferent towards it so far. Aaron is taking advantage of the time period he was given by offering big moments in the life of Darth Vader (and another) but also falters due to this. The prequel element of this comic removes a lot of the tension from half of this issue and ultimately drops it down from the series’ regular quality.
Artist: John Cassaday
Jason Aaron has impressed with his Star Wars run at almost every turn. His character voices are strong, his tone fits the Star Wars Universe perfectly and he’s been taking advantage of the time period he was given really well. Aaron has been exploring stories that develop in the movies and filling in the blanks rather well. It isn’t until issue #6 that Aaron has truly set his foot down with this series, establishing that he is a big voice in Disney’s new Star Wars empire. Unfortunately, outside of that, issue #6 is more of the same.
I’m sure the majority of you have heard of it, but there’s a BIG shift in the Star Wars canon in this book. The reception has been quite mixed and it’s hard to explain why without spoiling it. However, I can say that I’m neither on board with this twist nor am I upset. The idea is certainly cool but it feels like it may be intruding on very important elements of the Star Wars storyline. It makes complete sense and comes quite naturally out of the characters but doesn’t feel necessary, so far. Aaron has yet to explore the minutiae of his twist and that is why I’m still open towards it. How Aaron deals with it in the coming issues will have a great impact on whether I warm up to the idea or not.
This issue has less plot-lines spread throughout because everything converges into two separate stories in this issue. On one hand, we have Han and Leia fleeing from a group of tie-fighters on a beautiful planet and the other, Luke is fighting his way out of Boba Fett’s grasp.
Aaron writes the Han Leia dynamic as strong as ever but his scenes between them are starting to get a slightly tedious. They constantly bicker but it’s also obvious that they’re in denial about their feelings towards one another. Unfortunately, I think Aaron could be stuck in this territory for a while because Han and Leia’s big developments come in Empire. Hopefully he’ll find a way to make their relationship less static and the end of this issue suggests that he has found his device to do that.
On the other side of the galaxy, Luke has been ambushed by Boba Fett and a good battle ensues. Throughout his run, Aaron has made it abundantly clear that Luke is not in his prime but is still learning how to be a Jedi. He set up a strong place for Luke to be in his hero journey to have thrilling fight sequences but the problem is we know that he’s going to be victorious. We know that Vader won’t meet Luke and so Boba Fett cannot win the fight. This hurt the stakes of this scene that would’ve otherwise been awesome due to John Cassaday incredible talent for cinematic action.
What grows from this story, however is Aaron best Vader moment yet. I’ve complained about Aaron’s portrayal of the character, calling it lackluster and mediocre when put next to Kieron Gillen’s solo-book. This was mostly due to his clunky dialogue and unnecessary prominence in issue #4. Vader appears for a short scene to close this issue off and it is perfect. It’s an important event in Vader’s life and Aaron doesn’t use any dialogue to communicate his emotions. But it works. This is how much Vader should be in this book and this is the type of the scene he should be in.
John Cassaday presents his swan song to the title with issue #6 and he will be sorely missed. You could tell that this issue was a tad rushed with some of his wonky facial expressions but that’s never where Cassaday was at his best. Cassaday has always thrives during his action sequences. His paneling for the battle in this issue boosted the scene from decent to strong. His unique cinematic flair made it feel like I was watching a Star Wars fight, making it all the better. But Cassaday also shines this issue as he draws the silhouettes of characters in a beautiful landscapes. I will miss Cassaday on this title and I hope that his replacement will live up to the impressive visual quality established in this first arc.
Star Wars #6 was a bit of a mixed bag at times but ended with the goods outweighing the bads. Aaron brings forth a huge twist in Star Wars canon that will undoubtedly be controversial and fortunately, I feel indifferent towards it so far. Aaron is taking advantage of the time period he was given by offering big moments in the life of Darth Vader (and another) but also falters due to this. The prequel element of this comic removes a lot of the tension from half of this issue and ultimately drops it down from the series’ regular quality.
A Look Inside
