Star Wars Adventures, Vol. 9: Fight the Empire!

After a collection that saw a trio of stories set during the Clone Wars, Star Wars Adventures devotes a volume to a triumvirate of stories that occur during the original trilogy in the midst of the Age of the Rebellion.

First we see Luke and Han negotiating an arms deal on behalf of Princess Leia. Han's past history as a swoop racer has long been discussed. In this story, we see Han return to those roots when he gets the bright idea to participate in a swoop race in order to earn some extra credits. 

The middle story has Leia on a mission with C-3PO and R2-D2 involving an orphaned child and some storm troopers.

In story #3, immediately after the destruction of the second Death Star, Lando is participating in a star ship race in order to gain information about a pirating ring that has been disrupting Rebel supply runs. With the surprise appearance of a memorable character from Episode I, this was the best main story of the collection.

All 3 of the Wild Space back-ups were excellent. The Bib Fortuna story was a little out of character for Bib and Jabba and yet, it's a hilarious story that had hints of plausibility. The spy tale starring Mos Eisley Cantina regular Kabe was rather clever. I never realized just how tiny she was. But the best story of them 3 involved a rather special tauntaun and her trainer. 

A tauntaun with a very large tail is abandoned by her herd. A series of misadventures results in the creature becoming part of the Rebellion and later a beloved hero of the battle of Hoth. This story was so good, I read it 3 times. I really hope that somewhere out there on a lovely snow planet, the tauntaun and her person are roaming the frosty countryside in peace and prosperity.

Lots of fun this volume was with a lot of great talent. Derek Charm and Cavan Scott (Tales From Vader's Castle). Tony Fleecs (Stray Dogs). Michael Avon Oeming (World of Krypton). I wish all of the volumes of SWA were this awesome!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Star Wars: Lando

Charles Soule (Death of Wolverine) takes Star Wars fans on an adventure set during Lando Calrissian's time as a scoundrel prior to becoming the baron administrator to Cloud City. 

Lobot is a main character in this story. Learning Lobot's origins; especially how the character lost his ability to talk was one of the main selling points for me enjoying this story. 

As with any Lando story, there are double crosses, swindles and heists. But above all, there is tragedy and the ending of this Marvel miniseries is gonna stick with me for a very long time.

The artwork by Alex Maleev (Age of Ultron) was good. But if you are going to a photo-realistic Billy Dee Williams Lando, you will not find that here. Yes, Lando is recognizable. But it does not look like the breakout star of Brian's Song. 

A great read that answers many questions about Lando and especially Lobot's early days. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Star Wars Adventures, Vol. 4: Smuggler's Blues

This volume is all about the Rogues. No, not the squadron of X-Wing pilots. I'm talking about the scoundrels. The smugglers. The scruffy-looking nerf herders!

Han and Chewie run afoul of bounty hunters Zuckuss and 4-LOM. In a story filled with double-crosses and red herrings, the crew of the Millennium Falcon and the Mist Hunter are stranded on a planet in which nothing mechanic works. That includes the ships, blasters and 4-LOM!

Then explore some of Lando Calrissian's early days as a honest man on Cloud City when he tries to teach the son of an old friend that being a rogue isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Lastly, that green bunny-eared smuggler Jaxxon makes his Disney canon debut in as short story involving the transportation of some endangered eggs. If this sounds an awful lot like an early Mandalorian Season 2 storyline, you're completely right. Only this story came first and no- none of the eggs get eaten by a Baby Yoda.

The Han Solo tale was very good. But I hated that the Han Solo used in the art was that of Alden Ehrenreich smuggler and not that of a young Harrison Ford. Yeah, I know that the issues in this volume were set up as a promotion tie-in with the Solo origin movie. But I'm a Star Wars purist and well, that origin flick wasn't all that great. 

Glad to see both Lando and Jaxxon making appearances in this. Loved seeing new and unexplored regions of Bespin. And yeah, I know people hate Jaxxon. But I am not one of them! Long may Jaxxon reign. He's no Jar Jar Binks... Thank God!

Another exciting read. Not perfect but definitely a great read!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Wars Adventures Annual 2019: Ac Family Comic Friday Extra!

Some weeks there's just so much great stuff coming out that you can't put in into just one review. That's why we have Family Comic Friday Extra! This week, meet a forgotten character from a galaxy far, far away in our look at Star Wars Adventures Annual 2019!

Star Wars Adventures Annual 2019Written by Cavan Scott, Pierrick Colinet, Elsa Charretier
Art by Mauricet, Margaux Saltel
Published by IDW Publishing
Pages: 48
Retail: $7.99

2019 has seen the return of the original Star Wars universe! Earlier this year, Marvel released Star Wars #108, wrapping up several long-lost story lines from the first ever Star Wars comic book series. That issue brought about the return of a few characters that many fans never thought that they'd ever get to see again.

One thing I have to say about Disney- they listen to their customers. Star Wars #108 was such a big hit, the over-sized issue went into a second print. The cyborg bounty Hunter, Valance was so well received, he's back in the pages of the new Marvel miniseries Target: Vader.

Valance isn't the only character seeing a return to action. In this giant-sized annual, the ever-so-suave Lando Calrissian is joined by a character so controversial, he's considered the Jar-Jar Binks of the original Star Wars trilogy. I'm taking about Jaxxon!
Jaxxon is a smuggler rival of Han Solo's. He's rude, crude and incredibly self-centered. He's also a giant green bunny rabbit!

For years fans have debated on the character. The creation of Jaxxon was brought about because Lucasfilm forbid Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader from interacting with each other during the gaps between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. So Han Solo and Chewbacca went on a series of solo adventures, running into the likes of Jaxxon.

Like a broken bottle of vinegar, Jaxxon stunk. And he was very hard to get rid of...

Jaxxon would appear several times throughout the original comic book run along with appearances in the Star Wars newspaper strip and some Dark Horse books. But we all thought we'd seen the last of the space bunny when Disney declared that all events of the Star Wars extended universe were null and void.

As Disney and fans would have it, Jaxxon appears here to stay as he and Lando seek to free a race of people enslaved by the Empire. Together, these two swindlers must pull off the ultimate con which will require Jaxxon and Lando to rob the Emperor's archive of stolen relics.

The idea of telling the backstories of all these artifacts that the Empire has ransacked would make for an awesome anthology series set in the style of Star Wars Adventures. But for now, let's talk about this story…

It's set immediately after the battle of Endor. There's great cameos from beloved characters such as Han, Leia and Nien Nub. Landon is great and he's got way better chemistry with Jaxxon than Solo ever did.

The problem with Jaxxon is that he's a total jerk. You might hate Jar-Jar Binks. But you also kinda pity him. There's not very much redeeming about Jaxxon. But he's a great comedic foil in this story.

The artwork was very good. I was disappointed that regular Star Wars Adventures artist Derek Charm wasn't available for this annual. But I liked the cartoonish style of Mauricet (Dastardly & Muttley). It greatly reflects the humor that writer Cavan Scott masterfully peppers throughout this adventure.

Jaxxon and Lando's tale isn't the only glimpse into the universe of Star Wars. The back-up story stars a very young Princess Leia and her until-now unseen adoptive mother. In this beautiful epic by writers Pierrick Colinet and Elsa Charretier (The Infinite Loop) and artist Margaux Saltel (The Wicked + The Devine), Leia's mom regales the tyke with a hopeful bedtime story about the brave Padme Amidala!

The artwork was a little more Little Golden Books than IDW Publishing. But it was still a very adorable tale that links mother and daughter of the first two trilogies together. If you have a young reader who is a big fan of the Star Wars Forces of Destiny line of toys and webisodes, they are going to love this capper to the 2019 annual.

The Star Wars Adventures Annual 2019 brought back fond memories of Marvel's Star Wars comics. This is a thrill ride and a half that all fans of Star Wars will love! And so will parents and guardians of younger readers! It's Force friendly and Jedi approved!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars!