Star Wars Adventures, Vol. 5: Mechanical Mayhem

This collection of Star Wars Adventures issues is all about droids!

The classic duo of C-3PO and R2-D2 are the heroes of the main stories. The first tale is set during the Clone Wars where Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amadala are hoping to get a little bit of me time together during a diplomatic message. However, it turns out to be a Separatist plot with an array of droids holding the Jedi and Senator from Naboo hostage. 

Then in a story set during Age of Rebellion, Artoo has a suspicion that a droid aboard ship with him is an Imperial spy. With Threepio out of service and the rest of the Rebellion crew unable to speak droid language, Artoo must unmask the sabateur alone.

The Tales From Wild Space Stories involved IG-88, Max Rebo and Mace Windu. The artwork of the Max Rebo story was highly detailed. The Mace Windu story was the best with the Jedi helping a young boy survive Separatists. As for the IG-88 story, I cannot remember at all what happened. 

A good read. Full of all-age Star Wars fun by talent such as Elsa Charretier (The Department of Truth), Nick Brokenshire (Dead Seas) and Mauricet (Dastardly & Muttley). It just wasn't full of 100% memorable material.

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!

Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harleys

   Being good now is hard work. It also doesn't pay very well. So Harley Quinn starts up the Gang of Harleys. It's their job to take on those messy, low paying jobs when Harley is busy doing other stuff. But when Harley is abducted by a deranged fan, the Gang of Harleys will have to become a team fast or they might be known forever more as the Gang of Dead Harleys!
    
 Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harley's was a crazy romp into the world of the Joker's Ex-Girlfriend. Frank Tieri and Jimmy Palmiotti do a great job making this story as nutty as possible. But this storyline seems awfully familiar to one recently developed by the House of Ideas. So I must ask which came first: The Gang of Harleys or Deadpool's Mercs for Money? It's so weird how DC and Marvel publish similar story-lines so darn close to each other. And let's be honest here folks, you know that a Gang of Harleys/Mercs for Money team-up that is just begging to be written!
     
      The Gang of Harleys is one of the most diverse groups in comic book history. There's a black Harley on the team as there also are a Jewish one, a Hispanic, an Asian, and an Indian member. There's even a homosexual male named Harvey Quinn in the group. Plus assisting the team is a dwarf and a handi-capable person! So why didn't this 2016 miniseries get any praise for it's all-encompassing line-up? You couldn't scroll down Facebook without a Marvel series getting props for it's diverse line-up of books! Why doesn't the Gang of Harleys get some much deserved love for this?

     I'm also surprised that this book didn't achieve some notoriety for it's true villain- a Donald Trump-style businessman. This Donald 'clone' is the real reason for Harley Quinn kidnapping. Again, there were so many stories about comics that mocked Donald Trump over the past year and a half. Yet, when his persona comes into play in this story, I was completely surprised! (Yes- great job for the folks at DC for keeping the spoilers under wraps but I really hate the DC doesn't get it's fair share of reporting on pop culture media sites!)
       
The artwork by Mauricet is very good and I just love the Amanda Conner covers. But why didn't Conner do the art for the whole book? It was sorely missing here! No offense to Mauricet, it's just that when you see Conner's beautiful work gracing the cover, you expect to see a book full of Amanda Conner artwork!

    Worth Consuming!

     Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.