Star Wars #4 Written by Brian Wood
Art by Carlos D’anda
Colors by Gabe Eltaeb
Cover Artwork by Alex Ross Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: April 10, 2013
Cover Price: $2.99
Brian Wood‘s new Star Wars comic book series is refreshing. It feels to me, as a longtime fan, that the saga is going through a rebirth, what with the new Sequels coming, Lucasarts switching to licensing only, and this ongoing series continually smashing expectations. With Issue #4 of the new Dark Horse series, straightforwardly titled Star Wars, we continue following the heroes and villains from A New Hope in the weeks following the Battle of Yavin.
Princess Leia, leading the stealth X-Wing unit of Grey Squadron, is focused on the mission of finding a new base for the Rebels, while also aiming to uncover the alleged Imperial Spy in their midst. But while on their first mission, Leia’s detachment is caught in a targeted firefight with Imperials, indicating the Imperial espionage could be deeper and closer than she previously anticipated.
Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker, grounded from the elite stealth squadron due to his cockiness at letting the "man who destroyed the Death Star" hero-worship go to his head, receives a message in the Force from his spiritual mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, warning him of the danger Leia is encountering; but is surprised to discover he is not the only one who hears Kenobi’s voice from the grave”¦
Star Wars #3 Script by Brian Wood
Art by Carlos D’anda
Colors by Gabe Eltaeb
Cover Art by Alex Ross Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: March 13, 2013
Cover Price: $2.99
To be perfectly honest with you, I wasn’t sure whether Brian Wood would be able to top #2 of Star Wars, but he has absolutely blown above and beyond all expectations in this third installment. Coupled with the fantastic art team of Carlos D’anda and Gabe Eltaeb, Dark Horse is delivering the goods on this new Star Wars series, adopting a deeper glance at key characters from the saga, while upping the ante for expectations.
Now with the secretive "black ops" X-Wing group christened Grey Squadron, Princess Leia leads her team in training operations in preparation for the ongoing search for a new Rebel Base location, and to uproot the suspected Imperial spy. Luke Skywalker, also in Grey Squadron, falls short of expectations in the team, as his heroic reputation begins to corrode his sensibilities and cause him to be reprimanded.
Meanwhile, Han Solo and Chewbacca have snuck onto Coruscant, the heart of the Empire, on a secret mission based on intelligence provided by Mon Mothma. They are placed into an almost impossible quandary, cornered by Imperial Stormtroopers after their intelligence is found to be compromised.
Yesterday we reported that Disney and Lucasfilm were ramping up their long-term grand plans for Star Wars with the announcement that they would be developing a series of movies set apart from Episode VII and on that would focus on individual characters from the Star Wars universe, including a possible Yoda movie.
Entertainment Weekly today broke an exclusive addendum to that revelation with the news that both Han Solo, the roguish but lovable space smuggler that helped make Harrison Ford a star in the original Star Wars movies, and Boba Fett, the masked intergalactic bounty hunter who had little screen time in the original trilogy but has since become a huge fan favorite character, might also be headlining their own standalone movies.
Here’s a good one for a laugh. There’s been a whole bunch of awesome Star Wars humor videos on the web, most of them using excerpts from the films and re-edited by fans. This one is of “NO” exception, as it features every single time the word “no” is mentioned in all six movies. It’s worth a look, so check it out at the bottom of the post.
Although the obvious classic (and/or groan-worthy) NO’s are featured in the video, you’ll be surprised how much the word is actually used in the movies. It may probably fuel the George Lucas Haters’ vocal detestation of his writing, but haters gonna hate!
The Star Wars NO video was edited by Chris Haynes, and uploaded to YouTube by HughesnBeuks.
Anyway, take a look, and leave your thoughts in a comment below.
May the Force be with you all! Geeks of Doom will be posting a couple of Star Wars articles today, May 25, for Universal Day of the Jedi, which celebrates the anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars movie.
Throughout the history of the Star Wars film saga, we’re taught that there are only two perceptions, or sides, of the Force: the side embraced by the Jedi, and the Dark Side as flaunted by Sith Lords. While the “good vs. evil” motif works well in the films, the Expanded Star Wars Universe explores the Force in depth, where fans have learned there is more than meets the eye than just the light side and the dark side.
Indeed, while George Lucas was painting in very broad strokes of black and white when it came to the Force, which added much to its vague and enigmatic nature in the Original Trilogy, subsequent authors and writers have since looked deeper into the shades of gray. As the Jedi continue forward to embrace the light side, and the Dark Jedi and Sith Lords continue their growth in the dark side, we find more characters and cultures that have very differing philosophies of the Force.
Let’s take a look at these different points of view…
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press