Written By: Jason Aaron
Art By: Jorge Molina
Colors By: Matt Milla
Letters By: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover By: Mike Deodato Jr & Frank Martin
Plot: The Rebellion makes a bold move and attacks the Star Destroyer Harbinger. While the battle could be going better, Luke and crew make a mad dash to destroy the ship. Seemingly being caught in the explosion of the Harbinger, the crew survives and plans on surprising the Empire with a captured Star Destroyer.
Story: Jason Aaron makes STAR WARS #22 a lot of fun. It captures the early magic this series had, focusing on the grand adventures of the main cast while giving us a few calmer moments to develop them. The small quips never feel out of character, and Aaron even gives us small hints to the budding romance between Han and Leia. Even better, the situation hooks me in for next month’s #23. Seeing the crew get a bit of cabin fever and explore their relationships in barely functioning Star Destroyer feels like a perfect set up for Leia, Han, and Luke. To quote Ron Howard on Arrested Development, “Now that’s a clear-cut situation with the promise of comedy. Tell your friends.”
One of the few marks against #22 is the dialogue in the dogfight, with many of the lines feel ripped from A New Hope. There are only so many things you can say in a dogfight, but varying them up between classic lines and other things would be nice. I counted around three or four X-Wings being destroyed in this issue. Seeing them die would have been nice to add some weight to the proceedings, although it’s hard to say if Aaron didn’t put that in the panel directions, or Jorge Molina didn’t pencil them. There were no references to how this connects to the band of Stormtroopers from STAR WARS #21. Both issues are of the same arc, so where is the connection? These gripes are small though, and don’t detract from one of the better Star Wars comics to come out in the past six months.
Art: Jorge Molina is the first one to break the “house style” for Star Wars books. His artwork feels a tad more comical than any other artist on the line so far, and I love this choice. Star Wars books can be realistic, but adding a bit of personality to the books is never a bad thing. Characters look like the actors without Molina being a slave to their likeness. The big dogfight feels chaotic, with a brilliant sense of motion to each ship. The only downside is the explosion on the Harbinger. It feels too big for the entire ship to not have been destroyed. I had to go back and reread the book to see if I had missed something. Matt Milla balances the banal colors of the Empire with the bright colors of the Rebellion well.
I normally don’t review covers, but the advertisement for #23’s cover is making me change that. Mike Deodato’s cover for #23 is abysmal. It looks like Han and Leia are androids and someone screwed the heads of Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford on to the heads of bodies.
Verdict: Jason Aaron has slowly been recapturing the magic that made this series special when it first launched. STAR WARS #22 is a fun book that stands out on its own compared to the rest of the Star Wars line. For the first time in a while, I’m really excited to see where Aaron takes us in the next issue.