CAPTAIN PHASMA #1
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Penciler : Marco Checchetto
Colorist : Andres Mossa
Letterer : VC’s Clayton Cowles
Release Date : 9/06/17
Price : $3.99
Plot: As Starkiller base is coming to its end, Captain Phasma is on the hunt trying to discover how the base’s shields were compromised, which leads her on a long chase to find a traitor.
Story: As Marvel continues to develop the world of Star Wars comics, the company launches its newest title, Captain Phasma. Being written by Hawkeye’s Kelly Thompson, the book decides to explore one of the lesser used characters in The Force Awakens and sets up the character for a journey of her own.
The story opens with Captain Phasma during the final moments of Starkiller Base and what she was doing during it. The book immediately reads like a detective comic, presenting the character in a fresh and unique way that was unexpected. Phasma has been a big unknown because of how small her presence was in the most recent Star Wars movie, and Thompson immediately uses that to her advantage to mold the character into something fun and fresh. The first issue is very fast paced because of its quick and small time frame in which the story takes place, but also makes sure to logically spend a small amount of time setting the story up.
While this first issue accomplishes the storytelling through informational dialogue and inner monologue combined with the artwork, it sets the stage for what is to come and how the story of Captain Phasma will develop. It’s fun seeing the character presented as a detective and how smart she will prove to be as the story develops. Thompson does a nice job of introducing readers to the character because the last time she is seen, her fate is unknown, so the story leaves no gaps in time, and this leaves Captain Phasma in a great place to go and do whatever it wants, breathing fresh excitement into the character and her story.
Art: The artwork in Captain Phasma is very strong and kicks things off in an exciting and action-packed way. The full scenes are gorgeous looking, with amazing detail provided by Checchetto. The artist really puts a lot of time and care into the panels, providing such a fine amount of detail to really add onto the events taking place. The book’s setting returns to the familiar place of Starkiller Base’s final moments, but provides a greater sense of how hectic things really were during this time. Chechetto’s scenes are very well done, presenting Phasma in such powerful ways, staying on a warpath to complete her mission despite all of the chaos around her.
The comic has so much action within it, which creates a bunch of fun panels that create a great visual presence. The color work by Andres Mossa really makes Checchetto’s scenes bolder than they already are, adding in the larger sense of chaos. Phasma continues to travel through the exploding base, and Mossa does not shy away from making the scenes big and bold. The team seems to bring a grand presence to the book, showing that the character is also this adventurer hellbent on her duty despite the disruptive settings around her.
Verdict: Captain Phasma is a lot of fun for an introductory book and it feels like there are fun things ahead. The first issue is all set up, but it’s okay because the team working on the project have to logically connect what has already happened to Phasma and where she immediately goes next. Thompson is a phenomenal writer who already seems to know where she wants to take this character and her work on other projects shows that she should be able to breathe fresh life into Phasma, who is a wildcard at this point. The art team does phenomenal work in this first issue and really sets the stage for how unafraid they should be to grasp the space settings by the horns and show off the beauty of Star Wars.
Rating: 4/5