Comics Commentary: Star Wars #8

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Luke proves he still can’t just order a drink.

This review contains spoilers for Star Wars #8.

Star Wars #8

Writer: Jason Aaron | Artist: Stuart Immonen | Inker: Wade Von Grawbadger | Colorist: Justin Ponsor | Letterer: Chris Eliopoulus | Cover Artists: Immonen, Von Grawbadger, Ponsor

This issue begins the next arc of the series and is labeled “Book II, Part I.” The issue opens with the Empire bombing the skies of an unnamed planet near the Monsua Nebula in an attempt to locate and destroy the Millennium Falcon and Sana Solo’s ship. On the planet below, Sana Solo confronts Han and Leia. Han denies the existence of any alleged marriage and Leia has no interest in getting involved in the unfolding domestic squabble until Sana brings up the bounty that the Empire has placed on her head. Sana commands her ship to destroy the Imperial Shuttle that Han and Leia had used to arrive on the planet, and demands that Han join her and sell Leia to the Imperials. Meanwhile, Luke is aboard his X-Wing lamenting that the journal he recovered from Obi-wan Kenobi’s hut only contained stories and no direction on how to train as a Jedi. However, he comes up with a plan to learn more and sets out for Nar Shadda, the Smuggler’s Moon, hoping to find covert transportation to Coruscant—the past home of the Jedi. He quickly finds himself in a bar fight and brandishes his lightsaber attracting the attention of everyone in the bar. As his negotiations for transport go sour, his lightsaber is stolen by a mysterious and unidentified alien, and he is forced to flee from the bar and pursue the thief. When the action returns to Han, Leia, and Sana, some quick thinking by Leia allows her to get the drop on Sana as the bounty hunter is trying to sell her to the Imperials. However, the issue ends with a squadron of TIE Fighters diving on their position.

This issue is high on old-fashioned, Star Wars swashbuckling adventure. Although some panels are devoted to exposition and setting up “Book II” of the story, much of the book was devoted to action. Like the beginning of A New Hope, the issue opens with a Star Destroyer “on screen.” The reader is plunged into the action as the TIE Fighters rush forth to carry out their search and destroy mission on the unnamed planet in the Monsua Nebula.

This issue further captures the spirit of the original movie with the cantina scene on Nar Shadda. As in A New Hope, Luke finds himself out of his element as he wanders into the cantina. Perhaps he felt he could follow the example Obi-wan Kenobi set for him at the Mos Eisley cantina and negotiate passage to Coruscant, or maybe a little bit of Han Solo’s swagger rubbed off on him. Luke demonstrates his growth when he manages to bring the brawl at the cantina under control when he activates his lightsaber. However, he also shows just how far his Jedi training has to go once the situation deteriorates into mayhem again.

Leia is also well represented in this issue. It feels as if the events of the Princess Leia mini-series have been taken into account. Leia appears a little more focused in this issue. Although she is less than pleased with Han Solo and the revelations and threats that Sana Solo provides, she handles everything in stride for the most part despite her classic annoyance with Han bubbling to the surface. While Han protests against Sana’s allegations and Sana plans to turn Leia over to the Empire, the Princess casually plots her own escape from her predicament. If it didn’t end with a gun pointed at him, one could only imagine that Han Solo would have been proud. It was the type of maneuver that a guy who shoots a Rodian under the table would have pulled.

After watching her stalk Han in previous issues and the cliffhanger from issue six, we finally get to learn more about the alleged Mrs. Solo. In some ways, Sana is a lot like Leia. Both have a lot of spirit, and are take charge kinds of women. However, Leia focuses her determination for the greater good as a diplomat and Rebel leader. On the other hand, Sana is cold and calculating. She is also a bounty hunter, which seems to be an unusual contrast to the iconic smuggler she claims as a mate. Despite Han’s protests to the contrary, she is quite insistent that she is his wife, that she has the paperwork on her ship to prove it, and that he belongs with her somewhere, but where that it is exactly isn’t said. It is entirely possible that like Han, her exposure to the Princess and the Rebellion will change her attitude, and she might just become part of the Alliance, but that story development is for a later day.

This issue is also the debut of Immonen as the artist for the series. His art is amazing stuff. The illustration of Leia crossing three panels as Sana confronts Han Solo at the beginning of the issue says quite a bit, and if the Princess hadn’t said anything at all, it still would have said plenty. It conveys her attitude and personality perfectly and is a good resemblance to Carrie Fisher. There is an equally good panel of her as she aims her blaster out of the panel after getting the drop on Sana. The panel of Luke posing with his lightsaber is phenomenal. Luke’s expression conveys the same emotion and weight of his words. I’m always nervous when a title loses an artist that has done good work, but Immonen has picked up the reins from Cassady and done an exemplary job with this book.

Overall, this was an excellent start to Book II of Star Wars. The cliffhanger wasn’t resolved from issue six entirely as to whether Sana really is Han’s wife, but the cagey smuggler adamantly insists it isn’t the case. As is usual for this book, the conclusion of this issue leaves the reader wanting more with at least a minor cliffhanger. Book II has a lot of potential for some class Star Wars stories.

Favorite Panel:

As discussed previously, Immonen’s work in this issue is gorgeous. Luke, Han, and Leia all look fantastic. Sana is drawn incredibly well. However, my favorite panel is not of any individual character, although you can make an argument for many of those panels, and I would be hard pressed to disagree. The opening pages of the book feature a spread with an Imperial Star Destroyer, multiple TIE Fighters and Bombers, and an Imperial pilot. It is a fantastic spread and beautifully drawn. You can sense the might of the Empire in these pages. The action immediately sets the tone for the issue and sucks the reader into the urgency of the story similarly to how the opening scenes of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope did in the films. Therefore, these panels win favorite panel(s) of the issue.