Star Wars: Age of Republic Special #1 Review

Writers: Ethan Sacks, Jody Houser, Marc Guggenheim

Artists: Paolo Villanelli, Carlos Gomez, Caspar Wijngaard

Colorists: Erick Arciniega, Dono Sanchez-Almara, Cris Peter

Publisher: Marvel

Star Wars: Age of Republic Special #1 is a collection of three ten-page vignettes set during the Clone Wars. “The Weapon” features Mace Windu infiltrating a warlord’s hideout in the Outer Rim. “Sisters” shows us Asajj Ventress as she starts down a new path. Last, “501 Plus One” gives us Rex and Jar Jar Binks attempting to take an enemy stronghold together.

Although “The Weapon” is not written by Jody Houser, it has the most in common with the previous entries in Age of Republic. Like those comics, the story here has a lot to do with what a Jedi is and what he isn’t. Also keeping with Age of Republic tradition, it features a quick flashback and a vivid duel for the artistic centerpiece. Blending visceral and well-framed flurries of violence with galactic-gradient impressionism, it creates a dark and fantastical battle in keeping with the vision sequences of Maul or Qui-Gon’s entries.

“Sisters” shares the same page-count as the other two stories in the special but I didn’t believe that until I counted. It uses big, blocky panels and a few splashes to eat up its runtime and make this story feel the most punished by its length. It appears to take place over a few minutes — from Asajj Ventress seeing a “Wanted” poster for Ahsoka Tano, hearing a cry from an alleyway (expecting to find Ahsoka around the corner), and instead finding a decision to make. The art is a miss too, with a cyberpunk color scheme, oddly tiny facial features, and out of place aliens that look half-Pokemon.

If you like the antics of Jar Jar Binks, you will probably enjoy “501 Plus One”. Outside the wildcard quality he provides, this is a fairly uneventful and unremarkable Clone Wars mission that does little with Rex's character or the 501st. There are explosions and blaster fire in almost every panel but there’s never any stakes and it all becomes boring background. And the clean, undetailed style of the artwork, and washed monochrome backdrops look poor compared to the standard set by previous works in this series.

Age of Republic Special #1 is another miss for the series and leaves behind the themes and focus of the regular issues. The first story — Mace Windu’s — is the best and most complete, but the others are wasted potential or lacking potential altogether. Three different artistic teams deliver three different levels of quality and, again, Mace Windu’s mission is the only one that impresses. None of them are good enough to make this a must-read.