Lando #1
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Alex Maleev
Marvel’s Star Wars line has become something like the Marvel Cinematic Universe to me. It’s almost a guarantee for a great comic. I give every new series a chance even if I don’t feel much excitement for it. Lando never fell into that category, due to the creative team alone. Alex Maleev is an artist that I follow everywhere and Charles Soule has proven to be a strong writer in the past. Having a general idea of who Lando is, I thought this creative team chose the perfect story to tell with him at the centre it. Once again, Marvel’s Star Wars line proves its worth with Lando #1.
What appeals to me about Lando is that he’s a smooth, confident man that lives life to the fullest. He thinks he can handle any situation with ease and never shows trepidation. This makes him extremely fun and quite engaging. He isn’t filled with incredible amounts of depth but he’s just pleasant to watch. Like every Star Wars title, “Lando” captures the voice of its eponymous hero perfectly. Soule writes Lando so akin to the original trilogy that you can hear Billy Dee Williams’ voice recite the lines in your head. It’s important for a comic to understand its leading man and “Lando” is a great example of exactly that.
However, Lando’s voice isn’t the only thing that makes this comic fit so naturally into this part of the Star Wars universe. With a character like Lando, you would expect smuggling and gambling to be incorporated into the story and Soule does it perfectly. The story is fairly simple, Lando is in debt to a mobster and needs to repay him by robbing a specific ship from the empire. Lando’s debut issue spends most of its time setting up this conflict as it perfectly mixes plot and character. However, Soule doesn’t dwell on set-up as we get straight to the short heist, making this comic fast-paced and exciting throughout its entirety. The main conflict of the series remains mysterious as the heist mission is the beginning of something even more interesting.
And to bring Soule’s charming script to live is superstar artist Alex Maleev. Maleev drew one of my favourite superhero comics of all time in “Daredevil” and seeing him in any comic makes it a must-buy for me. Thankfully, the promise of one of my favourite artists drawing a Star Wars book tremendously pays off. Maleev perfectly caputres the fun tone that Soule’s script demands while giving us a grand and beautiful rendition of space. Even if you aren’t into a fun, and witty Lando comic it would be worth checking out for Maleev alone.
Charles Soule and Alex Maleev’s “Lando” succeeds in its first outing with a witty, charming and most importantly fun issue. Soule captures the magic of the character while creating a story that naturally lends itself to its protagonist. While giving us mostly set-up, Soule doesn’t dwell on any dull moments as Lando #1 is a fast-paced issue that gets straight to the point and opens up the overall story while doing so. Marvel’s Star Wars line continues to grow at full throttle with Lando #1.
Artist: Alex Maleev
Marvel’s Star Wars line has become something like the Marvel Cinematic Universe to me. It’s almost a guarantee for a great comic. I give every new series a chance even if I don’t feel much excitement for it. Lando never fell into that category, due to the creative team alone. Alex Maleev is an artist that I follow everywhere and Charles Soule has proven to be a strong writer in the past. Having a general idea of who Lando is, I thought this creative team chose the perfect story to tell with him at the centre it. Once again, Marvel’s Star Wars line proves its worth with Lando #1.
What appeals to me about Lando is that he’s a smooth, confident man that lives life to the fullest. He thinks he can handle any situation with ease and never shows trepidation. This makes him extremely fun and quite engaging. He isn’t filled with incredible amounts of depth but he’s just pleasant to watch. Like every Star Wars title, “Lando” captures the voice of its eponymous hero perfectly. Soule writes Lando so akin to the original trilogy that you can hear Billy Dee Williams’ voice recite the lines in your head. It’s important for a comic to understand its leading man and “Lando” is a great example of exactly that.
However, Lando’s voice isn’t the only thing that makes this comic fit so naturally into this part of the Star Wars universe. With a character like Lando, you would expect smuggling and gambling to be incorporated into the story and Soule does it perfectly. The story is fairly simple, Lando is in debt to a mobster and needs to repay him by robbing a specific ship from the empire. Lando’s debut issue spends most of its time setting up this conflict as it perfectly mixes plot and character. However, Soule doesn’t dwell on set-up as we get straight to the short heist, making this comic fast-paced and exciting throughout its entirety. The main conflict of the series remains mysterious as the heist mission is the beginning of something even more interesting.
And to bring Soule’s charming script to live is superstar artist Alex Maleev. Maleev drew one of my favourite superhero comics of all time in “Daredevil” and seeing him in any comic makes it a must-buy for me. Thankfully, the promise of one of my favourite artists drawing a Star Wars book tremendously pays off. Maleev perfectly caputres the fun tone that Soule’s script demands while giving us a grand and beautiful rendition of space. Even if you aren’t into a fun, and witty Lando comic it would be worth checking out for Maleev alone.
Charles Soule and Alex Maleev’s “Lando” succeeds in its first outing with a witty, charming and most importantly fun issue. Soule captures the magic of the character while creating a story that naturally lends itself to its protagonist. While giving us mostly set-up, Soule doesn’t dwell on any dull moments as Lando #1 is a fast-paced issue that gets straight to the point and opens up the overall story while doing so. Marvel’s Star Wars line continues to grow at full throttle with Lando #1.
A Look Inside
