Star Wars #57 Review

Writer: Kieron Gillen

Artists: Angel Unzueta

Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Publisher: Marvel
 

It feels like yesterday that the previous issue of the Star Wars series came out, which makes sense because we got two issues this month. I’ve been enjoying the series recently, the last few arcs have been a solid improvement over the end of Aaron’s arc and Hope Dies especially was probably my favorite arc of Gillen’s run so far. The art last issue also showed a marked improvement after the departure of longtime artist Salvadore Larroca.
 

The plot of the issue continues from the last one. The crew has been separated from the Rebel fleet after Vader led an attack and decimated it. They have reunited with Sana and are on a mission to find contacts that might be able to get them back to the fleet, but they are stranded on the moon Hubin without Sana or a way off after an Imperial encounter. At the end of the last issue we saw them living luxuriously under mysterious circumstances.

It was a pretty fun issue all in all. Characterization is good and the new aspects of the arc are original and interesting. I wondered last time how long they would keep 3PO strapped to the back of R2 and it seems like the answer is “not long” but it also looks like they may still have some fun playing around with his current state. It’s slightly disappointing to get Sana back for one issue and immediately lose her again, even if she’ll be back later, but I understand why it was done.

This is Angel Unzueta’s first shot at art in this series after Angela Broccardo last issue. Both of them are a significant step up from Larroca’s art in the half a dozen arcs before this one. I’m not sure which of the two artists I prefer, it seems like they’ll be trading off for this arc which I’m fine with. Like his art for Poe, some of Unzueta’s tracing can be wonky from time to time but not nearly to the extent of Larroca.

It’s still a lot of setup for the rest of the arc but it’s fun setup that I enjoyed reading, so I’m OK with that. It’s a refreshing and original arc in a series that has been and seems like it will continue to be fast paced, so I’m ok with slowing down for a beat. I’m really excited to see SCAR Squadron come to the moon soon and it looks like Luke might be getting a temporary romantic interest. The solicits yesterday also gave us a tease of the next arc and therefore how this one ends, and I’m excited to see where the series continues to go. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next arc or two are the last ones before we catch up to Empire Strikes Back. No matter what, I’m excited to keep reading.