Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Allegiance #1 Review
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Artist: Luke Ross
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel
The Allegiance miniseries kicks off this week with the first of four issues that will be releasing weekly for the rest of October. It's Marvel's contribution to the Journey to The Rise of Skywalker publishing line while all of the other branches of Star Wars publishing are in the process of releasing their own.
The plot follows the cast of the sequel trilogy (Rey, Finn, Poe, Leia, Rose) and their attempts to recover from the devastating events of The Last Jedi. Finn and Poe are sent on a risky mission to track down weapons while Leia takes Rey and Rose to the ocean world of Mon Cala in the hopes that their old allies will donate ships to their cause once more.
It's a really great story. We've been waiting for a long time now to finally get stories set after The Last Jedi and they're finally coming in. It's a joy to get to see the cast interact again in new situations and combinations. This issue is largely setup but there's still great character stuff for mainly Rey and Leia. Finn and Poe getting their own fun side quest is a great idea that I'm sure will lead to lots of fun, though I do think it's a shame that the Galaxy's Edge comic (set chronologically after this) somewhat spoiled how that plot will go.
There's a ton of connections in here for fans to catch. From the aforemention Galaxy's Edge tie in to a reference to the Black Spire novel to tons of connections to the other projects in Journey To line. Arguably the biggest connection is revisiting Mon Cala. Last year we got two different comic arcs that explored the planet: one set on the cusp of the prequel trilogy era and one set in the middle of the original trilogy. Now we get to revisit the planet in the third era. This issue didn't have too many direct connections to those comics but it'll be exciting to see how the later issues deal with that legacy. Mon Cala was also featured in The Clone Wars and the end of the issue has one reference to that story.
The issue also introduces a major new player with connections to the past, who judging by merchandise will probably be a character in the upcoming film itself (introducing minor film characters is a staple of the Journey To lines). It's a surprising addition and one that I'm looking forward to exploring more.
The art of the issue is great, it's a relief to have a known good artist like Luke Ross on a series as big as this. I am still a bit sad that it isn't Marco Checchetto though, as he did the art for the previous two Journey To miniseries in addition to the covers for this series and he's probably my single favorite artist on the Marvel Star Wars comics.
Overall, it's an awesome start to a very promising series. I'm very much looking forward to seeing more of it now that the setup is out of the way and we can get more of the characters.
Artist: Luke Ross
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel
The Allegiance miniseries kicks off this week with the first of four issues that will be releasing weekly for the rest of October. It's Marvel's contribution to the Journey to The Rise of Skywalker publishing line while all of the other branches of Star Wars publishing are in the process of releasing their own.
The plot follows the cast of the sequel trilogy (Rey, Finn, Poe, Leia, Rose) and their attempts to recover from the devastating events of The Last Jedi. Finn and Poe are sent on a risky mission to track down weapons while Leia takes Rey and Rose to the ocean world of Mon Cala in the hopes that their old allies will donate ships to their cause once more.
It's a really great story. We've been waiting for a long time now to finally get stories set after The Last Jedi and they're finally coming in. It's a joy to get to see the cast interact again in new situations and combinations. This issue is largely setup but there's still great character stuff for mainly Rey and Leia. Finn and Poe getting their own fun side quest is a great idea that I'm sure will lead to lots of fun, though I do think it's a shame that the Galaxy's Edge comic (set chronologically after this) somewhat spoiled how that plot will go.
There's a ton of connections in here for fans to catch. From the aforemention Galaxy's Edge tie in to a reference to the Black Spire novel to tons of connections to the other projects in Journey To line. Arguably the biggest connection is revisiting Mon Cala. Last year we got two different comic arcs that explored the planet: one set on the cusp of the prequel trilogy era and one set in the middle of the original trilogy. Now we get to revisit the planet in the third era. This issue didn't have too many direct connections to those comics but it'll be exciting to see how the later issues deal with that legacy. Mon Cala was also featured in The Clone Wars and the end of the issue has one reference to that story.
The issue also introduces a major new player with connections to the past, who judging by merchandise will probably be a character in the upcoming film itself (introducing minor film characters is a staple of the Journey To lines). It's a surprising addition and one that I'm looking forward to exploring more.
The art of the issue is great, it's a relief to have a known good artist like Luke Ross on a series as big as this. I am still a bit sad that it isn't Marco Checchetto though, as he did the art for the previous two Journey To miniseries in addition to the covers for this series and he's probably my single favorite artist on the Marvel Star Wars comics.
Overall, it's an awesome start to a very promising series. I'm very much looking forward to seeing more of it now that the setup is out of the way and we can get more of the characters.
A Look Inside
