Star Wars #73 Review
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Phil Noto
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel
In the sixth installment of the Rebels and Rogues arc, the plotlines are finally beginning to come together once more. Han has been captured on Lanz Carpo, the battle between Darth Vader and Chewbacca on K-43 heats up, and Luke must recover his lightsaber from the person he thought had been teaching him.
It's nice to see the three plots have some interaction for the first time since the arc began. The split stories has been both a blessing and a curse for this arc. Each story has been solid enough on its own but each issue having to cover three different plots has made it feel incredibly slow, and the series does feel like its missing something with the charcaters split up and not being able to interact as much. I think this is the first major time it's happened since Jason Aaron's run on the series. Kieron Gillen preferred to keep the cast together for the most part, which I enjoyed. It's especially sad since this is our last arc with Han, the series is jumping past Empire Strikes Back next year and Han will be stuck in carbonite. His interactions with Leia are great but it's sad to think we won't get much more of him with Chewie or Luke.
The issue is pretty solid all around, probably a step up from the previous issues, and I do want to see where it goes next. Probably my biggest concern about this arc is it almost feels like it exists because there was a gap in the schedule between the end of Kieron Gillen's run and the beginnning of Charles Soule's. Maybe not, but I thought the ending of Gillen's run was just so perfect that I wish it had been the finale of this series, before it relaunches in a new time.
I appreciate this arc for what it is. It's nice to have a weekly fun adventure with the original trilogy cast. I think they're all written well and when you look past the pacing problems the plots are all good. The art is also consistently great. I just don't think it works as well as a finale to this seventy-five issue run. Apparently the final issue will be part of a "Destination: Hoth" publishing line but this arc hasn't been building up to Hoth at all despite the ending of Gillen's run setting it up. When that arc ended I imagined this arc would end up being the exploration of bases, ending with the establishment of the Hoth base, which might have been more satisfying. Apparently there will be a one shot after this arc, Empire Ascendant, to serve as a real finale which might help somewhat, though it won't be a finale to this series as much as a finale to three different series.
Despite my concerns, I'm looking forward to the final two issues. I still don't think Dar Champion is the strongest character but otherwise just about every aspect of this arc is interesting enough. The story has felt stretched out so far but now that we're down to just two issues, I'm finding myself wondering how it can wrap up so fast. Hopefully it finds a way to bring closure to this story and the many stories that have come before it.
Artist: Phil Noto
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel
In the sixth installment of the Rebels and Rogues arc, the plotlines are finally beginning to come together once more. Han has been captured on Lanz Carpo, the battle between Darth Vader and Chewbacca on K-43 heats up, and Luke must recover his lightsaber from the person he thought had been teaching him.
It's nice to see the three plots have some interaction for the first time since the arc began. The split stories has been both a blessing and a curse for this arc. Each story has been solid enough on its own but each issue having to cover three different plots has made it feel incredibly slow, and the series does feel like its missing something with the charcaters split up and not being able to interact as much. I think this is the first major time it's happened since Jason Aaron's run on the series. Kieron Gillen preferred to keep the cast together for the most part, which I enjoyed. It's especially sad since this is our last arc with Han, the series is jumping past Empire Strikes Back next year and Han will be stuck in carbonite. His interactions with Leia are great but it's sad to think we won't get much more of him with Chewie or Luke.
The issue is pretty solid all around, probably a step up from the previous issues, and I do want to see where it goes next. Probably my biggest concern about this arc is it almost feels like it exists because there was a gap in the schedule between the end of Kieron Gillen's run and the beginnning of Charles Soule's. Maybe not, but I thought the ending of Gillen's run was just so perfect that I wish it had been the finale of this series, before it relaunches in a new time.
I appreciate this arc for what it is. It's nice to have a weekly fun adventure with the original trilogy cast. I think they're all written well and when you look past the pacing problems the plots are all good. The art is also consistently great. I just don't think it works as well as a finale to this seventy-five issue run. Apparently the final issue will be part of a "Destination: Hoth" publishing line but this arc hasn't been building up to Hoth at all despite the ending of Gillen's run setting it up. When that arc ended I imagined this arc would end up being the exploration of bases, ending with the establishment of the Hoth base, which might have been more satisfying. Apparently there will be a one shot after this arc, Empire Ascendant, to serve as a real finale which might help somewhat, though it won't be a finale to this series as much as a finale to three different series.
Despite my concerns, I'm looking forward to the final two issues. I still don't think Dar Champion is the strongest character but otherwise just about every aspect of this arc is interesting enough. The story has felt stretched out so far but now that we're down to just two issues, I'm finding myself wondering how it can wrap up so fast. Hopefully it finds a way to bring closure to this story and the many stories that have come before it.
A Look Inside
