Star Wars Adventures TPB 4: Smuggler's Blues
"Star Wars Adventures TPB 4: Smuggler's Blues"
Another great addition to the Star Wars Adventures canon!!! I was a little disappointed that they double-dipped with Jaxxon's story "The Lost Eggs of Livorno" since it was already in the Star Wars Adventures Annual 2018. I will forego writing about that story here since I've already covered it in a previous post (check out the previous link). The other two included stories were fabulous, although only getting one "Tales from Wild Space" adventure was a bit of a let down as well. But I'll survive.
First we got "Powered Down" written by Cavan Scott and illustrated by Derek Charm & Matt Herms. This one is set some time after Han drops Jabba's cargo and before A New Hope. Chewie and Han are loading some cargo onto the Millennium Falcon when Zuckuss and 4-LOM show up, ready to take them in for a bounty! Apparently Rekias Nodo has put a huge bounty on Han's head--you know, the Rekias Nodo from Choose Your Destiny: A Han and Chewie Adventure! He was the guy who owned the chopshop where Meech was being held as a slave. With all the trouble Han caused him, I am not surprised he put a bounty on the smuggler's head. What a cool canon connection! I won't give away the conceit here as it is very good, but suffice it to say, Han has an awesome trick up his sleeve!
I will say that Han runs into a person who appears to be Weazel from The Phantom Menace/Solo (see below) but he calls this person a "kid" which has me all sorts of confused since Weazel was
most definitely an adult--there are other indications that this person was in fact a child. But the armor is the EXACT same as Weazel's armor...I'm so confused.
The story does move past the incident with the "child" and goes into crazy fun territory with Han and Chewie vs. Zuckuss and 4-LOM on a planet with all technology blocked from being activated!! How will everybody survive??? and can Zuckuss and 4-LOM be trusted??? Some crazy stuff happens in this story, including the reveal of Zuckuss having a sort of sixth sense and perhaps even being Force-sensitive! What?!? And Azmorigan is even mentioned in passing--great connection to Rebels! But not only does this world negate tech...it harbors hostile tech!! Droids that will attack any living being...not to mention they are totally creepy scorpion droids! Loved the unique world-building in this story.
A couple of other interesting mentions: "The Bounty Hunters Guild" and a planet called Paqualis III not far from said guild.
With so many incredible twists and turns, this is one tale for the books! I thoroughly enjoyed the intrigue and back & forth, such utter excitement and with some truly classic characters!
Secondly, we get "Tales from Wild Space: Family Affair" written by Elsa Charretier & Pierrick Colinet and illustrated by Elsa Charretier & Sarah Stern. First off, I am most surprised with this story
starting off with CR-8R telling a heroic tale about bad guys...seems against his usual programming. And Emil chastises him for it, rightly, worried that his droid Boo will get the wrong idea. I find it super cute to see Emil treating Boo like his child. Adorable.
And then we are led right into a story of just after Lando declared himself a legitimate businessman and Baron Administrator of Cloud City. Clariah, a woman of an undisclosed species--blue with tentacles and small eyes (unlike Nautolans) (see to the left)--, has a son named Jiandy who greatly romanticizes the criminal lifestyle. Clariah asks Lando to step in and teach Jiandy what is right. So we get a fun jaunt of surprises and twists that lead us to Jiandy's final decision of whether or not to continue pursuing the criminal world. Lando and Jiandy come into contact with a wild cast of characters along the way and lessons are learned by both men. And when the story wraps up and we're back to Emil, CR-8R, and Boo, we learn a surprising bit of information that adds a wonderful canon connection!
Once again, I wish there had been another "Tales from Wild Space" comic and not a repeat of the Jaxxon tale, however fun it may be. But what new material we did get was quite enjoyable and thought provoking on many levels. Can't wait for TPB 5!
First we got "Powered Down" written by Cavan Scott and illustrated by Derek Charm & Matt Herms. This one is set some time after Han drops Jabba's cargo and before A New Hope. Chewie and Han are loading some cargo onto the Millennium Falcon when Zuckuss and 4-LOM show up, ready to take them in for a bounty! Apparently Rekias Nodo has put a huge bounty on Han's head--you know, the Rekias Nodo from Choose Your Destiny: A Han and Chewie Adventure! He was the guy who owned the chopshop where Meech was being held as a slave. With all the trouble Han caused him, I am not surprised he put a bounty on the smuggler's head. What a cool canon connection! I won't give away the conceit here as it is very good, but suffice it to say, Han has an awesome trick up his sleeve!
I will say that Han runs into a person who appears to be Weazel from The Phantom Menace/Solo (see below) but he calls this person a "kid" which has me all sorts of confused since Weazel was
The story does move past the incident with the "child" and goes into crazy fun territory with Han and Chewie vs. Zuckuss and 4-LOM on a planet with all technology blocked from being activated!! How will everybody survive??? and can Zuckuss and 4-LOM be trusted??? Some crazy stuff happens in this story, including the reveal of Zuckuss having a sort of sixth sense and perhaps even being Force-sensitive! What?!? And Azmorigan is even mentioned in passing--great connection to Rebels! But not only does this world negate tech...it harbors hostile tech!! Droids that will attack any living being...not to mention they are totally creepy scorpion droids! Loved the unique world-building in this story.
A couple of other interesting mentions: "The Bounty Hunters Guild" and a planet called Paqualis III not far from said guild.
With so many incredible twists and turns, this is one tale for the books! I thoroughly enjoyed the intrigue and back & forth, such utter excitement and with some truly classic characters!
Secondly, we get "Tales from Wild Space: Family Affair" written by Elsa Charretier & Pierrick Colinet and illustrated by Elsa Charretier & Sarah Stern. First off, I am most surprised with this story
And then we are led right into a story of just after Lando declared himself a legitimate businessman and Baron Administrator of Cloud City. Clariah, a woman of an undisclosed species--blue with tentacles and small eyes (unlike Nautolans) (see to the left)--, has a son named Jiandy who greatly romanticizes the criminal lifestyle. Clariah asks Lando to step in and teach Jiandy what is right. So we get a fun jaunt of surprises and twists that lead us to Jiandy's final decision of whether or not to continue pursuing the criminal world. Lando and Jiandy come into contact with a wild cast of characters along the way and lessons are learned by both men. And when the story wraps up and we're back to Emil, CR-8R, and Boo, we learn a surprising bit of information that adds a wonderful canon connection!
Once again, I wish there had been another "Tales from Wild Space" comic and not a repeat of the Jaxxon tale, however fun it may be. But what new material we did get was quite enjoyable and thought provoking on many levels. Can't wait for TPB 5!
Comments
Post a Comment