Star Wars Adventures: TPB 9: Fight the Empire! by various
"Star Wars Adventures: TPB 9: Fight the Empire!" written and illustrated by various
I so adore the Star Wars Adventures comic line and this Vol. 9 was no exception!! There were heartfelt stories, weird stories, and just plain fun stories, all illustrated exceptionally. The time period spanned the original trilogy era including just after Return of the Jedi. The variety of tales included was certainly enjoyable.
"Swoop Racers" written by Cavan Scott, illustrated by Derek Charm and Matt Herms
This was just plain fun with Han being super Han-ish. Leia gives Luke and Han some credits to trade for equipment for the Rebel Alliance on the planet Rion in the Outer Rim. Unfortunately, there happens to be a swoop bike race going on close to where they land for which the prize is a lot of money. Can Han resist the pull of riches and placing first in a dangerous race?? Of course not!! Without Luke knowing, Han pays an entry fee and embarks on a race with a handful of people who know he's wanted by the Empire... Will Razian, the Besalisk with the goods, make a deal with Luke?? And will Han win back the money to complete the deal??
The race was an engaging and exciting read with the other racers doing everything they could to knock Han off track. And Luke was perfectly portrayed as swooping in to clean up the mess.
"A Matter of Perception" written by Pierrick Colinet and Elsa Charretier, illustrated by Elsa Charretier and Sarah Stern
Now this one was heartfelt--such a super sweet tale with a surprising and heartwarming ending. C-3PO, R2-D2, and Leia are on the planet Nothoiin in the Anoat Sector double checking for any stormtrooper activity. An Aleena child steals from the trio and runs off into the woods, leading Leia into a trap set by stormtroopers!! But are these troopers who they appear to be?? Or is it all a matter of perception??
C-3PO is written so well in this comic, he's perfectly anxious and ridiculous and I loved every minute of it. One example was after Leia said to him, "Why else would we need chatty droids by our side?" To which 3PO replies, "Why, thank y--oh...I suspect you didn't mean that as a compliment." Poor thing is just doing his absolute best to be helpful!
"A Race for Answers" written by Ian Flynn, illustrated by Tony Fleecs and Lauren Perry
This is another racing comic (taking place above the planet Neskar) but with Lando at the helm of the Millennium Falcon. He's accompanied by Nien Nunb, Chewie, and Shriv (the male Duros from Resistance Reborn and Battlefront II). But we're not talking just any race, this is a battle race!!! In other words, live ammunition is used as all the racers attempt to make it to the finish line. But there's a little hiccup in the race as a Star Destroyer appears in the middle of the course! Note: this comic takes place after Return of the Jedi so Lando and his crew are more "respectable" than they would have been just days previous. So will Lando convince the racers to turn against the Star Destroyer?? Or are Lando and his crew cooked??
There's an adorable illustration of Chewie imagining Han and Leia having downtime (see below) that Lando brings on after Chewie complains about their precarious situation. Chewie (obviously) firmly decides that he'd rather be with Lando at the moment.
A surprise in this comic was one of the racers being...Sebulba (see below)!!! He's flying what looks like a TIE Striker modified into a pod racer...it is one weird ship and goes by the name the Widowmaker. In fact, all of the ships are a bit odd and yet reminiscent of previously known models--there's an N-1 starfighter lookalike, and a semi-U-wing. Very cool visuals on these!
"Tales from Wild Space: The Heist" written by Shane McCarthy, illustrated by Nicoletta Baldari
Like all "Tales from Wild Space" comics, this one (and all the others that follow) featured a morality story told by Emil Graf to one of his "crew". The moral being in this one that a simple solution can solve a seemingly insurmountable problem. An adorable Chadra Fan (see below) is featured and the only things she speaks are images--very interesting choice. We start off with Crater and BOO (Emil's droids) tearing the Star Herald apart to find Noni, Emil's Kowakian Monkey Lizard, because she stole one of BOO's parts! Emil then lapses into his story about Kabe, the Chadra Fan who lives under Chalmun's Cantina on Tatooine. She wants some blue milk, but Wuher, the bartender, won't give her any without credits of course! Well, Kabe overhears a conversation about a heist worth a lot of credits and takes it upon herself to complete the mission in secret. Will she succeed? Will she get her blue milk?
"Tales from Wild Space: A Tauntaun Tail" written by Jon Waterhouse, illustrated by Tony Fleecs and Lauren Perry
Yes, I spelled "Tail" correctly as this is the story of a Tauntaun with a crazy long and curly tail (see below). The moral of this story was that individuality can be a prized possession and make all the difference in the long run. It's prompted by BOO making fun of Crater's patchwork construction. All the other Tauntauns make fun of the long-tailed one because her tail gets in the way a good bit. It's basically a Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer story. But in the end, she's able to use her immense tail to save the day against the Empire!
"Tales from Wild Space: Majordomo, Major Problems" written by Arie Kaplan, illustrated by Drew Moss and Valentina Pinto
This story had me feeling so sad for Bib Fortuna of all people!!! Apparently Jabba works him to the bone, never giving him even a 10 minute break, and never acknowledging how great he is at his job. The moral being that "sometimes we don't appreciate the people in our lives." It's actually quite a cute story as Jabba keeps refusing Bib's 10 minute break, time and time again, until the Twi'lek falls ill and Jabba has to hire replacements to do the job for him...spoiler alert: only Bib can keep up with Jabba's crazy demands! Definitely a good lesson for anyone to keep in mind.
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Other trade paperback volumes of Star Wars Adventures:
Vol. 1: Heroes of the Galaxy
Vol. 2: Unexpected Detour
Vol. 4: Smuggler's Blues
Vol. 5: Mechanical Mayhem
Flight of the Falcon
Vol. 8: Defend the Republic!
---
So definitely an overall fun read with a ton of variety!! I enjoyed the fact that some of it was just fun and some of it taught important lessons. These are definitely stories that are perfect for kids of any age!
"Swoop Racers" written by Cavan Scott, illustrated by Derek Charm and Matt Herms
This was just plain fun with Han being super Han-ish. Leia gives Luke and Han some credits to trade for equipment for the Rebel Alliance on the planet Rion in the Outer Rim. Unfortunately, there happens to be a swoop bike race going on close to where they land for which the prize is a lot of money. Can Han resist the pull of riches and placing first in a dangerous race?? Of course not!! Without Luke knowing, Han pays an entry fee and embarks on a race with a handful of people who know he's wanted by the Empire... Will Razian, the Besalisk with the goods, make a deal with Luke?? And will Han win back the money to complete the deal??
The race was an engaging and exciting read with the other racers doing everything they could to knock Han off track. And Luke was perfectly portrayed as swooping in to clean up the mess.
"A Matter of Perception" written by Pierrick Colinet and Elsa Charretier, illustrated by Elsa Charretier and Sarah Stern
Now this one was heartfelt--such a super sweet tale with a surprising and heartwarming ending. C-3PO, R2-D2, and Leia are on the planet Nothoiin in the Anoat Sector double checking for any stormtrooper activity. An Aleena child steals from the trio and runs off into the woods, leading Leia into a trap set by stormtroopers!! But are these troopers who they appear to be?? Or is it all a matter of perception??
C-3PO is written so well in this comic, he's perfectly anxious and ridiculous and I loved every minute of it. One example was after Leia said to him, "Why else would we need chatty droids by our side?" To which 3PO replies, "Why, thank y--oh...I suspect you didn't mean that as a compliment." Poor thing is just doing his absolute best to be helpful!
"A Race for Answers" written by Ian Flynn, illustrated by Tony Fleecs and Lauren Perry
This is another racing comic (taking place above the planet Neskar) but with Lando at the helm of the Millennium Falcon. He's accompanied by Nien Nunb, Chewie, and Shriv (the male Duros from Resistance Reborn and Battlefront II). But we're not talking just any race, this is a battle race!!! In other words, live ammunition is used as all the racers attempt to make it to the finish line. But there's a little hiccup in the race as a Star Destroyer appears in the middle of the course! Note: this comic takes place after Return of the Jedi so Lando and his crew are more "respectable" than they would have been just days previous. So will Lando convince the racers to turn against the Star Destroyer?? Or are Lando and his crew cooked??
There's an adorable illustration of Chewie imagining Han and Leia having downtime (see below) that Lando brings on after Chewie complains about their precarious situation. Chewie (obviously) firmly decides that he'd rather be with Lando at the moment.
"Tales from Wild Space: The Heist" written by Shane McCarthy, illustrated by Nicoletta Baldari
Like all "Tales from Wild Space" comics, this one (and all the others that follow) featured a morality story told by Emil Graf to one of his "crew". The moral being in this one that a simple solution can solve a seemingly insurmountable problem. An adorable Chadra Fan (see below) is featured and the only things she speaks are images--very interesting choice. We start off with Crater and BOO (Emil's droids) tearing the Star Herald apart to find Noni, Emil's Kowakian Monkey Lizard, because she stole one of BOO's parts! Emil then lapses into his story about Kabe, the Chadra Fan who lives under Chalmun's Cantina on Tatooine. She wants some blue milk, but Wuher, the bartender, won't give her any without credits of course! Well, Kabe overhears a conversation about a heist worth a lot of credits and takes it upon herself to complete the mission in secret. Will she succeed? Will she get her blue milk?
"Tales from Wild Space: A Tauntaun Tail" written by Jon Waterhouse, illustrated by Tony Fleecs and Lauren Perry
Yes, I spelled "Tail" correctly as this is the story of a Tauntaun with a crazy long and curly tail (see below). The moral of this story was that individuality can be a prized possession and make all the difference in the long run. It's prompted by BOO making fun of Crater's patchwork construction. All the other Tauntauns make fun of the long-tailed one because her tail gets in the way a good bit. It's basically a Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer story. But in the end, she's able to use her immense tail to save the day against the Empire!
"Tales from Wild Space: Majordomo, Major Problems" written by Arie Kaplan, illustrated by Drew Moss and Valentina Pinto
This story had me feeling so sad for Bib Fortuna of all people!!! Apparently Jabba works him to the bone, never giving him even a 10 minute break, and never acknowledging how great he is at his job. The moral being that "sometimes we don't appreciate the people in our lives." It's actually quite a cute story as Jabba keeps refusing Bib's 10 minute break, time and time again, until the Twi'lek falls ill and Jabba has to hire replacements to do the job for him...spoiler alert: only Bib can keep up with Jabba's crazy demands! Definitely a good lesson for anyone to keep in mind.
---
Other trade paperback volumes of Star Wars Adventures:
Vol. 1: Heroes of the Galaxy
Vol. 2: Unexpected Detour
Vol. 4: Smuggler's Blues
Vol. 5: Mechanical Mayhem
Flight of the Falcon
Vol. 8: Defend the Republic!
---
So definitely an overall fun read with a ton of variety!! I enjoyed the fact that some of it was just fun and some of it taught important lessons. These are definitely stories that are perfect for kids of any age!
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