The Rise of Skywalker: Graphic Novel Adaptation by Alessandro Ferrari and Igor Chimisso

The Rise of Skywalker: Graphic Novel Adaptation written by Alessandro Ferrari and Igor Chimisso, illustrated by Matteo Piana, Igor Chimisso, Davide Turotti, and Kawaii Creative Studio

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It's no secret that I love this movie...and it's also no secret that these graphic novel adaptations never quite do it for me. This adaptation hit right about where the previous movies' adaptations have in my opinion. It was fun to relive the movie, but so many parts were skipped that it just felt lacking. BUT, the artistry is freaking brilliant, well mostly--seeing all the characters in this fun, cartoony, almost anime-ish style is really enjoyable. There were some really odd faces made by some of the characters which was a tad off-putting and Finn's portrayal didn't quite hit the mark, but overall, these pages were definitely fun to flip through! 

A little more on the art. The character with the most accurate likeness was Beaumont Kin of all people lmao--why try so hard to capture a minor character and not try as hard to capture the major characters? Rey always looked super cool with flowy stylized hair. Kylo/Ben was always super pale and disturbed looking. Babu Frik's portrayal was also quite good. But I can't imagine any portrayal of him not being stinking adorable to the max! See a totally out of place look on Leia's face below as she tells Rey that the new Jedi can't go searching for Exegol. And check out the ridiculously accurate Beaumont Kin below. The Emperor gets a terrifying portrayal that is perfection--see below.

Now normally I would go through and list all the different scenes that were left out and quotes that were skipped, but so much was missing from this adaptation that I would be here all night if I were to do that. It was a bit ridiculous. And there didn't seem to be all that much rhyme or reason to it either. One of the most unfortunate casualties were the funny/meaningful parts!!! I'm talking the argument between Rey and Poe over BB-8 and the Falcon both being damaged, as well as when Finn says that Rey is going to Pasaana "alone with friends", and just so much more. Luckily Babu Frik's hysterical moments were all left fully intact. A major issue with skipping so much is that the transitions just don't work right and things hop around without making much sense--and let's be real here, the movie doesn't make a whole lot of sense as is (despite my loving it dearly) so leaving out the transitionary parts is just a crime. One really egregious example is when Lando helps the crew out on Pasaana...yeah, it jumps directly into mid-speeder chase from Rey saying, "We need to get to that ship. Search it again." Completely non-sensical. Another was after Rey heals the Vexis and the serpent moves to reveal a hole...except here it just shows the Vexis slithering away and says in a box atop the next panel, "Once they find a way out." Like...what?? But yet entire pages are given to Nambi Ghima and Allegiant General Pryde's holo-discussion with Palpatine. I don't get it at all...

On an awesome note, the character studies that make up the front matter were spectacular. Rey and Kylo each get full pages, the theme of Rey's being wanting to figure out who she is and the theme of Kylo's being struggle both within himself and without. The other character studies cover the Knights of Ren, Emperor Palpatine, Luke Skywalker, Lando Calrissian, and The Resistance. Poe and Finn get mentioned in one sentence...just ONE sentence--I firmly believe they each should have gotten their own paragraph above Luke and Lando who each play a relatively small part in the film. But Palpatine's character study is beautiful, "Palpatine has always been a step ahead of his adversaries. While the Jedi Knights believed him to be just a senator of the Galactic Republic, he was a Sith Lord devoted to the dark side of the Force. When the Rebels thought they could take him by surprise, he was luring them into a trap. Now that everyone believes him to be dead, Palpatine reveals himself to still be alive." That sneaky b******. I love it!!

All in all, this was a fun read and the parts that were included were mostly accurate. Shaky transitions and iffy artistic portrayals of some of the characters create a less than perfect adaptation, but hey, I'm a completionist so it was still definitely worth the price of admission!