Star Wars
Star Wars 1 (January 2013)
During the first scene, with Luke Skywalker whining, I thought Brian Wood had figured a good way to do Star Wars. It’s a concept book–the comic is just a sequel to the original movie and avoiding the things fans have seen or read since. In other words, it’s the original Marvel Star Wars comic. It’s […]
MoreStar Wars: Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood 6 (April 1999)
The series ends with some undeniable problems–the Romeo and Juliet aspect is idiotic–but Richardson and Stradley manage to reign in their big conspiracy storyline. They don’t resolve some of their threads, which is both a good and bad decision. It’s good because there’s not enough room for the resolution, but bad because they sort of […]
MoreStar Wars: Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood 5 (March 1999)
It’s a romance now? Seriously? Wow. After a solid first half, Richardson and Stradley are running off the rails. They set up a convoluted set of schemes and subterfuges and are now rapidly resolving them. And what solves them all? Sworn enemies kissing. But the issue has a bunch of great Gulacy sci-fi action so […]
MoreStar Wars: Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood 4 (February 1999)
I’m not sure it’s possible this issue could have a softer cliffhanger. Soft as it may be, it does signal a change in Council of Blood… it’s finally a sequel to Crimson Empire. Until this issue, Richardson and Stradley have been avoiding what they promised at the finish of the first series. While the previous […]
MoreStar Wars: Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood 3 (January 1999)
Interesting. The series is now half done and Richardson and Stradley haven’t shown much of their hand yet, as far as future events go. Instead, they’re still raveling the narrative. The reader gets to be a little ahead of the characters, but since there’s still no protagonist, it doesn’t hurt the comic. This issue spends […]
MoreStar Wars: Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood 2 (December 1998)
Once again, there’s the item you can tell Gulacy just went gloriously overboard with. This time, it’s one of the squid faced aliens–but as a Hutt dancing girl. Emberlin inks are especially good; there are some great alien worlds panels in the first few pages. Richardson and Stradley are slowly developing the overall story. The […]
MoreStar Wars: Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood 1 (November 1998)
Once again, Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley are deliberate in their setup. Council of Blood has some fight scenes–well, some violent acts without real bloodshed (just the threat of it)–and some space stuff, but it’s all about the politics. Just from this issue, it’s clear the dialogue’s better than the first series, at least for […]
MoreStar Wars: Crimson Empire 6 (May 1998)
Why couldn’t they have just done it as a Western? It would have been perfect. The final issue of Crimson Empire has the best and worst from the series. The woman–her name is Sinn, which is stupid so I probably forced myself to ignore it–declares to the “holy stars” she’ll hunt down the main guy […]
MoreStar Wars: Crimson Empire 5 (April 1998)
This issue, if I’m adding right, takes place over a couple hours. Maybe the reason Star Wars comics aren’t taken seriously is because in those two hours, not only is a space battle determined, but there’s also time for the woman and her sidekick to fly to an entirely different solar system to save the […]
MoreStar Wars: Crimson Empire 4 (March 1998)
This issue concentrates on the Rebels, specifically the woman. I can’t remember her name though. Stradley and Richardson repeat all the other names so much, she and her lizard-man sidekick are sort of nameless. I’m sure they say it a few times throughout… just didn’t make any impression. There’s a lot of excellent Gulacy composition […]
MoreStar Wars: Crimson Empire 3 (February 1998)
From the second panel, it’s clear something off with the art. Either Gulacy hurried through faces and let Russell finish or Russell got eager and got rid of all Gulacy’s rounded lines. The former would just be unfortunate… the latter would just piss me off. This issue doesn’t feel like Gulacy until about halfway, which […]
MoreStar Wars: Crimson Empire 2 (January 1998)
For some of this issue, the Gulacy sci-fi art makes one forget it’s a Star Wars comic and imagine it’s just a Gulacy (with Doug Moench) comic. Then Richardson and Stradley have some awful dialogue from the big villain and the illusion comes crashing down. It’s like the comic can get away with bad dialogue […]
MoreStar Wars: Crimson Empire 1 (December 1997)
Crimson Empire answers the burning question… what’s with the guys in red from Return of the Jedi. The ones who had fabric capes on the action figures. Of course, it’s mostly just backdrop for the story of a fugitive. It probably could fit a Civil War story too. A stranger comes to town, kicks butt, […]
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