Charles SouleBesprekingen

The red lanterns are like grim dark superheroes. They actually were villains before but with Guy Gardner taking over they've got a sense of purpose. Still they treat each other like crap and are heavily into violence. It works for me, makes them different from the other corps (other than Sinestro's corp, who are also cheeky bastards).

As with the other Vol 6 Lantern titles, this is mostly the Godhead arc, then a wrap up to the series with a mini-plot. Also Guy gets a haircut.

Charles Soule’s Star Wars: Hidden Empire collects issues 1-5 of the titular series written by Soule with pencils by Steven Cummings, inks by Victor Olazaba and Wayne Faucher, colors by Guru-eFX, letters by Travis Lanham, and covers by Paula Siqueira and Rachelle Rosenberg. It continues Qi’ra’s story and that of Crimson Dawn from the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story, bringing her tale to a close for now following War of the Bounty Hunters and Crimson Reign. Qi’ra assembles her own hidden fleet alongside disparate groups including Chanath Cha and the Orphans, the Knights of Ren, Kho Phon Farrus, and Archivist Madelin Sun to seize the Fermata Cage, an ancient trap used to capture Sith or anything the Sith considered dangerous. Fearing that it might contain a rogue Sith Lord, Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader plan to destroy the device and prevent its activation as any additional Sith is a threat to their power under the Rule of Two. Some of Qi’ra’s forces are Force-sensitive, like the Archivist and Knights of Ren, while others want to escape from under the Emperor’s thumb. Soule shows the Emperor’s reach in an early holo-conference where he asserts his authority over the Hutts and Black Sun, the latter represented by Prince Xizor. Hidden Empire helps to showcase some of the other conflicts and power struggles going on in the galaxy alongside the Rebellion against the Empire. Elements of the story recall prior Expanded Universe stories, specifically Dark Empire and Crimson Empire. Soule showcases the breadth of story possibilities remaining during the Original Trilogy era. Fans of Star Wars’ back catalog of characters will enjoy seeing many of them in action here while this builds on the promise at the end of Solo in showcasing Crimson Dawn.

Le tenia muchas ganas y al final se me ha atascado un poco la lectura.

El concepto de base me gusta y la introducción a todo el conflicto me enganchó lo suficiente, pero los diversos saltos en el punto de vista y un ritmo irregular han hecho que me cueste rematar el libro rápido. No he conseguido conectar demasiado con los personajes incluso siendo carismáticos, y el villano parece un don nadie hasta casi el final.

Me gusta el periodo que parece que introduce y todo lo que parece indicar que sucedera en la High Republic, pero esta novela ha sido un inicio agridulce.

I've said it before, I love the "cosmic" stuff. The more crazy-looking aliens the better. I love what they've done with the Red Lanterns, they're new to me, along with all the other colors, so while it's kinda cheesy, it does setup some cool situations. Also, I'm all for Mogo being a planet-wide intelligence, but he's no longer allowed (because, you know, I'm the person who makes these kind of decisions) to look like a green lantern pool ball. It's just too silly.

Anyway, I'm actually starting to like Guy Gardner (even though his name is "Guy Gardner" and besides his new handlebar mustache. Also the inclusion of Super Girl was pretty cool and "the Judge" was pretty terrifying. I think the thing that makes this series the most interesting is that they're all a little "evil" or at least really rough around the edges. Gives a totally different feel than the goody two shoes green lanterns.

Dramatische Wendungen im alternativen Civil War auf Battleworld! General Rogers mobilisiert seine Truppen, während Präsident Stark den wahren Feind erkennt. Was bedeuten diese Entwicklungen für die Warzone?
Das Finale der "CIVIL WAR"-Storyline

In diesem Battleworld-Reich tobt der Civil War noch immer. Das Treffen zwischen Rogers und Stark verlief nicht so, wie gedacht. Deshalb warten auf Spider-Man und She-Hulk gefährliche Geheimmissionen ...

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/_HlPRj95brQ

Enjoy!

Pretty fun star and I actually find the art quite charming. #5 and #6 were pretty painful though (artwise).

She-Hulk by Soule & Pulido: The Complete Collection

I would very much like this to be adapted cause WOW.

This comic takes place in between "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi". Solo is frozen in carbonite and the Rebel scum tries to get him back. This series expands on the hunt.

As Luke struggles to come to an understanding of how terrible a Jedi he really is and that the only reason he's alive is that Vader wants him alive. Meanwhile, Leia and Lando are trying to get Han's body before it disappears. As the Rebel scum work with their trashy criminal counterparts (Black Sun, Crimson Dawn), it seems Vader also wants Han's body as a means to draw in Skywalker.

This is essentially a tie-in story to the War of the Bounty Hunters cross over story, which finds Han being auctioned by Crimson Dawn, rescued by Boba Fett (after losing Han), and delivered finally to Jaba. It doesn't change the films really but provides some interesting Marvel like tie ins within the Star Wars universe.

This actually gives us Boba Fett being awesome in his prime, and finally a look at Crimson Dawn. It's a bit too much of a Marvel concept to be truly, truly believable (the Star Wars Universe keeps shrinking). However, it's so much fun, that all my critiques fly out the window.

Folks seem to be split on whether or not this comic was any good. I think it comes down to if your a prequel fan (flaws and all), a Charles Soule fan, and a fan of Checchetto's art. If you are, you're in luck. This is an intriguing comic. Set between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan and pre-teen Padawan Anakin are sent to investigate a distress signal on a planet that is supposed to be abandoned. The debris field around the planet is almost impossible to get through and they crash land. They soon find their are survivors on the planet and they are at war. In fact, the war has been going on for so long that no one knows which side actually destroyed the atmosphere by unleashing poisonous gas. We also get some flashbacks of Anakin and Palpatine working together, showing just how early Palpatine was working towards influencing Anakin to the dark side and using his power for his political gain and reign of terror. You begin to see that Anakin was questioning his apprenticeship from a young age. The turn to the dark side doesn't just come out of left field in Revenge of the Sith! The seed of doubt and internal struggle that lead to such a decision was planted long before. The characterization of Obi-Wan felt consistent with the films and Marco Checchetto art is spectacular. He creates a fully realized alien world that somehow felt fresh and new and at the same time, familiar in that Star Wars sort of way.

In the amazing final installment of Charles Soule’s Poe Dameron comic, Poe tells his companions (Finn and Rey) how he managed to get back to the Resistance Base. We then learn of Black Squadron’s secret mission from General Organa to find allies for the Resistance, thus explaining their absence during the events of The Last Jedi.

This volume took place almost entirely on the Falcon after the Resistance escapes from Crait during The Last Jedi. First Poe tells his story - his mission to retrive Luke Skywalker's map, how he was caught and escaped the First Order and how he survived on Jakku, and then he is told Black Squadron’s story. There was one part where two characters were talking, one filling in the other on the Battle of Starkiller Base, except you didn’t see who was talking until the conversation was over. When I found out who it was (no spoilers) I laughed hysterically. What a great way to recap events!

Soule's Poe Dameron comic has been a fun run that gave us a greater look into the origins of the resistance and Poe's nature as a character. Vol. 5 strengthens the narrative of both the Force Awakens and The Last Jedi in surprising ways. And for any folks missing the old EU's Rogue Squadron books, Black Squadron is the new crew for you! They are a wonderful unit of pilots, lead by Poe, that really do carry a spark....

Enjoyable continuation of Poe's story (leading up to The Force Awakens). This time C-3PO shares the cover with Poe, and for good reason - he pretty is a droid spymaster and is Poe's sidekick during a secretive mission. Elsewhere, readers finally get a backstory on returning villain Terex and his past (spoiler the dude fought at the battle of Jakku). This was fun and I feel that Soule captured Dameron's cocky attitude.

This is an old fashioned, rip-roaring grand adventure, staring the charming and ever so cocky resistance pilot, Poe Dameron. Taking place before the events of Episode 7, Poe is sent on a mission by General Leia Organa to find Lor San Tekka who just might know where Luke Skywalker is. With the help of BB-8 and the members of Black Squadron, Poe travels from place to place, with First Order Agent Terex showing up on the same mission.
Vol. 1 has action, mystery, dogfights, humor, and no Jedi (but then again, I thought the absence of the "force" in Rogue One and Solo was wonderful and refreshing in the Star Wars universe). It's just a bunch of average pilots of the resistance (even if one is a great pilot) trying to take on the forces of evil. I enjoyed it.

Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith‘s “Burning Seas” arc (issues #13-18) is another awesome entry in my current favorite Star Wars comic run from Soule. This is another unforgettable arc for the series.

Set roughly a year after the events of Revenge of the Sith, “Burning Seas,” finds Palpatine ready to let the galaxy learn the Empire is not a benevolent successor to the Republic, but rather a dominating military power who is anything but the friendly neighborhood government. He tasks Tarkin and Vader with bringing Mon Cala to heel, providing the galaxy a lesson on how the Empire truly operates now. It especially fun and intriguing to watch Tarkin and Vader interact.

I also really enjoy that Soule gives us moments of introspection with Vader as he processes his past. The series so far has kept Vader, and plenty of introspective moments about the helmeted Sith Lord, at the forefront, but this was the only arc that doesn’t keep him in the spotlight as much. The first issue does find Vader revisiting his fateful battle with Obi-Wan on Mustafar, except this time he’s already Vader and thus able to win, as he is no longer the foolish young man Anakin was back then. Otherwise, some of the Tarkin and Vader relationship is brought to the forefront this arc, as I mentioned above. It is intriguing to watch Tarkin attempt to learn just how powerful Vader is.

The art team of Giuseppe Camuncoli (pencils), Daniele Orlandini (inks), and David Curiel, with an assist from Java Tartaglia and Guru-eFX for one issue, (colors) is one of the best on Marvel’s Star Wars many series at the moment. Some of the art in this series is just astounding.

I have to say that I am starting to prefer Charles Soule’s take on Darth Vader to Kieron Gillen’s. I think I like Charles Soule as a writer a bit better. Sure, Gillen gave us Doctor Aphra, Triple Zero, and BT-One (who I dig) but, Soule's series is a less dense and more fun to read. Soule gets that not only do we like excellent character work but we also like seeing Darth Vader do badass and menacing things.

This second arc continues a lot of the threads that Soule set up in the first arc, and even brings back a character from the prequel trilogy to act as a foil to Vader. Jocasta Nu, a Force-sensitive human female, the Jedi Master who served as the Chief Librarian of the Jedi Archives during the Clone Wars and who we see in the prequel trilogy is turned into amazing character here. She is making a desperate effort to gather and preserve whatever she can of the Jedi legacy after the purge (order 66) but Vader and the Grand Inquisitor cannot let her succeed (although, I will say, she is a powerful match for Vader). Yet, the Emperor orders Vader to keep her alive.......what knowledge does she have?

There is tons of new lore tidbits in this arc that even reference whats to come in some of the films (Rogue One, perhaps even parts of the new trilogy).

I'm loving this series.

This is the Darth Vader comic I've been waiting for. Seriously. It is about Vader's rise to power.From Anakin to Sith Lord. It's an action packed, quick read (and a tad tragic) that is full of introspection and aggrandizement. Note: While Soule's writing is great, penciler Camuncoli is the star here: he masterfully displays Vader's conflicted emotions.

Taking place right after the events of Revenge of the Sith, Anakin Skywalker finishes his dark journey to become Sith Lord Darth Vader. Vader embraces the pain and suffering to test, increase, and improve his power. And the Star Wars mythos expands with the history of the Sith light saber being explained, as Vader journeys to the Outer Rim to procure a light saber from one of the last Jedi, who survived Order 66.

What makes this comic so fascinating is that Vader is still struggling to shed his previous identity as Anakin Skywalker and feels the tug of the light side. With Palpatine's guidance, Vader is sent on a journey to track down and eliminate one of the few Jedi who survived the purge and to claim the man's lightsaber crystal for himself. Vader may not be all powerful in this book, but it certainly makes him a bit more interesting to follow. This also sets up the origins of the Sith Inquisition from the Star Wars Rebels show and provides a bit more connective tissue between the Inquisitors and Vader.

All and all, this is an excellent backstory to Vader, that I wish we could see on the silver screen. But, for now, I'll bask in the glory of the comic.

This is a five-part mini-series (now graphic trade) starring that charming scoundrel fans first met in The Empire Strikes Back—Lando Calrissian.

Marvel’s Lando series is set prior to the events of Episode V. The story begins with Lando having seduced a female Imperial Governor into giving him a precious item that he uses to pay off some old debts—sound familiar? But when he returns to Papa Toren, the creature to whom he was indebted, only a portion of his debt is exonerated. This forces Lando’s hand. To clear the debt, he and his band of smugglers must steal a ship from an Imperial shipyard. Yet, only after seizing the ship do they realize the cargo; this cruiser is personally owned by the Emperor and there are sensitive Sith related items on board.

Lando is full of mystery, action, and intrigue. Perfect for Star Wars fans.

Great action - interesting mystery.

The trick with the backstory material in these large franchise universes (Star Wars and Star Trek) is building off the canon material and filling in the details, without painting yourself into a corner that will be made obsolete by the next movie. This does the trick well - known characters and alien races, merged with a goal (find the Lor San Tekka seen in the Force Awakens). It's sort of a tease, but the story, the action, the charactes all worked together here for an enjoyable story.

As a fan of dystopian tales, I was surprised how much I disliked this book. The premise was intriguing and the opus began on firm footing, but I simply lost interest by the halfway mark. I agree with some armchair critics who suggest the narrative is “all over the place.” I couldn’t connect with the characters, and even by overly-flexible sci-fi standards, the twists were simply too fantastical — and not in a rewarding way. One of the promotional blurbs compares this work with "Midnight Library." Not even remotely close.

Kinda expected a bigger bang at the end, but enjoyed the story nevertheless

Non è una brutta lettura, la storia è carina... però non è indimenticabile, sia nei personaggi, forse sono resi meglio i cattivi, che in quello che succede... l’azione diventa avvincente da metà libro, la seconda metà si legge volentieri, ha anche un buon ritmo, la prima metà francamente mi stava spingendo ad abbandonarlo... quindi se lo volete leggere tenete duro per circa 200 pagine 😉

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/97FaXXlNWVE

Enjoy!