Story by Greg Pak
Art (pages 1-12, 20) by Chris Spouse and Karl Story
Art (pages 13-19) by Will Sliney, Marc Deering and Karl Story
Colors by Tamra Bonvillain
Lettering by VC’s Travis Lanham
Cover Artists: Terry and Rachel Dodson
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 10, 2019

Reviewed by: Andrew M. (He is in Belfast!)

The beautiful Dodsons’ cover to this principal installment in the Age of Rebellion series does the father and daughter team proud. It also suggested, to me at least, that the setting of this book within the Rebellion (Original Trilogy) era of Star Wars would be located between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. Instead, when we open the book it is the immediate post-Empire Strikes Back period that we find ourselves in as we follow Leia’s attempts to rescue Han Solo from the vile clutches of Jabba the Hutt. It’s a pleasant surprise to get some content from this period in the new canon. Let’s see how this book plays out.

The issue opens in the living quarters within the Millennium Falcon and we immediately feel comfortable within the familiar setting. By the second panel we also see the thermal detonator that Leia will later use in her ruse against the Hutt to free her man. This signals the main driver of the issue which revolves around Leia’s preparation for her rescue mission and her role as Boushh. She tries the costume on for size in a tale that sees her test her new persona in a rescue attempt on Lando who finds himself being hunted by Bounty hunters in the Outer Rim. Her residual mistrust of Lando means that there is a bit of an edge to this issue and it allows Leia to take risks and act like a total bad-ass while assuming her disguise. The plot thickens even more when Chewie falls prey to the Bounty hunters while the rescue mission is under way.

This issue is a lot of fun, but is also action packed. The central enjoyment comes from the cameo appearances from several familiar bounty hunters including Bossk who is delightfully malicious in this. We also get a little bit of an insight into the Boushh character that Leia is impersonating; initially Leia nearly blows her cover for a surprising reason. Elsewhere the dynamic between Lando and Leia is interesting as we see that trust hasn’t quite evolved between the two. There are also some nice tender touches in relation to the void left by Han, and humor in some “pillow talk” between Leia and Chewie on the Falcon…

Final Thoughts:

Out of this week’s Marvel Star Wars offerings this book is the strongest. Pak tells a fine story, but for me the art stole the show with some beautiful and consistent artwork across the extensive art team. Special credit goes to the fine and appealing color work from Tamra Bonvillain which lifts the book and pulls together the artwork across the issue.

8/10