Story by Jody Houser
Art by Roge Antonio and Josh Cassara
Color by Arif Prianto and Neeraj Menon
Lettering by VC’s Joe Caramanga
Cover art by Tommy Lee Edwards
Edited by Mark Paniccia
Assistant Editor: Tom Groneman

The first issue of Star Wars: Tie Fighter really opened with a punch. This second installment of the 5 issue mini series continues the story of Squadron 5, Shadow Wing under the sly leadership of Teso Broosh and opens in the thick of the action within the Kudo system, where Squadron 5 find themselves in the strange position of coming under attack from supposed Imperial forces in the opening few panels. Following a swift and surprise surrender the story really kicks in as the crew finds themselves in a tricky situation.

This issue is a very brisk one, the speed of the story is exacerbated by the central story being cut short to facilitate the inclusion of a back up story at the end of the book. What the main story does though is underscore the ruthlessness and calculating nature of Broosh. It also establishes something of a hierarchy of sorts within the team as we see that Jeela is already well ahead of the pack in terms of smuggling in weapons to facilitate the group’s efforts. The back up story focuses around a holograph call taking place between Lyttan Dree and his brother Tamu. This is of more value in terms of deeper character insight with a look at his family motivations, ties, and a call back to links with the earlier Han Solo: Imperial Cadet series.

After an initial issue which opened with a bang, this issue was a little bit subdued but does establish a clear narrative connectivity with the first installment. That said, this issue is underpinned by a sense that the series will be one to be judged on the basis of all five installments plus back up stories. With the mini series serving as an entry point for a tie in novel it is probably too early to judge the merits of this single issue. The book is an exciting one though and Houser keeps the action moving at quite a clip.

This issue primarily serves as a bridge from the opening installment to the remainder of the series and performs that role solidly with a bit of excitement along the way. There is a sense of the issue feeling like it is over before it starts due to the back up story, and as such there are now pointers that this might be a series that reads better in trade. As with the last issue, the art is solid and impressive and this issue continues the stylish fresh look of the series. Not an issue to be read in isolation – if you’ve been in since issue 1 keep going, otherwise maybe wait for the trade on this one.