Written by Robbie Thompson
Art by Leonard Kirk
Colors by Arif Prianto
Letters by VC’s Joe Caramanga
Edited by Mark Paniccia
Assistant Editor Tom Groneman

As a movie Solo: A Star Wars Story was probably adversely affected by the blow back surrounding The Last Jedi (for a 2019 version of this debate see Game of Thrones Season 8). That was somewhat unfortunate because actually Solo was quite enjoyable as a movie. The issue was probably with the pitch of the movie, in that it created a challenge to match Harrison Ford’s performance as Solo. The end result was in fairness a really good performance from Alden Ehrenreich – think about 75% of Harrison’s charisma. Unfortunately hardly anyone went to see this movie, but maybe post-home release a few more people have now had a chance to watch. I would say that it is pretty much a pre-requisite to see the movie before reading this new trade paperback of the series Han Solo: Imperial Cadet.

The opening part of the book actually does distill the required knowledge into comic book form. This is something of a double edged sword. For those who have seen Solo (and maybe also read the comic book adaptation) there is a bit of repetition around the Lady Proxima escape/swindle, Han’s separation from Qi’ra at the Imperial checkpoint at Corellia, and his subsequent enlisting in the Imperial Academy and acquisition of the Solo surname. The problem is that if you haven’t seen the film/read the adaptation this aspect of the background might seem a little bit rushed in the telling.

Once the actual story kicks in for this volume however, it is a very good addition to the Star Wars comic book catalog. I am a fan of this version of Han Solo anyway, and this volume brings out Han’s youthful cockiness, confidence and braggadocio, combined with a certain sweetness of character that later becomes slightly more cynical. In fact he is so confident here that he resembles a form of proto-Lando, a smiling confident carefree youth with a full beam smile on his face rather that the wry grin that he adopts by the time of A New Hope.

What also helps this book tick along is the supporting cast. We have the intriguing training officer Triosa Broog, who has a hard edge but the skill to realize Han’s talents as a gifted pilot. Hanina Nico finds herself within Han’s cadet grouping, and the two realize that they share a common aim beyond the Imperial training objectives. We also get the likeable twins of Lyttan and Tamu Dree (both of whom also made an appearance in TIE Fighter this week). We see from this book that while his classroom skills leave a lot to be desired that Han had the potential to be the greatest pilot the Empire has ever seen…if his fellow cadets manage to stop themselves from killing him. Along the way we see friendships, a crazy trip to a casino, a wedding, and some unlikely camaraderie among the new recruits.

This volume sports some attractive artwork from Kirk and Prianto, a solid story from Thompson, and has a nice setting in which to show some of Solo’s formative years. I enjoyed it and hope that there are more comic book tales to be told in either this era or in the period immediately after the events of Solo the movie. Definitely an essential book for those who enjoyed the film. As a bonus readers of this collection also get the Beckett one shot written by Gerry Duggan and art by Marc Laming, Will Sliney and Edgar Salazar which is a fun little extra.

7.9/10