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Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is a first of sorts as its the first tie-in series to a physical park. Ethan Sacks and Will Sliney had the task of taking details, creatures, and locations from the park and weaving that into a story while introducing new characters. It’s quite a friendly series for new and old fans alike seeing as it weaves in Doctor Aphra (best known for her comic appearances), Chirrut Îmwe (from Rogue One), and even Han Solo and Chewbacca. The park is a suitable location for all these characters to pass through as Black Spire Outpost has been frequented by smugglers, pirates, merchants, and travelers for quite some time. The adventures that take place in this new trade paperback play around with Jedi and Sith history alike and offer a peek into the deep lore of Star Wars.
Writer Ethan Sacks does a great job with the opening issue, pacing things out so that it cuts naturally to the present and to the past. It opens with a mysterious bounty hunter type walking around Black Spire Outpost on Batuu, effectively giving readers a mini-tour of the area. There are also interesting faces, droids, and other sights to see, most of which will most likely pop up when folks visit Disneyland. The story involves a highly touted trader who has an interesting tie to the past, making the flashbacks involving Han Solo and Chewbacca make sense. This leads to a second-story opening with Ki-Adi-Mundi sweeping his lightsaber in battle only to be killed off due to Order 66. It’s a surprising sight to see prequel action, since Han Solo and Chewie were in the first issue. That’s the kind of storytelling you get however, when Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities is the driving force of the story. He has many antiques with stories to go with them. This shop serves as a means to tell stories of the past, which Sacks and Sliney’s new characters are eavesdropping on. They’re looking for a specific relic so it makes sense for them to listen in. This leads to a second story involving a famous bounty hunter.
Dok-Ondar is very wise looking.
Credit: Marvel Comics
Most of the narratives in this collection hang on Dok-Ondar attempting to find relics either to sell or to connect back to his parents. The character is a major feature of the parks and it makes sense he’d be such a central figure to the comics. The two-part Doctor Aphra tale that ends the book utilizes the character quite a bit and it’s interesting to see the true nature of the character after having to deal with Triple-Zero and Bee Tee and literally holding a cursed Sith blade. Speaking of the Sith blade Sacks does a great job infusing this story with meaningful and interesting Sith and Jedi history. I’m no expert so stuff that appears here may already have been written about, but you can’t miss this for fear of missing out on some great ideas.
If you’ve peeped any of the official photos of Black Spire Outpost or actually been there you’ll note artist Will Sliney has done a great job depicting the area. Thankfully Han isn’t photorealistic but instead looks the part so he’s not creepy looking. Han and Chewie are expressive, have the attitude we’ve come to expect, and get fun moments to shine too. The world looks rich in its run-down nature we’ve come to love from the series and familiar faces all look spot on too. Sliney is backed up by Dono Sanchez-Almara on colors (with Protobunker) and Travis Lanham on letters. It’s not so easy to make characters listening to something interesting and he does a good job with that. There’s a positively epic introduction of the bounty hunter mentioned in a hero’s pose that folks will love. There are also a bunch of familiar faces that look spot on from the original movies.
This is a great melding of different characters from all eras of the Star Wars universe which suits the Black Spire Outpost’s comic introduction since it’s a hub too. The richness of Star Wars is on full display be it the various colorful characters, incredible locations, or deep history. Don’t miss this.
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