In lieu of a "Marvel Select" edition this month Panini have issued the first volume of a series of Star Wars adventures licensed by Disney and oddly produced by IDW publishing rather than Marvel. Even stranger is that this is a new on-going series and the second volume is not yet complete at the time of writing though depending on the frequency of this new project should be available for publication soon.
This first volume reprints the first five issues of the IDW series and takes place in a time well before the Skywalker saga that is at the centre of Star Wars. The action takes us to the far corner of the galaxy and sees Yoda lead a band of inexperienced padawans to Trymant IV which is under attack by the Nihil who appear to be a band of marauders who are on a mission to retrieve an ancient artefact.
Roentgen the central two characters Zeen Mrala and Krix Kamarat who like a pair of star-crossed lovers from Romeo & Juliet end up being separated by warring houses. Zeen has a secret she has hidden all her life and it's this that will separate the two on different sides of this conflict.
Overall the story is rather messy and assumes a lot of the reader though there is the occasional guide. There are so many characters it's difficult to remember who is who other than the main half dozen. The artwork which is not bad but I would have thought more suited to fantasy rather than science fiction, competent but not adding to the cosmic appeal of the Star Wars Universe.
There will obviously to be a second volume of this series unless sales really don't justify it and I'll be in the market to see how this turns out. However of all the major science fiction franchises I generally find Star Wars doesn't quite translate well into comics. Star Trek does and Doctor Who can do but when I've tried Star Wars comics I haven't stuck with them for long.
Titan did start a monthly Star Wars comic based on the Dark Horse line but it didn't take which surprised me. Maybe these oversized "bookazines" as Panini markets them are the answer, though frankly I'd have chosen something from Marvel rather than this but then it's younger set of heroes may appeal to younger readers.
Rating: 3 stars (Average)
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