Learn the secret history of Crait.
Warning: this review contains minor spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi!
Marvel is continuing what looks to be a tradition of following up on new Star Wars saga films with weirdly random, standalone one-shot comics. With The Force Awakens, we got a surprisingly good C-3PO comic predicated on explaining why the erstwhile droid hero had a red arm in the movie. This time around, Marvel is taking the opportunity to fill in the back-story on Crait, the world that serves as the backdrop for the climax of The Last Jedi. This comic does little to enhance the events of the film, but it does offer an entertaining story set in the familiar Original Trilogy setting.
This issue takes place more or less concurrently with the monthly Star Wars comic, focusing on Leia's ongoing efforts to find the Rebel Alliance a new permanent base in the aftermath of Episode IV. Crait, naturally, is among the list of candidates. Basically, this issue chronicles Leia, Luke and Han's journey to Crait and explains why the Rebels elected to go with another world instead. There's nothing more profound to it than that. Weirdly, this issue doesn't even reference the events of Claudia Gray's novel Leia, Princess of Alderaan or acknowledge that the Rebels are supposed to have taken refuge on Crait once before. Equally strange is the involvement of SCAR Squadron, with this issue creating the impression that Luke and Sergeant Kreel have never met before. Basically, this issue's place in and impact on Star Wars canon is nebulous at best.
But in terms of offering a story that celebrates Leia, Luke and Han in their prime, Storms of Crait hits the mark. Given that Crait, in many ways, is the spot where the old Star Wars saga was officially laid to rest, it seems appropriate to give the OT cast their moment to shine there.
Writers Ben Acker and Ben Blacker mine a lot of gold out of the Han/Leia dynamic, tapping into the same "playful banter aimed at suppressing mutual feelings of attraction" vibe Jason Aaron emphasized in his run. Leia also gets the chance to flex her action hero side for a change, while also struggling with the desire to live up to her father's example as a kind, compassionate leader. Luke benefits equally well here, as we see the turmoil he experiences at being being forced to visit another desolate wasteland of a world and fall back on his old moisture farming training. It's always fun to see writers find new wrinkles on such old, established favorites.
Visually, this issue falls into many of the same traps as the main Star Wars book. Like Salvador Larroca, Mike Mayhew is an artist who relies on photo-referenced material to the detriment of the finished product. Sure, this issue is detailed and cinematic, but many panels are guilty of ripping shots directly from the films. To his credit, Mayhew relies on his own models for reference as often as the Star Wars cast themselves. Fans of Dark Horse's The Star Wars mini-series will no doubt recognize the model Mayhew has "cast" as Luke. But that only creates further problems and moments of bizarre inconsistency. Leia and Han are almost always dead-ringers for Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, respectively, but Luke tends to look more like a young Matt Damon than Mark Hamill. And Wedge, for whom there's almost no existing reference material when the character is outside an X-Wing cockpit, was unrecognizable to me until Luke actually named him in a panel.
All that being said, I can appreciate the effort Mayhew puts into his pages, even if the Uncanny Valley effect is overwhelming at times. He brings plenty of detail to both figures and environments. The colors and textures also go a long way towards giving the issue a cohesive tone and feel. Color and texture are crucial qualities considering how much Crait stands out from a visual perspective in The Last Jedi. But between this issue and the main series, I'd really like to see Marvel put less of a priority on pure, cinematic realism and more on establishing a unique but cohesive vision for Star Wars that better takes advantage of what the medium has to offer.
The Verdict
Star Wars: The Storms of Crait isn't a particularly memorable comic in terms of its connections to The Last Jedi. It doesn't even fit smoothly into Marvel's Star Wars stories, much less the larger saga. But simply as a spotlight on the heroes of the Original Trilogy and their wonderful dynamic, this issue is a blast. It would be nice if Marvel's Star Wars comics would stop falling into the same visual traps, but there's enough here to satisfy fans who want a good Luke, Hand and Leia-focused adventure.
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