Chris' Midichlorian Corner for August 29nd, 2012

Welcome back Star Wars fans. This week's Star Wars book is Darth Maul: Death Sentence #2 by Tom Taylor & Bruno Redondo. Last time we saw our horned hero, he and his brother, Savage Opress, had tracked down the one responsible for the bounty on their heads. Before they could dispatch retribution though, they were confronted by a trio of Jedi sent from Coruscant to investigate Maul's return.

As you may remember, I was a big fan of the previous installment. I thought the story and artwork wonderfully captured the incredible savagery that is Darth Maul. It confirmed that Maul should have been the prequel trilogy's equivalent to Vader, and how it was a criminal mistake to cut him out after only 10 mins of screen time. I mean come on Lucas, if you're going to base the bulk of your marketing around a single character, the obvious choice is to let said character come back in future films. Luckily though, there are other media formats for Maul to continue his legend.

This issue picks up right where the last one left off and jumps right into battle. We're shown quite a bit: the power of the two brothers when combined, Savage's lack of control or foresight, the capability of Maul's new legs, and the fact that there is most likely no line that Maul won't cross. Maul is taken by surprise and wounded in the confrontation, causing him to flee and leave behind his incapacitated brother to the mercy of the Jedi. The heat of the desert beyond the mines proves too much for him though and he loses consciousness.

Maul begins to hallucinate and struggles against his doppelganger with the body of an enormous spider. Spider-Maul then transforms into a creepy as hell Obi-Wan and declares that Maul will never be able to stand against him. I really enjoyed how this scene harkened back (or is it forward?) to the cave scene from Empire Strikes Back. Maul eventually awakens from his nightmare among the people of the desert. They inform him that he is the "Demon in the Light" the elder foresaw coming to “lead their people against Ja'boag so that they can return to their homes in the caves before the day of the three suns burns them all alive.” Maul accepts this role, hoping that these people can help him save his brother from the Jedi.

This issue did a great job of keeping up the intensity. I always wanted to see what the next page had to offer. Whether this is because Darth Maul is just so inherently badass or because it's just such a well written and drawn book, I'll leave to you to decide. A few interesting new questions were introduced: What will the Jedi do with Savage Opress? What do the desert people mean by "Demon in the Light"? Will Maul help the people overthrow Ja'boag or does he have some ulterior motive? Guess we'll have to wait the four torturous weeks until next month to find out. 

Until that time everyone, May the Force be with you.

Dylan's Sequential Theology 08.29.2012

Welcome back to Sequential Theology! This time around we have the continuing adventures of "Angel & Faith: Trans-dimensional paranormal investigators," more wacky highjinx from the Nicolle brothers on Axe Cop, and Darth Maul: Death Sentence is a giant robot kick to the teeth.
As always, if you disagree with me, prove me wrong.

Angel & Faith #13
Story by Christos Gage, art by Rebekah Isaacs

When we last left our heroes they were in the hell dimension of Quor'toth attempting to
a) Restore magic to their dimension
b) Save a tribe of demons that worship Connor (Angels' son) as a messiah
c) Not die.
All while Quor'toth slowly corrupts each of them and makes them give in to their dark side. Being a fan of crazy Faith, it was great seeing her struggle with that aspect of herself, and this series has the potential to bring some much needed motivation for her which was lacking when she was in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4. She was crazy, and wanted to live life to the fullest, but that's not a character motivation and Christos Gage uses internal monologue to its fullest advantage with her.
Since this is the penultimate issue, this little detour to Connor's "homeworld" was pretty brief, but definitely fun. Not sure why I accept the over the top fantasy aspects in Angel & Faith, but can't stand it in Buffy... Most likely the general concept of "cheerleader living a normal life while fighting demons at night" tends to box in the rules of what is "too big." Anyway, I digress. If you want more Faith and Willow, this book is excellent. I don't know if I'd recommend it to Buffy & Angel fans outright, but it's definitely worth a look.

Axe Cop: President of the World #2
Story by Malachai Nicolle, art by Ethan Nicolle
My god, this kid can write. This series may have absolutely nil characterization, but the stories are fantastic. It feels like a Lee/Kirby era comic from the 60s or a comic from the 30s. Just endless imagination on every page. What most writers would stretch out to three years worth of story, Malachai & Ethan give you in 20 pages. It may be "too ADD for your internet," but if you miss reading comics about Gorillas on their tippy-toes with missile launching fists fighting robots, than this is the book for you.
It twists and turns in directions that are obvious, but because of our jaded modern minds and expectations of logic, their payoffs are incredibly satisfying. With everything flying at you all at once, the simplicity of story (cop with axe becomes president of the world; fights evil) hides the ever complex onion-esque layers of this series. There is the over arching plot, the plot of each rather self-contained issue, and then the backstories of each character introduced. This formula happens every time, and can possibly feel tedious, but Malachai creates backstories full of fodder for Ethan to flesh out with his art.
I don't want to spoil anything, but I also don't know if it's possible. Just know that in this issue, a giant Chee-Rex (half cheetah half t-rex) rides a flying motorcycle, and tries to destroy the world, and that's just the splashpage on pages 4 & 5.

Darth Maul: Death Sentence #2
Story by Tom Taylor, art by Bruno Redondo

When it was announced that Darth Maul would return to the Star Wars universe in a larger role, I was excited about the prospect. But at the same time, wasn't too sure if his re-introduction to the Star Wars universe was necessary (as if his death was). And when I saw his robot legs, I just mentally re-imagined him as having regular legs due to a long stint in a Bacta tank and I was merely misremembering the robot goat legs. But that's the design they are going with, so I guess I'd better get used to it.
But, I was optimistic to see how Tom Taylor would flesh out everyone's favorite Dathomirian beyond being the one-dimensional icon seen in Episode I. And he really nailed it by showing his relationship with his brother. The first issue was a lot of explosions and very little characterization from Darth Maul, or his brother (the reasonable replacement if horribly named) Savage Opress. And while I don't expect too much characterization, the first issue told me little more than "these two are badasses and they do badass stuff." This time around, there was much more characterization and I was able to really get into the story.
More violence, more crazy action, but it becomes more than that as Darth Maul fails and has to pick himself up. By the end of this issue, Darth Maul is in charge of the lives of many innocent people, and what this dark lord of terror and hate does with that power will be very interesting indeed.

Not convinced you should buy Darth Maul: Death Sentence #2? Here's Chris' much more in depth review.

Before I end this, I want to also point out that Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison #4 came out last week, but I didn't get to it until this week. This book really deserves the praise it's getting from other comics review sites. If you love the Star Wars universe, definitely pick up the trade when it is released. It's easily one of the best things to happen to the franchise since the Dark Empire trilogy.

Thank you all for enjoying what we do here. If you haven't yet, please listen to our latest episode where we interview Joko Budiono, his latest book Teddy-1 really deserves your attention.

Chris' Midichlorian Corner for August 1st, 2012

Greetings again Star Wars fans. Welcome back to the Midichlorian Corner. Since this week was a little light on Star Wars books, I decided to go back and review the OTHER Star Wars book Dark Horse published last week. This time I'll be covering the last installment of Star Wars: BloodTies - Boba Fett is Dead. 

I came into this one quite late in the game, but the prologue got me fairly caught up. Apparently the galaxy believes Boba Fett has been killed by a group of mercenaries. But our bucket-headed bounty hunter hero has other plans. The hunt is on for the man who hired his attackers. In his search, Fett finds out that the "man" behind the attack is actually a woman who works for the planetary governor of Concord Dawn, where Fett's half brother Connor Freeman, former wife Sintas Vel, and daughter Ailyn have taken refuge from Fett's supposed killers.

A lot goes on in this issue and yet not much happens. All we see is a raid, a shootout, and a verbal confrontation. It's the climax, so naturally we can expect lots of action, but it would have been nice to see a little bit more than that. Now granted, I didn't get a chance to see what came before, but nothing I saw here had much of an impact on me. It didn't really feel like anything was at stake or like Fett was really being challenged. He makes such short work of the mercenaries, one might think he could have done it with one hand while covering his eyes with his other hand. There was just no sense of danger, mainly because this takes place at some point before/during the original trilogy, and therefore we KNOW Boba Fett survives. Even with a certified badass like Boba Fett, while we're reading, we still want there to be a SMALL thrill of danger. Otherwise, despite all the gunfire and explosions, it's all just a little boring. After thoroughly enjoying Darth Maul: Death Sentence last week, I was really expecting more out of Tom Taylor.

I was also extremely underwhelmed by the Chris Scalf's art. The faces are oddly proportioned and the characters don't seem to be moving so much as they're posing. The "painted" look that he uses is also fairly distracting and when you're not looking directly at any of the characters, you notice that it allows him to be a little lazy with the backgrounds, often times only realizing buildings with a few shapes with no real detail. Pretty much the only one drawn well is Fett. Perhaps this was done put the focus on him or differentiate him from the rest. I'm not sure. But I'd have much rather seen the same care and detail put into the rest of the characters too. 

I don't mean to sound too harsh. It's entirely possible that I'd have enjoyed this a lot more if I'd been invested in it from the start, but coming in at the end like this definitely didn't do it any favors. It feels odd to say this about an arc titled "Boba Fett is Dead," but I really hope the next arc brings more to the table. Boba Fett is one of my favorite characters from anything EVER, and it would be really nice to continue on with his adventures. 

Until next time everyone, may the Force be with you.

Chris' Midichlorian Corner for July 25th, 2012

Greetings fellow Star Wars fans. Welcome back. In this review, I'll be discussing Dark Horse's newest Star Wars tale, Darth Maul:Death Sentence. I'm sure the rest of you would agree with me that pretty much the only reason worth acknowledging the existence of The Phantom Menace is Darth Maul. Probably the greatest misstep of the prequel trilogy was killing him off after barely more than 10 mins of screen time. He had the potential to be this generation's Darth Vader. No doubt after grudgingly admitting this, Lucas and Co. resurrected him from the dead in the Clone Wars animated series. I don't particularly like that his new legs look identical to Grievous', but I guess beggars can't be choosers.

According to Dark Horse, Death Sentence takes place directly after the events seen in the latest episodes. Darth Maul and his brother Savage Opress seek the necessary funds to start their own army. But in their search they have attracted the attention of the Jedi and many others who would like nothing better than to see the brothers dead. The story begins with a weasel (I'm sure the character design was deliberate) named Zika ratting out the location of Maul and Savage to a group of bounty hunters. The scene is handled very well and given a nice mysterious vibe as neither of the brothers is mentioned by name until they are finally revealed. And when they are, boy oh boy does the shit ever hit the fan. Cut to Jedi Knight Salmara and her padawan, Dray. They're given a small throwaway scene mainly to explain how Maul survived (which to me felt a tad expository, and then it's back to the action. The brothers dispatch the bounty hunters without much effort, leaving the leader alive enough to interrogate regarding his employer, Ja'boag.

After a scene with the Jedi Masters discussing Salmara's mission to investigate how Ja'boag knows of the brothers' existence, we cut to a mining colony, where the brothers land their ship and take in the lay of the land. It seems that Ja'boag has a small army of his own. I don't want to ruin what happens next, but it's one of the most incredibly badass sequences I've ever seen in a comic. Maul and Savage then make their way into Ja'boag's complex. It would seem that Ja'boag doesn't have much longer to live, but as the issue comes to a close, the brothers receive an unexpected surprise that could potentially foul up their plans.

As you can tell, I really liked this issue. And as you may have also figured out, the only interesting parts of the issue are the ones featuring Darth Maul and Savage Opress. I understand that this was probably deliberately done to showcase the two main characters, but I really hope the others are given more due in future issues. The rest of the story moves along at a brisk pace that will more than likely have you reading it again once you've finished. I'm very interested to see where writer Tom Taylor takes the story from here. His characters all seem to have their own personalities, and it's refreshing to see the variety he's giving us. Bruno Redondo's art shines here as well.  His characters and environments are very detailed and he has a great sense of motion. He really captures the ferocity of Maul and Savage. I can't wait to see what lies in store for them next month, and I hope the same is true for all of you. Until next time everyone, may the Force be with you.