Comics
Review: ‘Star Wars’ # 3
Brian Wood continues his epic retelling of the post New Hope Star Wars Universe. Proving that these old characters can still tread new ground, and be completely engrossing in fantastic new ways. Wood’s new vision of Star Wars is a sight to behold, and an absolute pleasure to read.
WRITTEN BY: Brian Wood
ART BY: Carlos D’Anda
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: March 13th, 2013
For the unacquainted, Brian Wood has just begun a new “Star Wars” series at Dark Horse that picks up after that pivotal moment at the end of A New Hope. The Rebel Alliance has gained a momentary victory, Luke still has two hands, Leia may potentially still be into her brother, and Han is still a slimeball.
Which is all very good news. The characters we all know and love are fundamentally different here. Wood characterizes Luke perfectly; he’s not some Jedi in training, but rather a hot head kid who believes himself to be the best of the best. It totally works.
Leia leads a secret squadron of X wing pilots into the deep reaches of space, looking for a new home for the rebel alliance (can somebody say Battlestar Galactica!). Leia is still mourning the loss of her planet, and consistently butts heads with Luke. This dynamic makes up the bulk of this issue, and the stakes are constantly raised because you are never entirely sure why Luke is pissing her off so much. Is she in love with him? Or is she truly concerned with his cocky attitude? Only Brian Wood knows.
Which again is the major draw of this series. Everything is as you remember it from Empire or Jedi but subtly different. I found myself asking so many questions, and pondering so many “what ifs” as I turned the pages. Most notably Wood seems to be pushing Vader into a useless drone. A drone who has outlived his utility for the Emperor.
The new villain introduced by Wood could potentially be a Red Herring to take us off of Vader’s trail for a couple of issues, but it doesn’t seem like it. I imagine we’re heading into completely uncharted territory here, and that prospect is amazing.
The story bounces between the Rebel Fleet, Han & Chewie, and The Imperial Fleet. Carlos D’Anda’s art holds up beautifully throughout, although his style doesn’t quite resemble the actors who made the roles famous so many years ago, but echoes the old Marvel comics from days gone by. It takes some getting used to, but it helps the story stand on its own merits, rather than the shoulders of the films.
As a whole, a solid issue that left me wanting more. If you’re a die-hard Star Wars fan, but are worried about the future of the series, then do yourself a favor and pick up Wood’s “Star Wars”. It’s a wonderful alternate take on Star Wars lore, which will keep you guessing with every page.
3.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – Jimbus_Christ
Comics
[Review] Graphic Novel ‘Tender’ Is Brilliant Feminist Body Horror That Will Make You Squirm & Scream
Beth Hetland’s debut graphic novel, ‘Tender,’ is a modern tale of love, validation, and self-destruction by way of brutal body horror with a feminist edge.
“I’ve wanted this more than anything.”
Men so often dominate the body horror subgenre, which makes it so rare and insightful whenever women tackle this space. This makes Beth Hetland’s Tender such a refreshing change of pace. It’s earnest, honest, and impossibly exposed. Tender takes the body horror subgenre and brilliantly and subversively mixes it together with a narrative that’s steeped in the societal expectations that women face on a daily basis, whether it comes to empowerment, family, or sexuality. It single-handedly beats other 2023 and ‘24 feminine horror texts like American Horror Story: Delicate, Sick, Lisa Frankenstein, and Immaculate at their own game.
Hetland’s Tender is American Psycho meets Rosemary’s Baby meets Swallow. It’s also absolutely not for the faint of heart.
Right from the jump, Tender grabs hold of its audience and doesn’t let go. Carolanne’s quest for romantic fulfillment, validation, and a grander purpose is easy to empathize with and an effective framework for this woeful saga. Carolanne’s wounds cut so deep simply because they’re so incredibly commonplace. Everybody wants to feel wanted.
Tender is full of beautiful, gross, expressive artwork that makes the reader squirm in their seat and itch. Hetland’s drawings are simultaneously minimalist and comprehensively layered. They’re reminiscent of Charles Burns’ Black Hole, in the best way possible. There’s consistently inspired and striking use of spot coloring that elevates Hetland’s story whenever it’s incorporated, invading Tender’s muted world.
Hetland employs effective, economical storytelling that makes clever use of panels and scene construction so that Tender can breeze through exposition and get to the story’s gooey, aching heart. There’s an excellent page that depicts Carolanne’s menial domestic tasks where the repetitive panels grow increasingly smaller to illustrate the formulaic rut that her life has become. It’s magical. Tender is full of creative devices like this that further let the reader into Carolanne’s mind without ever getting clunky or explicit on the matter. The graphic novel is bookended with a simple moment that shifts from sweet to suffocating.
Tender gives the audience a proper sense of who Carolanne is right away. Hetland adeptly defines her protagonist so that readers are immediately on her side, praying that she gets her “happily ever after,” and makes it out of this sick story alive…And then they’re rapidly wishing for the opposite and utterly aghast over this chameleon. There’s also some creative experimentation with non-linear storytelling that gets to the root of Carolanne and continually recontextualizes who she is and what she wants out of life so that the audience is kept on guard.
Tender casually transforms from a picture-perfect rom-com, right down to the visual style, into a haunting horror story. There’s such a natural quality to how Tender presents the melancholy manner in which a relationship — and life — can decay. Once the horror elements hit, they hit hard, like a jackhammer, and don’t relent. It’s hard not to wince and grimace through Tender’s terrifying images. They’re reminiscent of the nightmarish dadaist visuals from The Ring’s cursed videotape, distilled to blunt comic panels that the reader is forced to confront and digest, rather than something that simply flickers through their mind and is gone a moment later. Tender makes its audience marinate in its mania and incubates its horror as if it’s a gestating fetus in their womb.
Tender tells a powerful, emotional, disturbing story, but its secret weapon may be its sublime pacing. Hetland paces Tender in such an exceptional manner, so that it takes its time, sneaks up on the reader, and gets under their skin until they’re dreading where the story will go next. Tender pushes the audience right up to the edge so that they’re practically begging that Carolanne won’t do the things that she does, yet the other shoe always drops in the most devastating manner. Audiences will read Tender with clenched fists that make it a struggle to turn each page, although they won’t be able to stop. Tender isn’t a short story, at more than 160 pages, but readers will want to take their time and relish each page so that this macabre story lasts for as long as possible before it cascades to its tragic conclusion.
Tender is an accomplished and uncomfortable debut graphic novel from Hetland that reveals a strong, unflinching voice that’s the perfect fit for horror. Tender indulges in heightened flights of fancy and toes the line with the supernatural. However, Tender is so successful at what it does because it’s so grounded in reality and presents a horror story that’s all too common in society. It’s a heartbreaking meditation on loneliness and codependency that’s one of 2024’s must-read horror graphic novels.
‘Tender,’ by Beth Hetland and published by Fantagraphics, is now available.
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