Comics
[Advance Review] “Star Wars” #1 Returns The Franchise to Marvel In A Huge Way!
Jason Aaron & John Cassaday’s “Star Wars” #1 is phenomenal. It truly lives up to the hype and deserves the attention of any and all Star Wars fans. I would even urge non-comic readers to give it a shot. The creative team perfectly capture the essence of the original trilogy, making the book feel like a very natural extension of the films we know and love. Han acts and sounds like Han, with dialogue that will have you laugh out loud. Each and every character is spot on. Aaron’s fluidly writes these characters with such apparent ease you could mistake him for George Lucus himself in the throws of writing A New Hope: It’s That Good.
WRITTEN BY: Jason Aaron
ART BY: John Cassaday
PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics
PRICE: $4.99
RELEASE: January 14, 2015
Reviewed By Torin Chambers
Speaking of A New Hope, “Star Wars” #1 picks up soon after the destruction of the first Death Star at the climax of the original film. With chaos and disorder running rampant within the Imperial Forces, the Rebels begin a massive offensive across the galaxy. There is the hope to put down The Empire once and for all, securing freedom in the galaxy. You learn all this from a beautiful recap page that’s presented like the opening crawl of any of the films. Let’s hope the design sticks.
The whole gang’s here Luke, Leia, Han, 3PO, R2D2 and even Chewie. With a couple iconic vehicles making appearances as well, the whole ride is a thrill and then, a surprise guest makes one hell of an entrance. It’s amazing that the issue never feels cramped even with every character getting their own moment or two. A personal favorite belongs to C3P0, in something I never knew I wanted to see so bad. The story and character development are equally balanced, with appropriate dashes of humor to keep a generally upbeat pace.
“Star Wars” #1 presents itself in a similar fashion to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the 3D CGI animated TV show. Each centres around one of the film trilogies characters at a point when their respective galaxies are experiencing incredibly turmoil. Following the start of the Clone Wars and the Rebel Alliances galaxy wide push after the destruction of the Death Star, respectively. Star Wars: The Clone Wars was well received by fans and critics alike even with its sordid roots. Star Wars #1 on the other hand is spinning out one of the most beloved films of all time and miraculously it’s burning just as bright.
I had a fair amount of concerns when Star Wars moved from Dark Horse back to Marvel. I feared there would be too many restrictions placed on Aaron and Cassaday to create anything good. Who knows how many real restrictions they had or if there were none, either way it doesn’t matter because the final product is exceptional. Now, while I was sad for Dark Horses era to be over, I’m overjoyed to see Marvels run begin.
Star Wars has returned to Marvel in a very huge way.
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Torin Chambers is a rad dude from the nineties who does film stuff or something. Thomas the Tank Engine is his favorite transformer. Find him on Twitter @TorinsChambers
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
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