Star Wars, Vol. 2: From the Ruins of Alderaan

Star Wars (2013)

by Brian Wood (Writer), Ryan Kelly (Illustrator), Carlos D'Anda (Illustrator)

The Rebels’ covert ops go on the offensive as Princess Leia sends two of her top pilots—Wedge Antilles and Luke Skywalker—to be “captured” by the Empire! Meanwhile, Leia takes off on her own to locate a safe haven. But Darth Vader is on the alert! Collects issues #7–#12 of the ongoing series.

Genres: Star Wars, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 16, 2014

About the author

Brian Wood's history of published work includes over fifty volumes of genre-spanning original material.

From the 1500-page future war epic DMZ, the ecological disaster series The Massive, the American crime drama Briggs Land, and the groundbreaking lo-fi dystopia Channel Zero he has a 20-year track record of marrying thoughtful world-building and political commentary with compelling and diverse characters.

His YA novels - Demo, Local, The New York Four, and Mara - have made YALSA and New York Public Library best-of lists. His historical fiction - the viking series Northlanders, the American Revolution-centered Rebels, and the norse-samurai mashup Sword Daughter - are benchmarks in the comic book industry.

He's written some of the biggest franchises in pop culture, including Star Wars, Terminator, RoboCop, Conan The Barbarian, Robotech, and Planet Of The Apes. He’s written number-one-selling series for Marvel Comics. And he’s created and written multiple canonical stories for the Aliens universe, including the Zula Hendricks character.

Reviews

[Jason]

Yeah! Star Wars comics!
Just started aaaaand...the character motivations just don't make sense (you know, your basic Brian Wood comic).
But...yeah, Star Wars comic. So ready for Marvels take. They have some excellent creative teams lined up too.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this was not the vol 2 that I intended to buy. Apparently the series I started was the one that started in 2015, and I got confused. This is apparently a reprint of the Dark Horse comics(?)

Anyway - who cares. OMG! This is so F'ing good.

Leia flies an x-wing. She flies an x-wing into battle. She and Mon Mothma actually exchange complete sentences! This is so freaking good. Leia leaves a memorial at the asteroid field that is what is left of Alderaan.

And Wedge! Wedge forming Rogue squadron. Wedge talking about survivor's guilt. Okay, Wedge looks more like Dominic Keating from Star Trek Enterprise than Denis Lawson. But still Wedge flying a Tie Fighter!

This was so awesome. Yeah, Luke and Han who do not look like Hamil or Ford to be honest, are in here too. Luke's girlfriend is a woman of color and she's awesome. But they break up because this is Legends canon so Mara is in the far future. But she was awesome!

And I'm not entirely sure who that woman Han was flirting is, but she is awesome too.

and Mon Mothma kicks butt!

Need to read vol 1.

[Frédéric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume is a little better written than the previous one, but it's still laborious.

The plot is still really interesting though, with a twist I didn't see coming. Some characters are well served: Solo is true to form and his interactions with Chewie are funny, Wedge is developed with emotion and Mon Mothma shows that her years in the senate have sharpened her sense of strategy. Leia and Luke return to a more "canon" characterisation - from my point of view anyway - and that’s for the best.
The big loser so far is Vader. Sidelined by the Emperor, he is also sidelined by this series and is chomping at the bit. And so are we.

The artistic side of things is decent, but without any particular relief. Likenesses are vague at best.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 3 out of 5]

“From the Ruins of Alderaan” is the second volume in the 2013 Dark Horse “Star Wars” series, written by Brian Wood and drawn by Carlos D’Anda.

In this volume: Luke and Leia take a stroll down (spotty) memory lane when they visit Tattooine; Han and Chewie have teamed up with a cute garbage hauler named Perla to secretly get off the surface of Coruscant, but Boba Fett has other plans; Wedge Antilles and Luke devise a plan to get arrested so they can get aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer, The Devastator; Leia is forced to deal with her grief about the loss of her homeworld when she discovers an Alderaanian frigate floating in uncharted space; Imperial Colonel Bircher has some secrets to tell; Darth Vader has discovered the identity of the young farm-boy pilot who destroyed the Death Star; and Wedge Antilles has been tossing around an idea for starting his own X-wing squadron, a “Rogue” squadron...

The surprise ending is a bit out of left field and, upon further thought, completely implausible, but whatever. Overall, this series is an entertaining one. Sadly, there are only two more volumes left in this series, and I look forward to reading them.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series does very well at exploring the emotional fallout Luke and Leia have after the events of A New Hope.

This series does a horrible job of representing what the classic character's roles are in this era. I understand if they want to ignore the books and comics, but there are things that character's do that seem to completely conflict with who they are in the films. Why is Leia an X-Wing pilot, why is her relationship with Mon Mothma so full of conflict? I get the sense that this is coming from a great comic book writer who doesn't really know and understand Star Wars. I appreciate the exploration of the character's physiological and metal state, but do not enjoy shaking things up just to shake things up.

[Joana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the one I got at "Forbidden Planet", in London, for 1,99£, and I don't regret that, maybe I would do the same again (but I would keep my maximum at 99 cents), but this was bad, worse than volume 1, and I really don't care for Star Wars comics...
This one is solely action, there's no relationship work here, which was what I had enjoyed in the first one, and there could be interesting character work, but they were just hints of it, and it doesn't go deeper into it... I don't know if it does in further instalments, but I think there was a start of an interesting conversation about PTSD and trauma with Leia and Wedge Antilles, the cost of war to both of them, the loss of the people (the planet) they've known... and then also Leia and what she has given to the Rebellion.
This had small pieces of potential but not enough to be anything interesting...

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series was interesting and it had much better artwork than a lot of the Star Wars comics I've seen. The story did seem to contradict a bit of the history in the rest of the EU novels. I don't recall any novels ever demonstrating that Leia had any particular skill as a star fighter pilot especially being one in the class of Wedge. That seemed pretty opposite of everything else written about her. The only times I really remember her piloting a ship is when she co-piloted the Falcon. The story itself was pretty interesting and much better than a lot of the Clone Wars storylines. Luke seems a bit cockier than I remember him especially since the Zahn novels from that era portray him as a bi more of a newb and farmboy in the great big city.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's weird. The first book was do enjoyable, but now it just feels like the same old. The most interesting plot (the search for a new rebel base to work from) feels like it's back grounded for another "Boba Fett chases Han Solo" story. And retreading book one, there are plot elements that don't quite synch up, like how did Rogue Squadron take out the Interdictor cruiser?

The single dumbest thing is Wedge wants to retire Red squadron in memory of his team. Yeah, any other primary colours you think the rebellion can stop using because you miss Porkins?

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely an improvement over the previous volume. I still have some issues with it, though. Mainly the ending where Leia agrees to marry a prince in order to gain a safe haven for the Rebellion. Sounds familiar... The Courtship of Princess Leia. But that is at the very end of this volume so it won't fully be addressed until volume three. A ridiculous premise but I'm still going to read it when it comes out.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fresh and very tightly written series by Dark Horse; Wood is excellent! I hadn't read any Star Wars graphic novels before the 2013 Star Wars series and I am certainly glad I found this one! The twist at the end of issue #12 really took me for a ride too :)

I was saddened to hear that Dark Horse is losing the Star Wars license at the end of 2014 and hope that Marvel can continue to deliver the same epic story with all the action and lore we (SW fans) expect out of our adventures in the land, far, far, away...

[Maya Senen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This installment, while better than most attempts, still comes up short. While the design and trimmings are all there in the staging and color and such, the actual plot is hollow and the characters rehashed or flat and disconnected. The dialogue is either regurgitated from the movie or out of place entirely ("First blood"?!) Curiousity satisfied, I am ready to move on and give Jason Aaron his shot.

[MarcMiccia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dalle rovine di Alderaan pt.1 ⭐⭐
Dalle rovine di Alderaan pt.2 ⭐⭐
Dalle rovine di Alderaan pt.3 ⭐⭐
Dalle rovine di Alderaan pt.4 ⭐⭐
Dalle rovine di Alderaan pt.5 ⭐⭐
Dalle rovine di Alderaan pt.6 ⭐⭐

[Nessie McInness · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first volume was great. This was great... Until the last few pages.
I don't want to see Leia getting married! I want to see some action!

[Damián · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sigue interesante.

Guion: 7
Dibujo: 6

[47Time · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where is this story going anyway? Things are happening just for the sake of it, but nobody seems to get close to any tangible final objective - actually, there is a definitive ending in sight, but the crap writing is just too much for me to bear. I shouldn't have dedicated this much time to this mess and its unending, pointless dialogue. It looks like the author can't stop himself from filling pages with it. Wood's writing is so hit-and-miss with me, I should really stop reading his stuff. Now to shelve this crappy series along with the most mediocre of stories. Ah, it feels so much better to be rid of it.

With little hope in sight of finding the spy withing their ranks, Luke offers to infiltrate a star destroyer and find out the spy's imperial contact. He and Wedge let themselves be captured aboard the star destroyer. True to form, security is as lax as we know it from the first movie. They get away in Tie fighters none the worst for wear. Pointless. Though Birra Sean, whom Vader made acting moff in the first volume, is pretty screwed for not apprehending Luke as ordered. I wish I cared.

Leia goes alone to find a new home for the rebellion. She heads for the remains of Alderaan to perform the Tradition of Remembrance. She unexpectedly meets an Anderaanian named Tag Rogaren who acts friendly, though she is apprehensive when she finds he built the Death Star's laser array. Then she leaves, so the trip feels pretty damn pointless.

Perla helps Solo get away from Coruscant, though it's far from a safe ride when bounty hunters Boba Fett an Bossk gun for them. Many, many, many pages later, the apparently unending chase ends with Han safe and sound. What did I expect really? I was never on the edge of my seat. Solid writing there! In the end Perla offers her stash of weapons in exchange for asylum among the rebels. It is that easy to gain the trust of someone you no nothing about.

Bircher is the maniacal imperial officer type who thinks himself all-powerful. But wait, he is actually Mon Mothma's nephew. What? Unexpected twists? How ever will I continue my meager existence? All in all, a victory for the rebels. Thank God. And Wedge creates Rogue Squadron. Nice! I couldn't care less... And Luke got the girl, but couldn't keep her. It's the virgin life for you, Luke ol' boy! And Leia finds some planet for the home base. Is the author really tying up all loose ends in a single, final issue? Fine by me, since it makes it easier for me to leave this crap series behind and forget I ever read it. God dammit, what a waste of time!

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Wars Legends Project #240

Background: From the Ruins of Alderaan, released in April 2014, collects issues 7-12 of Dark Horse's Star Wars run (July-December 2013). All 6 issues were written by Brian Wood. The first 3 were drawn by Ryan Kelly, and the other 3 were drawn by Carlos D'Anda. Wood wrote this entire 20-issue series. D'Anda did the art for about half of them, but these 3 issues are Kelly's only Star Wars credits.

From the Ruins of Alderaan is set a couple months after the Battle of Yavin, picking up right where In the Shadow of Yavin left off (my review). The main characters are Leia, Luke, Han, Chewie, and Wedge Antilles, plus Mon Mothma and Darth Vader. There are also a number of recurring characters from the previous issues. The story takes place in various places, including aboard the Star Destroyer Devastator, on Coruscant, and around the 2nd Death Star, under construction above Endor.

Summary: Their plan to root out the spy has failed, and the Rebels are growing increasing desperate. So much so that Leia takes off on her own to find a new Rebel base alone, while Luke and Wedge undertake a near-suicidal mission to infiltrate the very Imperials who are tracking them. Meanwhile, Han and Chewie's mission to Imperial Center has failed, and with Boba Fett on their trail they'll be lucky to escape alive. But a chance contact may prove surprisingly fortuitous. And Darth Vader continues his obsessive hunt for the pilot who defeated and, worse, humiliated him at the Battle of Yavin.

Review: Since none of the storylines from the first collection were really concluded, this collection just picks all of that up and keeps going. As such, you could pretty much take my review of that and apply it all here. The artwork still looks really good, particularly the space battles, but it's still distracting that the characters don't look right (and sometimes seem to drastically change appearance from page to page?).

Everything that I complimented about the initial storyline is still working and is still really good. But overall this ended up feeling weaker overall. The biggest reason for that is a massive plot twist that comes out of nowhere and ties up the biggest ongoing plotline so far. It felt really unearned and I don't get how it actually makes any sense. It's the kind of twist that, had it been done well, would have been really cool actually, but instead it was just like, "Um, what?"

Okay, you know what, I'm just going to tell you. SPOILER WARNING STOP HERE IF YOU WANT TO READ THIS YOURSELF.
***
***
***

Colonel Bircher, the superstar Imperial officer who has so impressed the Emperor that he was given Darth Vader's Star Destroyer to command in his hunt for the Rebels, and who personally leads a squadron of crack-elite pilots into battle in the Empire's brand-new top-of-the-line TIE Interceptors . . . is actually Mon Mothma's nephew and is a double-agent.

I know.

There's some minor hand-waving about how they somehow sliced him into the Imperial records and how he had his hand on some kind of kill-switch to disable his squadron in case it looked like they might kill any Rebel pilots, but . . . nah. That's just silliness.

The cliffhanger at the end of the collection hints at the possibility of a fun new direction for the series, now that this storyline is wrapped up, so I'll hang my hopes on something good coming of that.

B

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I own this book.

I am a known Star Wars apologist. I love stories set in between the main movies so we get to know more about our galaxy-saving heroes and how they react to different scenarios. One of my biggest issues with A New Hope has always been that Leia watches her planet, family and entire existence essentially be blown up and then has to comfort Luke after the death of a man he knew for like a week. It felt very dismissive of her loss and I liked that this book had a bit more about that grief in it. The alliance is looking for a new home while Leia mourns the loss of hers. I enjoy that we see a little bit of Luke finding a love interest in this collection and we get more of my favourite pilot, Wedge.

However, the praise I have for this book stops here.

The art was uhh...interesting. I will say the art for the ships and the space backgrounds and the fights were insanely good. The colours were excellent however, my issue came with the faces. I found myself doubting that the characters were who they said, especially Luke, who looked more like Handsome Squidward than Luke Skywalker if I'm honest. It kind of ruined the immersion for me.

[Malcolm Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very much the conclusion to In The Shadow Of Yavin where all the main loose ends are tied up. The mystery is revealed and the scrapes that the characters are in are dealt with. A couple of character arcs also run their course, but I was left feeling cheated by them. In both cases there was the expectation of something coming of them, but then they leave the story and that’s that. I don’t know if they turn up later, but as the story stands at the moment, that’s all there is to it.
Also the big reveal annoyed me. There was a spy giving away the Alliance’s movements to the Empire and this did carry the story well. However, when the truth is revealed… okay, I don’t know what I expected, I had theories, but the truth was underwhelming and does leave a few questions unanswered.
I did like the addition of Perla to the story. She is an interesting character with a lot of unknowns about her. I’m looking forward to seeing how her character further develops as the series goes on.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good continuation of the story from "In the Shadow of Yavin." The artwork is a little worse than the previous volume and at the beginning I felt like I'd missed an issue. The previous book left us with Leia in a bacta tank, but she's up running around again immediately in this one. Not sure exactly how much time was supposed to have passed... Still, we get the origin of Rogue Squadron and some good, daring Rebel plans to find and stop the spy feeding their location intel to the Empire. There is a neat, but slightly non-sensical twist with the identity of the spy; I'm not exactly sure how doing what they did helped the Alliance, as it seemed to just put them even more at risk. Still, rather fun and wonder of wonders, Prithi didn't die! She ended up leaving (for, like, the weirdest reason ever) but hey! (Still didn't have enough characterization for me to care that much.)

[Mr. Stick · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I AM AN IMPERIAL PILOT, YOU CRETIN. I AM A PRECISION INSTRUMENT, NOT A BOMB THROWER. BY ALL MEANS, HIT THEIR SHOELD GENERATORS AND ION DRIVES... BUT LEAVE THENREAL WORK TO ME."
- Colonel Bircher to the executive officer of the Devastator.

The last book started rough, catch-up and all. But this one was smooth and action-packed.
Han and Chewie befriend a fellow smuggler, Perla, who helps them get the Falcon off of Coruscant (mostly) undetected.
Vader clandestinely still seeks Luke Skywalker using his numerous, yet also limited, resources.
Luke and Wedge want to reform Stealth Squadron into Rogue Squadron. But first, they must escape from the brig of the Devastator.
Leia discovers a war criminal hiding in the debris field of Alderaan.
Good stuff. Four stars.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bit better than the first volume of this series. We get to delve a bit more into the characters' feelings: Luke losing his aunt, uncle, and youth, Leia losing Alderaan, and Wedge having regrets. It's interesting reading this with the hindsight of Rogue One. Leia meets an engineer who worked on the Death Star named Tag Rogaren, who expresses regret. And Wedge proposes the name Rogue Squadron. I prefer how canon has dealt with these, what with Galen Erso and then the later formation of Rogue Squadron being inspired by Rogue One. There's also a bit of a heartfelt moment from Han, though.

[Václav · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3,7 of 5 for surprisingly concluding the previous arcs)
Yes, to my surprise as there are still two more volumes, this one concluded all the previous story arcs. Yes, there are still some "themes" that can be moved to from here, but still, quite surprising. I'm taking points down for how the "mole" story arc was resolved - it doesn't make much sense and didn't explain much except "now is all well". It felt like "I don't know what to do with this arc I created, I forget where I'm going with it, so let's close it somehow", which I wouldn't be surprised with Ennis or some other writers, but with Wood, it's kinda unexpected.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have long given Brian Wood negative reviews (fairly, in my opinion) but this is possibly my favorite piece he's ever done. He rebounds from a lackluster first arc and tells a fun, interesting, and on point Star Wars book. The characters seemed liked themselves and weren't stagnant. The story was enough new and old combined to be quite good. The art was phenomenal. Overall, this was a giant surprise for me. I really enjoyed it.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once again, I'm underwhelmed. Perhaps because our heroes have been divided for so long and their separate stories didn't engage me. There is some decent stuff here, with Luke, Leia and Wedge dealing with their losses... and then there's the mediocre stuff, like someone's nephew randomly being revealed and also Han's drawn-out and stagnant side of things.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is good and continues the same momentum from volume 1. However...they changed the artist! The artwork was good in the first volume and became weird in volume 2. The characters looked more like a caricature at times.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic Stuff! :D Review to Come! :D

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

So engaging! Great story with a twist and hook at the end. Art is crisp. I like it.

[Kathrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this comic but I could not really understand the motivation of the characters and therefore it fell a bit flat for me.

[Index Purga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Segundo tomo del coleccionable mexicano distribuido también en Argentina.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok