The adventures of Luke Skywalker and friends continue! The rebel crew is en route to a prison base with an important captive. Unluckily for them, they aren’t the only ones with their eyes on this prize! Then, take a walk on the Dark Side with Sgt. Kreel and an elite group of Imperial soldiers aboard the Star Destroyer Harbinger! It’s a nigh-indestructible weapon of war — and it’s also the target of the rebels’ new top-secret plan. Never afraid of defying the odds, Luke, Han and Leia are determined to make this the Harbinge’s last flight. But Kreel and his SCAR Squad specialize in taking down rebels — hard! Plus: more entries from the journals of Obi-Wan Kenobi, including a showdown with the Wookiee bounty hunter Black Krrsantan!
Jason Aaron grew up in a small town in Alabama. His cousin, Gustav Hasford, who wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers, on which the feature film Full Metal Jacket was based, was a large influence on Aaron. Aaron decided he wanted to write comics as a child, and though his father was skeptical when Aaron informed him of this aspiration, his mother took Aaron to drug stores, where he would purchase books from spinner racks, some of which he still owns today.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
There was a big drop in quality from omnibus 1 to omnibus 2.
The first half was pretty good (although I am getting kind of tired of the "Ben Kenobi hiding in the desert" flashbacks). The main problems, though, are the annual and the "Last Flight of the Harbinger" story. First, let's get the annual out of the way. A lady saves Leia's life and then Leia spends an inordinate amount of time trying to bash this person in the head with various blunt objects. It seemed at first like they were going to put some thought into this one by making a "the Rebels and the Empire are both ruining normal people's lives with this war" story but they ended up just doing a generic action story with a "Yay Rebels!" ending. Yeah, I know the Rebels are the good guys, but I was just hoping for something deeper than "I'm pure good and you're pure evil" story for a change.
As for "Last Flight of the Harbinger", it had a few more problems. First of all, the main plot didn't make any sense. They want to steal a star destroyer so that they can use it as a battering ram. That is just a ridiculous plan and even C3P0 could probably come up with something better than that. Next, everyone acted like they were high. Han runs Leia over with a speeder bike in a ridiculous moment of slapstick and, when a stormtrooper gets the drop on Sana she's like "So, are you going to kill me?" and, instead of shooting her, he gives her a weapon and is all like "Lets do this hand to hand!". I almost threw the book down right then and there.
Speaking of Sana, can she get more of a personality than just "I'm angry at everything!"?
This volume collects issues #15-25 and the Star Wars Annual #1.
Aaron's Star Wars was exceptional. A wonderful mix of good to great artwork and a great story, filled with good humor, that truly channels everything great about Star Wars before Disney aborted the franchise.
The first story (The Annual) about a Rebel spy who is sent in to assassinate the Emperor is one of my all time favorites. It truly shows the wonderful nefariousness of the Emperor and why he is such a great character. Awesome!
The rest of the volume covers an interesting story arc. Leia, Han, Chewie, and Luke (along with the droids) are on a mission to steal an Imperial Star Destroyer and use it against an Imperial base. Their adventures were not only a great story but replete with good humor. Along with this is the story os an elite commando team of Stormtroopers who have been sent by Lord Vader to eliminate the Rebels and capture Luke.
Two story arcs. One involving a prison. The second involving stealing a star destroyer. Preferred the star destroyer arc. The 2 smaller issues of young Luke/Kenobi were also really good. Not as strong as the first omnibus though. Definitely reccomend for any Star Wars fans.
This could have been a perfect 5 Stars graphic novel if it weren't for one major f@*ked up moment that ruin it for me in terms of introducing characters and transition to the next major story arc. I will definitely get into details later in my review but I was furious after finishing this volume that I had to dock it a full star!
This omnibus starts right after where Vader Down with our gang kidnapping Doctor Aphra. They make the connection that she is close to Vader and they believe that with enough pressure they can make her crack and spill the beans but Doctor Aphra is smarter and weighs her options when it comes to helping them or feel the wrath of Vader and possible death. Princess Leia puts her into a secret prison thinking that everything will be fine and dandy except a squad of what look like rogue storm troopers break in and seek control of the prison. The leader of the group somehow personally knows Princess Leia and wants to teach her a lesson on the tactics of war and what she must do in order for her to destroy the Empire. Since Doctor Aphra is technically a prisoner that means she is a target and together with Leia, they must work together in order to succeed and put an end to this terror.
What is interesting about that segment is even though the leader of this squads ideologies and methods are a bit horrific when it comes to the human rights department but in the end he is able to become tough, strong, and eliminate any room of error and even though I believe if Leia had followed this storm troopers beliefs, the Empire would still succeed at the end of the day leading up to Force Awakens but I believe Leia would still have a stronger foothold in the galaxy instead of being a fragment of who she used to be when we see her in Episode VII
The last half of the volume is chaos and nonsense spread around. It deals with stealing a Star Destroyer, helping some rebel allies who are suffering a planet blockade by the Imperials, and some familiar faces that are forgettable. It has only been a few days since I have finished this omnibus and yet it took me a moment to remember what was the ending of this volume. What ruin the flow of the whole story was the transition between what is considered Vol. 3 & Vol. 4 in the TPB edition. The 4th volume begins with a bunch of unrecognizable characters who would later become the villains of the story but for the longest time I had no clue who these people were and they are instantly thrown into a major gun fight and boom we meet Leia and the rest of the gang on a Star Destroyer.
I was a bit disappointed in Jason Aaron because for the first 20 issues of Star Wars have been perfect without any flaws and then this story felt like the creators had no clue what to do with the storyline and created this nonsense. I believe what comes next is a major Yoda story that takes place before Episode I which is exciting to hear because I worship Yoda and always want more information about this iconic character. I remember George Lucas mentioning that Yoda is essentially God and there is no backstory about him which I partially agree but in the end it would be cool to see him young, extremely powerful, and dealing with the Sith when he thought they were completely wiped out. Hopefully Jason Aaron seeks redemption and when the next Omnibus comes out he will get back to what makes this series spectacular.
This was a fun volume. The first arc was interesting, and I wish there was a miniseries following that Rebel spy. Could make for a cool James Bond meets Star Wars moment.
The Journal of Obi-Wan Kenobi issue included was nice. I like seeing Obi-Wan talking to Qui-Gon (it would seem like he’s just talking to himself but we know from the Qui-Gon story (I believe it was) from the Certain Point of View anthology that Qui-Gon manifests himself as a force ghost and still talks to Obi-Wan). Just a nice touch I thought.
And by far the Last Flight of the Harbinger is by far the coolest part of this volume . Scar Squadron is such a cool idea and I wish there was an on going series featuring them. Idk if a lot of people would like that, but I would.
"Book IV, Part I REBEL JAIL It is an era of renewed hope for the Rebellion. After narrowly escaping another frightening encounter with Darth Vader, rebel heroes Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo take the evil Sith Lord's secret ally, droid and weapon specialist Dr. Aphra, captive aboard the Millennium Falcon. Now their mission to free the galaxy from the grasp of the Emperor continues as the Princess teams with smuggler Sana Starros, while Luke and Han pair together on a secret mission for the Rebellion...." "Book V, part I THE LAST FLIGHT OF THE HARBINGER It is a crucial time for the Empire. Rebel forces are proliferating across the galaxy, and their elimination is imperative for the Imperial reign. For a mission this vital, the right team is essential - an elite group of stormtroopers, hand-picked for their skills, loyalty to the Empire, and complete dedication to destroying the Rebellion. Leading this team is the ruthless Sergeant Kreel - former undercover Imperial spy known as the Gamemaster and warden on the infamous smuggler's moon Nar Shaddaa - a man who answers directly to Darth Vader. Rebel pilot Luke Skywalker has evaded Sergeant Kreel's attacks once before, but he, and the rest of the Rebellion, have not seen the last of the Empire's wrath..."
Rebel Jail (incl. the prequel Annual) was really good and two issues from Obi Wan's journal were great.
But The Last Flight of the Harbinger was boring with most likely the worst art I've ever seen in SW book. Stormtroopers with tiny heads, skinny Wookies and ugly faces. Blah!
This was ok. There were some good portions with the spy trying to outsmart the emperor and the invasion of a Rebel prison. Artwork was generally solid. If you bought volume 1 you will want this one as well.
Marvel's Star Wars line of comics continue to satisfy and delight. My particular favorite in this volume was the "Rebel Jail" storyline at Sunspot Prison which featured one of the most brilliant twists ever in Star Wars storytelling and delves into some really great themes and character development. The second group of issues was good, a little light on plot and some of the character designs were wonky from that artist but the space scenes and action panels were really exciting.
Mediocre story that takes place after the events of A New Hope and before the events of Empire Strikes Back. There are plenty of worth-mentioning moments and new characters in this but overall it felt kinda bland and boring.
Much like the original trilogy of movies, this comic series is even better the second time through. I noticed things that didn't sink in the first time through, like that Sergeant Kreel is the same person that was...well, I don't want to spoil it.
The detour into Obi-Wan's life watching over Luke as a child on Tatooine was great too.
Very highly recommended collection! Read volume 1, the omnibus edition of Darth Vader volume 1 (issues 1-12), then the Vader Down collection, then this.
The series fills in a lot of what happened between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back and creates a surprising number of dramatic, important moments that still fit perfectly with those movies.
This is a good example of how the artwork can save or doom a comic. Aaron writes most of this volume and some of it I found very entertaining while many other issues I couldn't get past the artwork in order to appreciate the story.
The first issue with art by Angel Unzueta is very enjoyable as is the pair of issues about young Luke Skywalker with painter-like artwork by Mike Mayhew. Some might find it interesting that these issues feature the Wookie bounty hunter Black Krrsantan who later appears in the Jabba Hutt Disney+ series.
I went back-and-forth on whether this one would get 3-stars or 4 and decided to go with the 3 this time. The story is worth more than that but the art... There are some serious good parts - such as the Obi issues - but then the rest is just kind of... all over the place. The artwork in the last arc was painful for me, but not as bad as the earlier issues with completely unnecessary attention on ***shots.
All types of fun ! Nice collection of Star Wars stories set between new hope and empire, the best period in my opinion, a nice back up story of Obi Wan, a story where Luke Han and Leia steel a star destroyer, yes you read that right !! and a kickass story about Scar Squadron or task force 99. Stormtroopers are always the laughing stock, but not these guys ! one is even holding a lightsaber talking about badass, recommend stuff for the fans.
This was lovely. It wasn't quite the same manic and giddy energy as the first volume, but I still quite enjoyed it. It's fun to watch Aaron come up with fun ideas for what a Star Wars arc could be, and the second arc about the Star Destroyer was (strangely) more engaging than the one about the Rebel space prison. Love the concept of a Stormtrooper NAVY SEALs quad. More cool stuff like that.
Aaron's run continues with a couple interesting stories standing out. The concepts for the Rebel prison complex and the SCAR troopers are welcome additions to the Star Wars universe. This series continues to tell exciting and well executed stories within the canon of Star Wars that add an additional layer to characters such as Luke, Leia and Han.
Continuing the high quality and incredible artwork of volume 1 Aaron continues to impress with Star Wars stories that are canon and feel like they add and build to the universe. A must read for Star Wars and comic book fans alike. A galaxy far far away never felt closer.
I was entertained. The most admirable thing for me when it comes to animated Star Wars series, or graphic novels, is how engaging the story line is. Every character stands out and is just made to be so epic and larger than life. Enjoyed it completely!
Still fun, but it starts to suffer from the fact that we know who can’t die, etc. If it added real insights into this time frame that has yet to appear in the films and shows that would be one thing. Since it doesn’t seem to, it’s pretty fluffy.
That moment when you realize you've already read the entire comic, and this is just the deluxe version of them all. Can you blame me though? Look at those new storm trooper concepts!
These series continues to delight and entertain. The Journals of Obi-wan Kenobi are spectacular and the artwork is the best I’ve seen in any Star Wars comic so far.