Star Wars: TIE Fighter

Star Wars: Tie Fighter #1-5

by Jody Houser, Rogê Antônio (Illustrator), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Cover Art)

Collects Star Wars: Tie Fighter #1-5.

Enter Shadow Wing - the Empire's salvation, and the Rebellion's doom! As the war between the rebels and the Galactic Empire stretches on, it's the innocent people of the galaxy who are most at risk. An elite squadron of TIE fighter pilots is assembled to help protect Imperial interests - and hammer the Emperor's fury down upon the treasonous and violent Rebel Alliance. But how far is this untested team willing to go to preserve law and order? Are the pilots of Shadow Wing as loyal to the Empire as they seem? And on a dangerous mission to deal a devastating blow to the Rebellion, will any of them survive the fight?

Genres: Star Wars, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Marvel, Graphic Novels Comics, Action

118 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2019

Reviews

[Mario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat??? It cannot end like this!!!

Jody Houser does another great comic series with this fantastic volume. We are introduced to the Imperial 204th TIE Fighter wing, with new characters that are instantly recognizable. Also, we have some characters carried over from previous series, like Han Solo: Imperial Cadet.

During their missions, they are caught over a treasonous Imperial captain and manage to trace the Rebels that made him change sides, until they reach a turning point in the galactic history... and the story ends!

The art is also magnificent, the space battles are beautiful and very clear and easy to understand. Plus the new characters are instantly recognizable, and the tricks he uses to identify them while behind the helmet are very clever!

I need more, and the editors say that this will not be the last time we see these characters, and I hope that they are not just talking about the Alphabet Squadron trilogy, but we definitely need more. And if they are written again by Houser and drawn by Roge Antonio, the better!

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

TIE FIGHTER is a tie-in book to Alphabet Squadron with the adventures of Shadow Squadron. They are a bunch of unique Imperial characters who all have fascinating issues and problems. They are out to fight the Rebellion, take names, and die for the glory of the Empire. It reminds me a bit of the old TIE Fighter video game from Lucasarts and that's a high compliment. I've read the entire series from issue 1-5 and it's all entertaining if not spectacularly exceptional. I kind of wish it was an ongoing series.

[David Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of different to see a story from the Empire's point of view. This collection is focused on Tie-Fighters. Looks like life in the old Russian KGB style. But these pilots mostly believe in what they are doing. These characters are not mindless drones. We get a good look at them: their families, history, and loves.

[Matěj Komiksumec · Rating 3 out of 5]

TIE Fighter je poměrně zajímavý úkaz, jako jedna z mála věcí nevychází z ničeho filmového a ukazuje postavy zcela vlastní. Zároveň je to zcela ojedinělé v tom, že se konečně koukneme na "záporáky" z jiné perspektivy a dá nám to důvod si je oblíbit. Mám rád Impérium a podobného obsahu chci sakra víc Protože Star Wars optika Rebel = Good, Empire = Bad je přežitek. Ale i tak tohle nefunguje tak dobře, myšlenka i reálie jsou skvělé, ale trpí to úplně klasickou týmovku - neznám postavy. Tahle minisérie měla být podle mě sérií regulérní a měla mít aspoň 20 čísel, dostali bychom dost backgroundu k postavám a zároveň bysme si je víc oblíbili a mnohem víc prožívali jejich dobrodružství. Takhle tu máme panáky jejichž jména jsem po přečtení okamžitě zapomněl a dostanou akorát krátkou flashback povídku která je ale rozšiřuje minimálně.
A finále celého příběhu? To je zatraceně excelentní a tohle by prostě potřebovalo ongoig jako sůl.
Takže ano, je to fakt dobrý, ale určitý aspekty to celé bohužel strašně sráží.

[Michael J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jody Houser does an impressive job here of not deviating from Star Wars canon and introducing a brand-new cast of interesting characters. What is most remarkable is this a tale told from "the other side", meaning not the good guys Rebel Alliance that we root for.
The five members of the Shadow Wing tie-fighter squadron reveal that not every person who sides with the Imperial Forces is necessarily pure evil. They have many concerns and fears similar to members of the rebellion and also sometimes express doubts about whether they are on the right side.
I appreciate how this was handled. It's sensitive and skillful.
Not to mention that the space battles are well-choreographed and illustrated. This is one of the better Star Wars comics. Great visuals.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This comic details the adventures of Shadow Wing, a fighter squadron for the Empire. Apparently, this comic is a companion book to Alphabet Squadron, which I am currently reading. It's going to be nice to already have a visual component as I continue in the novel, because I haven't gotten to Shadow Wing yet.
Either way, this comic was excellent. Very fast paced and I loved how it made pilots of the Empire seem like they have the same issues as Rebel pilots. Of course they do, but it is nice to see a role reversal.
Perhaps more on this review when I finish Alphabet Squadron....

Recommend.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing....

I wanted to love this, I've wanted a story set entirely from the empires POV for a while. This was just very boring, the characters weren't interesting and the story felt like it didnt go anywhere. There is only 1 volume, so the story just stops when it started to get slightly more interesting. Maybe its continued some way in the alphabet squadron book? I suppose I'll have to read that and find out. As for this specific book, I'd say skip it. There are better star wars stories and comics out there to be read.

[Liam || Books 'n Beards · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this! It's a companion comic to the Alphabet Squadron book, as the main characters are part of the Shadow Wing TIE Squadron that they are hunting in Alphabet Squadron.

The art is nice, and having now read Alphabet Squadron there are a few little cameos from characters that appear in there, but so short! Hopefully they choose to continue this in the future.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lembro que quando comprei o meu primeiro quadrinho de Star Wars nos anos 1990 achei uma decepção. Eu disse que era "uma história de navinha" ruim. Eu não conhecia a trama de Guerra nas Estrelas na época, só fui conhecer os filmes quase uma década depois. Lendo Star Wars: TIE Fighter com uma história com as naves do Império Galáctico como protagonistas eu fui ler a verdadeira "história de navinha". Mas ela não é ruim, é uma história ok. Jody Hauser é uma roteirista esperta e usou de elementos de outras tramas de Star Wars para desenvolver as histórias pregressas dos pilotos que compõem o esquadrão retratado nesta minissérie. A maioria dos desenhos é do gaúcho Rogê Antonio, mas desenhistas convidados completam a arte no final de cada edição desta minissérie. A arte e roteiro são competentes, mas este não é nem dos melhores e nem dos piores quadrinhos feitos dento do universo de Star Wars: Guerra nas Estrelas.

[Clint · Rating 4 out of 5]

prequel to Alphabet Squadron

I took a short break from reading Alphabet Squadron to enjoy this prequel first. Some of the art was good, but not all.

[nobody · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mediocre read takes place during New Hope. Best thing were the covers...lol

[Luke Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't expecting much out of this one and came away extremely pleasantly surprised. Some of the best complexifying of the moral worldview of star wars outside ANDOR. They really get you invested in an all-imperial cast and give them complex moral reasoning for why they do what they do. Successfully plays off its minor connections to main canon as delightful revelations and reframings. One of the best star wars comics I've encountered, and I'm nearing Nu-Canon completion! Highly recommend to my fellow garbage-devouring tasteless cretins!

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Feels like a collection of vignettes with not a lot of connecting plot or follow through. It doesn't help that Marvel has made these issues so short.

Characters are templates, to be filled out with 5 short (very short) flashback stories, I suppose. It doesn't really work. Too many characters, not enough room to tell their stories.

The run ends quite suddenly, with an unintentionally hilariously hamfisted announcement (I mean, announcing the destruction of the second Death Star and the supposed death of the Emperor, over a loudspeaker system.. come on, really..?).

<>(Read as five single issues)

[RG · Rating 2 out of 5]

This just didnt work for me. Havent read much of Houser but hopefully its not like this.

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars

On the whole, TIE Fighter was one of the more nuanced Star Wars stories, with deeper messages than one has come to expect from the new trilogy (will not forgive JJ Abrams for that. The fact that he was content to go into making a series of movies without having a plan, thus not knowing where everything would end up is beyond me. Ok, rant over.) I think this quote from Multiversity Comics really encapsulates my feelings towards this graphic novel:

"Gives a view into a very sympathetic[sic] portrayal of Imperial pilots without requiring us to feel worse about the Rebellion"

(yes there was a grammatical error there and yes my nerdy brain just couldn't help but fix it)
But my critiques come down to one thing: it needed to be longer. Writer Jody Houser (who has written for Doctor Who comics before, so all the praise there) tried to develop somewhat full arcs and backstories of these characters while still maintaining a steadily moving plot, but there just isn't enough pages for this to be done well. Things were hurried along, and the timelines got a bit wonky and inconsistent, making for a rather confusing reading experience (though this may have been because I was rushing to finish it on time).

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.75

This is a different one.

When I discover a random SW graphic novel, I tend to just pick it up instantly. This book had a cameo from Alphabet Squadron, which I haven't read yet, so I'm wondering if there's anything else I didn't pick up on - but the reference didn't feel so loaded that I was left stranded.

This book follows a group of Imperial TIE fighters, which is such an interesting side of the war - since TIE fighters are so dangerous to fly, I was really intrigued to see what this angle of SW would bring.

The characters are all new to me, except brothers Tamu and Lyttan who were in Star Wars: Han Solo - Imperial Cadet, so that was neat. Although it was a bit tragic to see how deeply they've dug themselves into the Empire. I like all of the newcomers in here, though, and the way we got fragments of their backstories and personalities was cool. And you really do feel for the fragility of the pilots, given their crafts.

I didn't realize, until the ending, that the final stretch of this book was taking place at the same time as the destruction of the second Death Star, so that was really neat. Such a cool reveal. And it makes you really wonder what's going to happen to these pilots.

3.75/5 stars. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I wish there would’ve been more to this story. Five issues doesn’t really get anything going for you to care about anything in a big way, at least not in the way they wrote it. You can tell the creative teams wanted you to care about these new characters, but it just didn’t happen for me. I did enjoy reading a comic where the protagonists in the story are the usual antagonists of Star Wars, though. This one just read way too fast. Admiring the art might’ve taken longer than reading the dialogue and getting into the actual story.

[Ahdom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comics are a great format for a squadron series. THe illustrations in this really help you to feel the action. I am currently reading the last few chapters of Alphabet Squadron and I love how the two stories TIE in together, pun most definitely intended. I have no doubt we will hear more from the 204th in sequel books of the Alphabet Squadron series, which I also recommend.

[Geoffrey Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the idea of a book-comic crossover in a Star Wars story and I hope they do this again for the other Alphabet Squadron books. The writing was great and wasn’t drawn out like these Star Wars miniseries sometimes are. I only wish it tied more directly into the Alphabet Squadron book.

[Juan Arcones · Rating 1 out of 5]

Me ha parecido el cómic más flojo que he leído de Star Wars. Multitud de Personajes de los que no recuerdas el nombre, cero evolución, no empatizo con ninguno y la historia va dando tumbos sin sentido

[Paul Decker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Star Wars comic follows the Shadow Wing Squadron of the Empire from the Battle of Hoth to the destruction of the second Death Star. This is part of a cross-media tie-in with Alpha Squadron. This book is full of references to other stories and characters, almost to its own detriment.

There are a lot of interesting characters and a decent enough story, but there isn't enough focus. Too many peaks at other characters that aren't relevant to this story are given too much spotlight. There's even an asterick referencing the Solo tie-in comic Imperial Cadet. I wasn't sure which characters were new to this story and which ones were just references.

I did enjoy the pacing, though. We really got to see the Shadow Squadron experience some stuff. It's an unusual style having every issue end with a flashback though. I'd love to see these characters reappear. What do they do after the Emperor is gone?

I give this book a 3.5/5. It's not enough of a story on its own. It relies too much on references and doesn't do enough on its own.

[Alberto Martín de Hijas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entretenido, pero no deja de ser un episodio de la franquicia que deja el final colgando. Le hubiera venido bien algo más de desarrollo.

[ShamNoop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too short, if anything

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the places with the most untaped potential for story telling in the Star Wars universe, is that of common place people trying to survive the war. This series is a great representation of the every day life of pilots in the Empire. It shows the sacrifices they make and the way they were conned into believing the Empire were the good guys, as well as the betrayal of those who didn't buy into that lie. While I didn't love Alphabet Squadron, I did enjoy this comic series.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3-4 ABY

This graphic novel is a miniseries containing five issues entitled "The Shadow Falls" parts 1-5. The events in this series take place between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. This is a companion graphic novel to the Alphabet Squadron series. This graphic novel follows Jeela, a TIE Fighter pilot who has been a part of many squadrons. She seems to have trouble fitting in. She isn't a clone to mindlessly follow orders. As she goes through ehr piloting experiences, she begins to question the motives of the Empire. Being a part of Shadow Wing squadron puts her into a position where right and wrong, law and order, must be faced and abided by.

Great art. I do like that it is connected to a novel series, yet can certainly stand alone as a side story in its own right. I also appreciated that the leading TIE pilot is a woman. A decent installment to the ranks of daily lives during the Galactic War.

[Sean Humphrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was touch to choose between 3 and 4 stars. It seemed like the characters didn't really get fleshed out enough for me to care about them like I should have, but I did like the overall story arc and themes.

It also appears to tie into Alphabet Squadron, so maybe if I read that book and then come back to this comic I'll be more interested.

[Benjamin Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star Fighters

This was an interesting view into the Imperial The Squadron the art and Storyline are fantastic definitely recommend. I love this

[Yanik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Alphabet Squadron trilogy. They are my favorite Star Wars books and among the best Star Wars stories in general, so I was quite looking forward to reading this ty-in comic series.
It might not live up to the height of the novels (a high bar indeed) but it does share many themes and ideas with those books.

The story is set between the events of The Empire Strikes back and Return of the Jedi so technically is a sort of prequel to the Alphabet Squadron trilogy.
Like in the novels, the plot takes a backseat over character studies and development. There is very little room for it, given the format, but we get a good picture of a humanized Tie-fighter squadron.
We get to see the pilots of Shadow Wing’s Squadron Five through small vignettes and mission; the mission objectives and results matter little; the way the pilots react to them and function as a group is more important. This is one of the themes very present in the novels; a group of war-weary pilots bound together by purpose, no matter their differences. The fact that they’re, still even after the Death Star, fighting for the Empire is only touched upon lightly. Duty to command and each other is given more importance than loyalty to any machinations or horrible acts of the Emperor and his Empire might represent.

I liked the small story arcs, the small missions were alright; the characters were obviously the centre point. While a bunch of characters from the novels make an appearance, it is Teso Broosh who has the biggest role as commander of the squadron. He has a bigger role in the novels and it’s interesting to see his origin as a leader.
What actually interested me more were the small stories at the end of each comic. They each focus on a individual pilot and do a great deal to humanize them.
It’s always a tricky path to do this; they are after all, to varying degrees, soldiers for complacent in a tyrannical fascist Empire. Humanizing does not need to mean sympathising though, and I think that line is never really crossed in a bad way in these vignettes.

The art is quite nice, I liked the way ships were given momentum and power and especially enjoyed how the pilots were made visible by making their pilot helmets translucent; a very direct way of giving the pilots a human face.
I like the art in the small ending stories way better most of the time.

So, while the stories told might be of little consequence, and there is no room to dive deep into these characters, a lot of the same trappings and ideas were there. Seeing this kind of story told from the Imperial side is interesting and needs to be done more often.

[LiteratureIsLife · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this review (and others) at: https://literatureislife.com/2019/12/...

Tie Fighter is the graphic novel tie-in prequel to the novel Alphabet Squadron. Originally published as a mini-series, the 5th and final issue of Tie Fighter did not actually come out until after Alphabet Squadron was published. So, it is hard to argue that reading Tie Fighter beforehand is really a requirement. Whereas Alphabet Squadron is about a ragtag group of pilots still more used to being Rebels than New Republic, Tie Fighter tells the story from the other side. This mini-series focuses on the Imperial fighter squadron that Alphabet Squadron spends their story hunting: Shadow Wing.

Being a mini-series, Tie Fighter is fast paced. There were only 5 issues to tell a story and the author knew that going in. Normally this would raise my hackles a bit, but Tie Fighter also has the benefit of being a prequel comic. It was never the intention of this mini-series to tell the whole story. It is distinctively not supposed to do that; that is the Alphabet Squadron trilogy’s job. Instead, it is a rare look at things from the Imperial side of the war. And it takes place in one of the most interesting time periods in Disney’s new canon: the immediate years following Return of the Jedi.

Star Wars as a franchise has a very impressive cast of villains. From Tarkin to Thrawn to Darth Vader and the Emperor, the villains are often much more interesting than the heroes. But not all the baddies are big bads. There are also the boots on the ground (or in this case, wings in the air). Seeing how the common, everyday soldiers do things is rare in Star Wars. And rarer still to see it from the Imperial side. It is always fascinating to see how these people justify their actions when we, as the audience, know how evil the Empire can be.

These stories taking place after Episode VI are amazing for how quick the Empire fell given the scope of it. Just a few years prior to this, the Empire reigned supreme. The largest military in galactic history, ruling from one side of the galaxy to the other with an iron fist. And now…they are dying. Things started to fall apart from the moment the Emperor died. And some Imperials are struggling to cope with that. Shadow Wing knows they are part of a dying breed, but they will do their duty. Like the more common Rebel protagonists, they are still people. With hopes and dreams and aspirations and fears. And villains who seem more human are always better for it.