Suvudu Universe

Longer ago, in a galaxy even further away….

Enter a young man, warning his father of an imminent attack. The threat is soon upon them and tragedy befalls the Jedi-Bendu family. No longer able to remain in hiding, the Starkillers return to the home planet Aquilae only to discover that the New Galactic Empire is mounting an attack. The Star Wars #1, written by J. W. Rinzler and depicted by artist Mike Mayhew, is based on George Lucas’s orginal rough-draft screenplay from 1974.

In many ways, the first issue reminded me of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Both stories take the readers to a different galaxy with familiar names and locations, but simultaneously, everything feels new and alien. Additionally, both stories open up with a Jedi action sequence and transition over into the politics of the Star Wars universe before picking up in action once again. Personally, the story gets more interesting in the last few pages, when Jedi-Bendu Kane Starkiller meets up with his old friend and fellow Jedi, Luke Skywalker.

I found the first issue fascinating. Star Wars fans who have been waiting for this comic will appreciate the origin of the characters we’ve come to know and love over the decades. Cover artist Nick Runge captured the essence of Drew Struzan’s Star Wars posters, or what I like to personally call the Struzan Effect, where the characters and vehicles of the story appear at the center of the cover or poster and each are captured in a moment of action. Derived from Ralph McQuarrie’s concept art and design from the films, Mike Mayhew’s style combined with the color palette from colorists Rain Beredo and Brad Anderson bring that warm and rich feel that I often associate with the prequel films.

My favorite part of the issue came in the form of a quote. General Skywalker is in the Aquilae War Room and he says, “I don’t know…it doesn’t feel good,” which, in my opinion, is the “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” that we consistently see throughout the films. Whether that was intentional or not, I really loved seeing that because it’s not Star Wars without having a bad feeling about something.

If you’re the kind of fan who likes the history of Star Wars and the ingenuity that went behind the original story, then I highly recommend the first issue, especially since we’ll see the story pick up in #2, according to writer J.W. Rinzler:

@BlueJaigEyes @mike_mayhew @rainberedo Issue #2 has a lot more action, fyi, but anything Mike draws and Rain colors is poetry to me.
—
J. W. Rinzler (@jwrinzler) September 04, 2013

The Star Wars #1 is out now at your local and digital comic book store. The Star Wars #2 is set to be released on October 02, 2013.

(Images via Dark Horse)