Comics Corner - Star Wars: Shattered Empire

This week saw the release of the final issue of Star Wars: Shattered Empire, written by Greg Rucka, with art by Marc Checchetto, Angel Unzueta, and Emilio Laiso. The four-part series is set during the months immediately following Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi, and is part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens marketing campaign.

If you haven't heard of it, Journey to the Force Awakens is the name given to a lione of tie-in media Disney/Lucasfilm are publishing in the months leading to the release of The Force Awakens. It comprises a number of novels, children's books, and comics, all featuring new post Ep. VI content intended to set the stage for the events and characters of the new film.

Shattered Empire tells the story of Rebel soldier Shara Bey. Picking up right where Ep. VI leaves off, issue 1 introduces Shara, and her husband Kes Dameron (yes, Dameron) and immediately establishes them as key players in the Battle of Endor. As the story progresses, Shara and Kes are constantly called to opposite ends of the Galaxy, as the Rebel Alliance deals with the new threats posed by a broken and desperate Empire. Along the way, Shara teams up with Han, Luke, and Leia, all the while trying to cope with being away from her husband and new child (... yeah, that Dameron), as she continues to fight a war she already thought was won.

All told, there's a lot of good about this book. It presents more details about the time between Episodes VI and VII, which make it a no-brainer to any fans clamoring for any clues to The Force Awakens. But even to the casual Star Wars fan, there's a lot to enjoy. While uneven at times (I suspect a back-up artist was brought in to meet some deadlines),  the artwork does a great job capturing the look and feel of the Star Wars universe. The ship battles feel dynamic yet clear, and read at a nice pace. The depictions of characters from the films aren't as photo-realistic as Phil Noto's covers, but are still familiar and natural.

The writing is equally impressive. Rucka does a great job creating an interesting character with Shara Bey. A four-issue series leaves little time to flesh out a character, but still you feel for Shara as she faces this new conflict. Rucka also does a great job depicting the frantic environment of ship-to-ship battles, Rebel bases, and Imperial starships. The new material feels true to the Star Wars universe; the Empire reels from the the blow they suffered at Endor, but still present a very real threat to the Rebel Alliance and the Galaxy at large.

So far, the Journey to the Force Awakens line have done a great job setting the stage for the new film. With glimpses of new characters, looks at previously untold events set between and after the original films, and hints of the new status quo for old characters, the products have a found an enjoyable balance between being exciting stories and interesting additions to the canon, while still heightening the reader's anticipation of Ep. VII. If you've got a serious case of Star Wars fever, it definitely pays to read as much of the Journey to... products as you can, as they refer to the movies and each other in very interesting ways, and will definitely give you a satisfying Star Wars fix. But even if you're a casual fan, just looking for a good Star Wars read, Shattered Empire is a very enjoyable read.

Issues 1 through 4 of Shattered Empire are in stores now, and the collected paperback edition is scheduled for November 18.

Netflix Instant Watch Recommendation of the Week: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

This week, I'm recommending the bizarrely entertaining 1990 film "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," written and directed by Tom Stoppard. Starring Gary Oldman and Tim Roth as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, respectively, the film tells the tale of William Shakespeare's classic tragedy, "Hamlet," but from the perspective of those two minor characters.

The real star of the show, however, is the script by Tom Stoppard. Originally a play, Stoppard's take on the material is a fiendishly clever existentialist back and forth between the two title characters as they meander their way through the saga of Shakespeare's doomed Danish prince. It's full of tremendous dialog scenes that are masterfully played my Oldman and Roth, as well as a bombastically theatrical performance from Richard Dreyfuss as the manic leader of a roaming theater company.

The costuming and art direction are all appropriately Shakespearean, and it is rather obvious that the script originated as a play. The direction by Stoppard (who is primarily a man of the theater), is rather pedestrian, and the film does come across as a bit dated (especially when it comes to the score), but given the script's focus on dialog and performance, these are minor issues overall.

Both Roth and Oldman are delightful, and there is one particularly clever scene where they are engaged in a sort of verbal tennis match, rallying witty conversation back and forth over a literal net and court. I've never seen Gary Oldman give a performance quite as lovable as his portrayal "gentle Rosencrantz," and it's fantastic to see further proof of his seemingly limitless range as an actor.

In the end, I can't help but feel like the best way to see this story would be on the stage, as the electricity of a live performance would lend itself quite well to the long and witty verbal sparring of the two leads. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find a good theater performance, and especially difficult to find one headlined by actors as engaging as Tim Roth and Gary Oldman. Therefore, in the absence of a good live performance, Stoppard's film is an excellent substitute, and an easy recommendation for Shakespeare fans and non-fans alike.

Book Club - Sweet Tooth

This week, we discuss Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth, from Vertigo Comics, with slightly less special guest, Elaine! BTW, Sweet Tooth Vol. 3 comes out today! And the perfect place to buy it is from our friends at Treasure Island Comics; so, y'know, do that.

Monday Show and Tell, Ep. 10 - Fourth Chair

Hallo! This week, we welcome special guest(?) host, Elaine! Listen as we discuss the new J.J. Abrams movie Super 8, and the action-comedy anime series Sekirei! And keep an ear out for the Ghost Cat, be the first to email us it's secret location, and win an awesome prize!



Time Stamps:
[2:44] - Super 8
[12:18] - Sekirei

HOORAY!!!

Have you heard the news! The OMG Podcast has officially topped 100 downloads!!! So thanks everybody, we couldn'ta done it without you!

Book Club Wednesday - X-Men: First Class

Here it is... Enjoy!

Comic Book Review - The Nobody

Written by Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, Essex County Trilogy), and published by Vertigo Comics in 2008, The Nobody is a modern take on H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man. It's the story of Large Mouth, a small town in Canada, and the event's surrounding the arrival of a mysterious stranger covered head to toe in bandages.

It's a short graphic novel, only three chapters, and the story is told very sparsely and very rapidly, something I enjoy about Lemire's writing.  He does a brilliant job setting the mood and introducing the various players in town quickly and effectively.

The bulk of the story is spent developing a tense relationship between the Invisible Man and Vickie, the young protagonist, while developing an equally tense suspense, and underlying terror.  But the shit doesn't really hit the fan till the last chapter, when Lemire does an excellent, heart-wrenching job exposing the fears and prejudice of the townsfolk, while leaving the Invisible Man shrouded in his ever-persistent mystery.

Lemire's black, white, and blue art adds so much to the atmosphere of this tale. It's equals parts creepy, surreal, and gritty, doing a great job bridging the gap between this larger than life sci-fi premise, and the real world, small town setting.


All in all, it's a great read, one I'd definitely recommend to fans of Graphic Novels as literature.  For more Jeff Lemire, listen in next week, when we discuss Sweet Tooth, an ongoing comic from Vertigo.  And be sure to buy all you comic from our friends at Treasure Island Comics in Fremont, CA, or find your own local comic shop at ComicShopLocator.com