Graphic Novel Review - Star Wars: Allegiance

Name: Star Wars: Allegiance 

Writter: Ethan Sacks

Artist: Luke Ross

Colorist: Lee Loughridge

Cover Artist: Marco Checcheto

Letter: VC's Clayton Cowles 

'Allegiance' is the only one of the three 'Journey To Star Wars' mini-series for the sequel trilogy that focuses on the main three protagonists and even the main antagonist Kylo Ren in cameo appearance. Maybe that is why it was so hard to pull off, especially considering despite the presence of all the major players the conflict was quite minor and the outcome was so obvious from the start. 

The plot follows Leia, Rey, Chewie and Rose as they travel to Mon Cala to forge a new alliance while aiming to acquire some new spaceships for the resistance. While in a side plot Finn and Poe attempts to find a secret cache of weapons that can be of great use to the plight of the forces of the resistance. 

The plotline following Leia and Rey seems to contain a bit too much dialogue and the characters seemed a bit too off at times. I liked the subplot involving Finn and Poe much better in comparison with its banter and humorous bits, but this might be due to fact that Finn is one of my favourite characters in the sequel trilogy. 

There was nothing wrong with the art, in fact the alien characters were drawn quite nicely and the action sequences were well done too. But it lacked the grandiosity of drawing on offer present on the first two miniseries. As a matter of fact, the spectacular covers by Marco Checcheto makes this even more apparent.

I did enjoy reading about these characters and I am sure it served its purpose of enticing fans before 'The Rise of Skywalker'. But I can't give this more than an average score of 3 out of 5 stars.

Graphic Novel Review - Star Wars: Captain Phasma

Name: Star Wars: Captain Phasma

Published by: Marvel Comics 

Writter: Kelly Thompson 

Artist: Marco Checcheto

Colorist: Andres Mossa

Letter: VC's Clayton Cowles 

One of the minor characters that I was intrigued by in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' was the character of Captain Phasma. I found here design quite unique and interesting, and was kind of disappointed by her fate towards the end. This story picks up after where we left her in the movie moving her part of the plot forward and the art by Marco Checcheto was as delightful as ever. 

The story starts with Captain Phasma, just after where we left him in the movie, follows him as he erases the evidence of his involvement in the destruction of Starkiller base and his pursuit of the only one who is aware of this secret. This 4 part mini-series introduces a few new characters and a new planet with some backstory. 

While the story wasn't particularly bad, the story of the planet and its occupants wasn't much interesting. I would have liked to learn more about the past of Captain Phasma rather than this, which was only barely hinted at. The main focus is on the present and the ruthless intensity of Phasma to tie up loose ends to ensure her own survival. 

I have become a fan of Marco Checcheto's art in the recent months, and once again he delivers with delightful precision. His beautifully detailed drawing of the spaceships and the environment is complemented adequately by the equally capable Andres Mossa. I also liked Checcheto's designs for the various inhabitants of the planet Luprora. Once again, this artist duo is impeccable in their execution and their world of Star Wars is a joy to behold. 

Frankly, I wanted to give this collection a lower score, but on a second thought I did enjoy the story and was quite invested in the character of Captain Phasma throughout her struggles. And the drawing deserves full marks. So I decided to give this 4 out of 5 stars in the end. 

Graphic Novel Review - Star Wars: Shattered Empire

Name: Star Wars: Shattered Empire 

Published by: Marvel Comics

Writer: Greg Rucka

Artists: Marco Checcheto, Angel Unzueta and Emilio Laiso

Colorist: Andres Mossa

Letter: VC's Joe Caramagna 

I picked this up because what was advertised about this miniseries, I wanted to find out what happened just after 'Return of the Jedi' and based on the cover and my previous experience with Marco Checcheto I was quite enthusiastic about how he would draw this iconic characters and action scenes. I got almost exactly what I was expecting. 

The main viewpoint character is Shara Bay, the mother of Poe Dameron, from the sequel trilogy. The stories present in the main four issues are kind of like anthologies, tales occurring just after the final battle of the third movie and the week following it, she interacts with the trio of heroes from the movie with cameos from other beloved characters. 

There never is any real danger or momentum in the stories presented here, and dialogues are very cheesy quite often. At times, this almost felt like deliberate and cheap attempt at introducing Dameron's parents in the main story chronologically without adding much to the plot other than establishing that the battle with the Empire is not over yet. 

But the art by Marco Checcheto is even better than I expected. His brilliant drawings of these iconic characters and visually astounding action sequences is bound to create nostalgia in the fans of this franchise. With his truly remarkable drawing of the epic Star Wars universe, it was almost impossible to stop from keep on turning the pages just to watch the brilliance unfold. If this was solely based on art, I would have given this full marks for sure. 

The extra two issues featured here are, Mark Waid's Princess Leia #1 and Star Wars (1977) #1. I didn't really care much for the first one, as the story was very bland, and the drawing of the main two characters was too similar. The second issue is the start of Marvel’s adaptation of the original movie, which was some nostalgic fun, despite having some peculiar drawing. 

Overall, I'll give this one, 3.5 out of 5 stars.