Star Wars Shattered Empire
A Review by Glen Clark
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Marco Checchetto
Colors: Andres Mossa
******SPOILERS AHEAD******
In my mind, there have been three incarnations of the events that happen after, what at the time, seemed like the final movie in the Star Wars trilogy. The first were the stories that our minds conjured up, maybe you reenacted the continuing story with action figures, maybe it was just thoughts in your mind, or maybe you wrote down those thoughts on paper in the form of fan fiction. The second was Timothy Zahn’s “Heir to the Empire” trilogy. The third, thanks to Disney and the story group rebooting the Star Wars universe occurs here. This is it, the new official events that continue the story of our heroes, Luke, Leia, Han and Chewbacca….. Well sort of.
The opening of this story start at the very end of the Return of the Jedi, Luke is in battle with his father Darth Vader, Han is still trying to plant the explosives on the shield generator, and Lando is still trying to hold off long enough to start the assault on the second Death Star. One page later the movie wraps up and it is hello to new content that matters. It is here we are introduced to Green Four, a young female pilot named Shara that intercepts Luke escaping the Death Star in the Emperors shuttle and escorts him to Endor. We are also privy to the initial conversation between Lando and Han about the Falcon NOT returning in one piece. Shara interrupts them to ask if they have seen where Solos strike team had gone. After Solo points her in the right direction she fights Sergeant Dameron, name ring a bell to anyone? After what appears to be a night of passion between these two, they go out with Han to do some Imperial clean up on an Imperial base on the far side of the moon. Han reappears with Chewie and Dameron and says “It’s not over yet”.
Is this the book that everyone thought it was going to be? For me that is a no. Other than one picture, and a couple word balloons, Luke is not in this book, neither is Leia. What we do have is introduction to what would appear to be Po’s parents; we may even witness his night of conception. Regardless of a lack of our original trilogy heroes. This book is solid on every level. Greg Rucka has always been one of my favorite writers, and we were not only treated to this comic but he also wrote a YA novel entitled “Smuggler’s Run”, so if you liked this comic, maybe give his book a try. The art in this book is phenomenal. I do not believe I have ever heard of Checchetto before, but I am a fan. Everything in this book is incredible be it a space battle with X-Wings and Tie Fighters, or a celebration with the Ewoks in the village, this book is stunning. I found myself staring page after page absorbing everything on the page. With an incredible story and stunning art, this comic scores my second only 5 out of 5 stars. If you are a fan of Star Wars, do yourself a favor, and track down a copy of this book. You will be glad you did.