Thursday, September 8, 2016

Star Wars Comics Review/Recap (Spoilers): Poe Dameron #6


The sixth issue for the Star Wars Poe Dameron comic ends the second story arc for the series. We see the resolution of how Black Squadron escapes the prison with Grakkus the Hut. I’ve have enjoyed the last three issues of the Dameron comic, but this issue makes me a little worried about the series going forward. One of the main reason I didn’t care for the first three issues of the series was it seemed too campy for a Star Wars comic, and the sixth issue had this same feel. This story arc was more entertaining than the first three issues, but maybe I am warming to the tone of the comic.  

The Poe Dameron comic is starting to feel like a Saturday morning cartoon adventure series. This isn’t a bad thing if executed well, and while this issue is still a little rough it is getting better. Maybe I am just realizing what type of story they are trying to tell with this group of characters. I would prefer more of a serious tone, but I have the books and other comics for this. If the writers and the story group think it is a good idea for this comic to be light hearted and fun, then I can get behind it. For the most part this three issue arc is fun, but at times it doesn’t seem to fit into Star Wars.

The main issue I had with this installment was how the droids save the day. I don’t really have an issue with the droid and BB-8 in particular helping save the day, just make it plausible within the overall Star Wars universe. Having BB-8 fight another giant droid just didn’t seem to fit. It was the same issue I had with the first three issue run and having a giant lizard creature hatch out of the egg. It just doesn’t feel like Star Wars. I am all for having fun campy action adventures, but it still needs to connect to all of the other stories.

I did enjoy how Black Squadron escaped. Turning off the gravity field for a high gravity planet was cool to see, and funny. This is what prompted me thinking about the overall tone the comic is shooting for. They want to make it a fun adventure series. This was interesting and I enjoyed how different the escape was from anything we have seen before. This event to counter the lizard and robot still felt like something that could happen within the Star Wars universe.

The ending of the issue was also a little out of place for me. I didn’t understand why Agent Terex would have made the decision to stick around if he knew he couldn’t stand up to X-Wings. He purposefully drew them in for an attack and then didn’t have a plan to actually defeat them. For the character they have been setting him up to be, it was an odd choice. From the first few issues he seems like a planner and someone who is always is in control, and the last part of the issue was a departure from the person portrayed. They seemed to be making him a nuanced villain, but changed to more mustache twirling one for the last part of the comic.

I still have high hopes for this comic. We don’t have much material coming out between Jedi and Force Awakens and I want this to be good. I do think expecting a different tone from now on will help my enjoyment. I do hope they drop some of the outlandish story concepts, and focus more on the team dynamic of Black Squadron. This should be one way to grow and expand on characters in the new cannon. Black Squadron should and could take the place of the old Rogue Squadron from legends. Hopefully it starts to move more towards this.


Let me know if you are enjoying the Poe Dameron comic and the tone or think it is a bit too campy. 

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