Age of Resistance Special #1

Age of Resistance Special #1

Writers: G. Willow Wilson, Tom Taylor, and Chris Eliopoulos
Artists: Elsa Charratier, Matteo Buffagini, and Javier Pina
Colorists: Chris O’Halloran, Nick Filardi, and Guru eFX
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: Phil Noto

Age of Resistance Special #1 is a collection of three stories with different writers and art teams.

First up is a story about Maz Kanata, Han Solo and Chewbacca. She hires them for a job and flirts with Chewie. There’s lots of action, and they reclaim a Sith artifact. There’s not much to the story as I didn’t recognize the relic they found (it’s not Lord Momin’s helmet), and it doesn’t add any lore or world building. Mostly it’s just a little throwaway action story with the three main characters. The artwork has a very dated style that makes it feel old, largely due to the muted colors.

The next story follows Holdo while she’s still a minister for the government. It’s an odd story. First she kills a vicious looking plant in order to die her hair purple, then the ship comes under attack, the captain dies, and she takes command. They get caught by a tractor beam and once again, someone finds yet another way to escape an inescapable tractor beam. It’s odd how there are so many ways to escape those despite everyone thinking their inescapable. I’m also not sure how this fits in the timeline with Holdo attacking an Imperial ship. Is this back in the ROTJ era with the Empire or was this a First Order ship? Regardless, after the events, they make Holdo a captain. The story is kind of ill structured and forced as it doesn’t make a lot of sense and doesn’t run smoothly together. On top of that, the artwork is pretty simple and cartoony. It looks like something from the Star Wars Adventures comics that IDW does for kids…because that’s the artist they picked.

That last story features Poe Dameron and BB-8. They go on a mission to infiltrate a First Order base and steal some data. BB-8 changes the game plan in order to save some droids, who in turn help him destroy the base and get the data. Then they all join the Resistance. Of the the three stories, it makes the most sense, but it does copy a bit off of L3’s droid uprising in Solo. However, it does have it’s own unique spin. The art’s okay. The style is a bit odd and off in places, but it gets enough right to not be too much of a problem. The coloring is definitely better in this one than the previous ones.

Taking all three stories in hand, this issue is skipable in my opinion. All the stories are throwaway stories that don’t add anything you’re going to miss out on. The art is overly impressive, nor is the writing on any of them. On the other hand, if you’re a big Maz/Chewie fan, Holdo fan, or BB-8 fan, you might get something out of those individual stories. I give it a two and a half out of five metal bikinis.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.