Lando Calrissian #1

Age of Rebellion – Lando Calrissian #1

Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Matteo Buffagni
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Travis Langham
Cover Artist: Terry and Rachel Dodson

Lando Calrissian #1 is an interesting story. While Greg Pak does a good job with Lando’s dialog, I’m not sure about the image he presents of the character. Basically, Lando is a good man but a terrible business man.

The issue opens with a labor strike on Cloud City and the guards threatening to shoot the protesters. Before violence erupts, Lando pays them all off with her personal money. Short on funds, Lando tries doubling up at the gambling tables and loses everything. He then goes off on a lark of a business venture to help out some rich alien magnate. Unfortunately that deal turns sour once Lando realizes he’s dealing with slaves. In the end, he comes home, still broke, and pays off his labor force again with the last of his personal money. While the story certainly shows that he has a heart, it also makes him look like a worthless business man and manager. What is he doing to run the city broke and unable to pay his employees, let alone the amount of debt he’s rung up.

The artwork is…different. It’s a somewhat minimalist style with coloring that makes it look like it’s from the 80’s. It has a bit of a vintage, dated look, not a lot of detail, glam or polish. It’s a very deliberate aesthetic decision. In one way, it works, in another way, it’s not the most pleasing thing to look at. It certainly brings back memories of the old Dark Horse Dark Empire comics, and it’s not bad artwork by any means, it’s just a very different style. It kind of doesn’t work for me, but it’s very much a personal thing, so it might be hit and miss with readers.

In the end, I’m not sure about this one. The artwork is good, but not really to my taste, and the story is enjoyable, but I’m not sure what I think of Lando being so terrible at running Cloud City. Regardless of all that, it’s not an essential story you have to read, but if you’re a Lando fan, it is worth checking out. I give it a three and half out of five metal bikinis.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.