Poe Dameron #14

Poe Dameron #14

Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Angel Unzueta
Colorist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Phil Noto

Poe Dameron #14 brings in a new art team and kicks off a new arc “Legend Lost.” While there isn’t any action in this issue, which is a very bold move, there’s some nice character work. Poe drives the story as he deals with the loss of L’ulo and in the that mourning, finds his true purpose in the Resistance. Meanwhile, Terex sits in captivity awaiting judgement from Captain Phasma. Poe may find his peace, but for Terex, peace may not be the end he’s seeking.

To kick things off, I’d like to first address the artwork. Up until now, Phil Noto has been handling the art duties and he’s done a good job. With this issue, Angel Unzueta and Arif Prianto take over. They have a different style that leans more toward realism and lighting. Angel’s pencil and ink work contains a lot of detail. He does a good job capturing the likenesses of the characters, their emotions, as well tackling things like spaceships and environments. All three aspects look great. The panel layouts for the pages are a bit more straightforward without anything too fancy, but there is some creative juxtapositioning of the Terex/Poe panels that forces the reader to compare the two. This becomes an ongoing theme throughout the issue as the two story threads go off in their own directions.

The coloring blends well with Angel’s artwork, bringing it to life. Some of the panels are really eye catching with some excellent lighting effects. Arif does a great job with the opening page showing L’ulo’s casket, and later on, there’s a great show of Leia’s office. Both are good examples of the lighting and how it brings those scenes to life. Together, Angel and Arif present a new look for the Poe Dameron series that is refreshing and provides a boost of life for the comic. Of course the artwork can only do so much for the comic, and it’s up to Charles Soule to take it the rest of the way.

In Poe Dameron #13, I was beginning to lose interest in the series. Surprisingly, Poe Dameron #14 has reinvigorated my interest. Charles does a couple things that work really well in this issue. For starters, Poe has a very moving speech that he gives at L’ulo’s funeral. Sometimes Poe’s dialog can land a little flat, but in this case, it was touching and deep. For that moment, I had a connection with Poe, something that I’ve gone most of the series without. Adding to Poe’s storyline, Leia pushes him to reflect upon his own abilities, which forces him to realize he can be more than a pilot. Hopefully this means will start to see Poe in an expanded role in the series. Beyond that, this issue continues to follow Terex, whom I thought we saw the last of in issue #13. Here we see him in captivity and dealing with Phasma who is now in position of power of him. The comic tries to mirror Terex’s storyline with Poe, even though they are in very different circumstances. While there may be a few connections there, the big pay off was with what happens to Terex. Like the lack of action in this issue, it’s a bold move, and it’ll be interesting to see where they take it from here.

Poe Dameron #14 delivers some changes and some surprises. Just when the series was starting to wane, things are now starting to get more interesting. Of course, they have to keep up with what they’ve started, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens. For now, things are looking good, and I give this issue a five out of five metal bikinis.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.