Star Wars #20

Star Wars #20

Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist/Cover Artist: Mike Mayhew
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos

Sometimes a comic can strike you with its pure visual beauty. In Star Wars #20, Mike Mayhew will blow your socks off. The panels strewn throughout the pages of this comic are a thing to behold. Oh, and there’s a pretty good story in there, too.

The issue opens up in the desert wastes of Tatooine as the Wookiee Krrsantan takes stock of the situation. Two of Jabba’s goons, a vividly illustrated Weequay and Klatoonian, accompany the black furred Wookiee, but not for long. Krrsantan catches scent of his quarry and heads straight for the Lar’s homestead. We catch a glimpse of Owen being attacked, young Luke returns to an injured Beru, and the story is set. The threat is in place. Who will save the day?

Surprisingly, it’s not exactly Obi-Wan who is the hero of the story. Jason Aaron does a good job of showing a rundown desert hermit Kenobi who is no longer the elite Jedi he once was. Krrsantan puts up a hell of a fight, and it’s Luke who comes in for the rescue. On top of all that, there’s a nice underlying story thread showing the kinder side of Owen. All in all, it’s a fun story.

Then there’s the artwork. Really, there’s not enough that can be said. Just in that opening page you could spend a 1,000 words. I mean look at the way Krrsantan’s hair flows! The gleam on his gold armor, the little touch with the Klatoonian having a turban, it’s intricate, fascinating and appealing. Then Krrsantan turns and stalks off to a little house in the distance. One that looks very familiar. If you take your time, you’ll catch it, but it’s a little detail that can be easily missed. Throughout the entire issue, there’s a superb amount of attention given to the detail. The layouts are great, and the colors bring the characters to life. From a Luke bathed in sunlight as he walks through the desert, popping off the page, to Krrsantan’s menacing glare as he turns to face Kenobi, it’s a visual feast.

There’s even finer details that add to the beauty of it all. For instance on page nine, Krrsantan holds Obi-Wan up in a choke hold. Without using traditional panel borders, he divides the panels up with the artwork itself. There’s Krrsantan’s outstretched arm framing the top. Then Kenobi’s stretched out body as he’s held dangling in the air provides a vertical frame. It’s a neat trick and it looks great.

When they first did an Obi-Wan Kenobi standalone in the main Star Wars comic line, I wasn’t too impressed. However, this issue is outstanding. The story is good and the artwork is fantastic. It easily earns a five out of five metal bikinis and I highly recommend it to everyone. It’s a Star Wars one shot at it’s best.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.