REVIEW: Star Wars Obi-Wan & Anakin #1

STORY BYÂ Charles Soule
ART BYÂ Marco Checchetto
PUBLISHER Marvel Comics

Star Wars is a film that hasÂ transcended pop culture.Â With its impact on everything you would think that plastering a “Star Wars” label on anything makes it cool; I mean just look at all the car adverts onÂ TV that are pushing the new film.

This same sort of idea must be why Marvel have decided to produce a book based on one of the most unpopular periods of Star Wars – Anakin as a boy!Â So, we are in “future film setting” mode, with the idea of sub plots feeding what we have seen in the movies and cartoon shows.

Writer Charles Soule has a tough deal to contend with.Â I can’t imagine thereÂ are a lot of fans that care about Anakin when he was a kid to start with, coupled with the fact that there is nothing of any real impact going to happen, due to our knowledge of what will be, means that the reader is kind of treading water.Â Soule does create a mystery, which relates to reason why the Jedi are on the planet.Â Soule does capture Obi-Wan well, but everyone else falls into their movie selves to the point of boredom.

Marco Checchetto is on art, placing a huge emphasis on environment over character.Â I am impressed with the panel layout, which is well structured, adding to the flow of the story, which helps the dialogue heavy first issue.Â Checchetto is massively helped out with colors from Andrea Mossa who goes for a painted look that does give the book a film like tapestry.

I liked Soule’s Superman and Wonder Woman book, which helped give the power couple some context.Â Here, there is no real context to add.Â We know what is going to happen to both Obi-Wan and Anakin, so is this story really necessary or is it a flagrant attempt, by Marvel, to take yourÂ money just because it has Star Wars on it?Â I pretty much have an idea on which it is, for me, especially after Obi-Wan had a strong showing in the main Star Wars book, not so long ago, which is probably still available in aÂ Local Comic Book Shop not so far away.

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Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network