Love in the time of midichlorians.
By Joshua Yehl
With the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens only 99 days away — but who’s counting? — we have been inundated with all manner of toys, books, and games to keep us occupied until we can watch the feature. Marvel Comics’ contribution to the Journey to the Force Awakens — an initiative designed to fill the gap between Return of the Jedi and TFA, and to tease us to no end — is Shattered Empire, which picks up in the final moments of the Battle of Endor and follows the path of skilled A-Wing pilot Shara Bey.
Unlike Marvel’s other Star Wars comics, Shattered Empire moves at a steady, deliberate pace, never in a rush to show an action scene or give a glimpse of the original cast, although it does both with great satisfaction. The opening pages thrust us into that climactic battle between good and evil, but because we already know how it ends, we instead focus on Shara’s role and where she winds up afterward. That’s when we meet her husband Kes, a Rebel soldier, and learn how these two characters are related to TFA. I won’t spoil it here, but suffice to say that it becomes a compass needle pointing to December’s big release, yet the story has a pleasing amount of freedom to operate on its own and include surprises between now and then.
Steering the ship is Greg Rucka, who writes about a different badass female protagonist in Lazarus over at Image Comics, along with co-pilot Marco Chechetto, who draws the dogfighting action with such intense, unrelenting energy that it’s a wonder the pages don’t catch fire when a ship explodes. When it’s in motion, Shattered Empire is a beauty. Starships break out of panels as they rocket forward, laser fire and explosions light up the page, and there’s a general dirtiness that reminds that, yes, this story is first and foremost about a war.
One sticking point comes with the coloring, which is generally of high quality, but there are several instances where it doesn’t jive with Chechetto’s linework. Faces occasionally have a plastic sheen, which causes the character’s intended emotion to be stifled. It’s a rare occurrence, but a notable one, especially on the final page.
If you pick up Shattered Empire expecting a full rundown of the post-RotJ political climate of the galaxy, the whereabouts of all major characters, and origin stories for Finn and Rey, plus the name of the soccer-loving mechanic that built BB-8, then you’ll be as disappointed as Lando trying to make a deal with Vader. Rucka and Chechetto clearly aren’t out to fill in the time gap with broad strokes of information, but rather detail a wartime romance that promises to have meaningful importance by the end of its four-issue mini-series. The dialogue feels honest and pained as the two lovers try to find their footing after the war, yet there’s still moments of charm and humor to be found without resorting to obvious winks at the original trilogy.
Star Wars: Shattered Empire delivers a more steady and hard-edged story than any of Marvel’s other Star Wars comics. Rucka commands the tone with honest and charming dialogue as lovers Shara and Kes grapple with post-war trials and tribulations. Despite a few quibbles with the coloring, the art is rather spectacular. Chechetto’s gives a lesson in how space battles ought to be done, full of glorious action and thrilling momentum. While this comic doesn’t answer every question you have about what happened after Return of the Jedi, it also doesn’t promise to. What it does promise is a wartime romance story that makes sparing us of the original cast and subtly guides us to The Force Awakens, and so far it delivers in spades. Plus, the creative team makes Ewoks undeniably endearing, so there’s that.
