STAR WARS: REBEL HEIST

Written By:

Richard Thomas

COMIC BOOK REVIEW: STAR WARS: REBEL HEIST / WRITER: MATT KINDT / ARTIST: MARCO CASTIELLO / PUBLISHER: TITAN BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Star Wars: Rebel Heist is a graphic novel written by Matt Kindt, the author of MIND MGMT and 3 Story, and beautifully illustrated by Marco Castiello of Halo: Initiation. The events of this novel take place between the destruction of the Death Star in Episode IV: A New Hope and the Imperial attack on the Rebel Alliance’s base on Hoth during the opening moments of Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

Originally a four-issue miniseries published by Dark Horse, the novel sees the Rebel Alliance’s newest recruits teamed up with the heroes of the original Star Wars trilogy; Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca. The writer has gone on record saying that he felt the best way to maintain the larger than life aura of these iconic characters was to see them from the viewpoint of others. In turn, the four protagonists meet up with a new Rebel recruit, each of whom are quick to make assumptions that are later proved wrong, or at least not the full story. For instance, a Stormtrooper turncoat initially sees Chewbacca as being nothing but a wild animal, while a Rebel spy is concerned the Rebel Alliance has sent a princess of all people to help her. Unfortunately, this methodical approach means that there is no interaction between the four heroes until the end.

Fans may also be disappointed by the absence of the franchise’s chief antagonist, Darth Vader. This would have been less important if another lightsaber wielding villain had been introduced. Instead of Sith/Jedi duels, however, Luke Skywalker only uses his father’s blue lightsaber to battle generic Stormtroopers and aliens. Also missing from the action are the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO. Without these essential elements, the 94 pages just don’t feel like part of an authentic Star Wars story. Despite this, the characters do feel like their counterparts from the films and Star Wars: Rebel Heist is still an enjoyable read.

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