The covers: Cover A is by Elsa Charretier with colors by Nick Filardi. Padme and Anakin are back to back, he with his saber held ready, she with a blaster. In the heat of the moment they hold each other’s hands tightly and smile, ready to face their adversaries together. They wouldn’t have it any other way. The expressions on the characters’ faces are great and their hands lead smoothly into the tease for Tales From Wild Space in the bottom right corner. I also like the colors, with the beautiful pink planet lighting up the heroes. Mace Windu gets the focus on the second cover as he has his lightsaber ignited and held ready, while in the foreground Neesha Tor cuddles a happy Loth-cat. The B cover is by Mauricet and shows the serious Jedi next to a companion one wouldn’t expect. Nice combo and tease for their tale. The RI Cover is by Nicoletta Baldari. This is a fantastic cover that has Padme standing before Anakin, her eyes looking back at him. He’s got his lightsaber activated and looks at her with the same love she is sending to him. The design of the characters is outstanding and the colors are terrific. This is print and poster worthy. Overall grades: A A, B A, and RI A+
The stories: “Intermission” by Elsa Charretier and Pierrick Colinet is a terrific story simply for the pairing of Anakin and Padme. Any story that focuses on this pair is always worth one’s attention because it shows the pair’s relationship far from the eyes of the Jedi Council. That’s where this story begins, with Anakin recounting this adventure to Master Yoda and the others on the council. Padme was invited to Caamus for one of Risha Synata’s famous parties. She’s a famous actress and Anakin has been infatuated with her for years. The woman is completely vain, with her followers falling over her. Padme is used to her ego, but Anakin feeds this woman’s need for recognition. Anakin and Padme are invited to tour the museum that is dedicated to her and that’s when they run into trouble. This was fun, had some great action, and ends on a terrific cliffhanger. Tales From Wild Space is a quick story titled “A Small Push” by Scott Peterson. Unlike previous TFWS, this tale launches right into the action showing a little blue skinned Twi’lek making her way through a city getting horrible glances and terrible remarks: “Watch where you’re going, stinkweed” and “Mother, the cast-off nearly touched me!” As Neesha Tor’s eyes fill with tears and her lower lip trembles, an old woman approaches her with perhaps the most heartbreaking dialogue I’ve ever read in this series. Neesha decides to leave the city and she gets herself into trouble. Thankfully, Mace Windu is nearby and he and the girl have words. This was a great story with an ever better message that doesn’t hit the reader over the head. Overall grades: A
The art: I love Elsa Charretier’s artwork and she continues to cement me as a fan with this issue. I love the design of Risha Synata, with her acting skills on stage and her performance before her adoring audience fantastic. Her entrance on Page 4 is a perfect visual that completely defines her character. Her hand gestures are wonderful. Anakin’s reaction to meeting her is priceless. The visual in the final panel on 6 is laugh out loud funny. The museum that the heroes tour looks great, with familiar characters and places that Risha has incorporated into her repertoire. I loved the tiny panel that ended 7 and having it be that character made the change even sweeter. The action on 10 and 11 is great, like something out of a zombie movie. The reveals on the final page are awesome, with that centerpiece of the last panel outstanding. The entire illustration makes Anakin’s closing dialogue wonderful. Mauricet is the artist of the second tale and someone needs to get this illustrator on a monthly book. The two pages that show little Neesha’s painful walk through her city is fantastic: the characters are outstanding, the settings excellent, and the emotions that everyone conveys to the reader is stellar. How Neesha gets herself into trouble is well done, with the perspective on the thrid page’s seventh panel great. Windu’s entrance is very fluid, with some sweet Jedi movement. The way Neesha transforms on the penultimate page due only to the Jedi’s words is awesome. The final page has the reader returning to some familiar faces while showing what’s become of the Twi’lek. This story looks great and I need to see more by Mauricet. Overall grade: A
The colors: Risha has an incredibly dark pink skin, making her stand out on every page she appears, which is how she should appear to the reader. Her powder blue eyes only highlight the power of her skin. Colorist Sarah Stern accentuates all aspects of the first tale with the actress’s opening performance receiving a strong orange behind her actions. The interiors of the museum use a dark brown, giving the facility an elegant feel, as well as one that says much money was spent in building it. When Anakin and Padme have a brief tender moment, the background goes pink to visually show the love between the pair. The use of reds for the antagonists’ eyes is the perfect color to show their evil nature. The grays and light blues that end the story rightly tease who is working with their host. Valentina Pinto colors “A Small Push” and her work is also strong. Having the little protagonist’s skin be light blue has her standing out against her desert world and its dwellings. She also stands out from her fellow Twi’leks who are light greens, faded oranges, or taupe. The Loth-cat she gets involved with is a wonderful shade of violet, making this creature stand out on the page as much as she does. When Mace Windu uses the Force at the end of this tale the background goes a magical light blue that matches Neesha’s skin, teasing that there may be magic within her. The sunset that the Jedi walks off into is perfect, with the highlights on his robe outstanding. Both of these stories have excellent colors. Overall grade: A
The letters: Tom B. Long letters both tales, creating scene settings, dialogue and droid speech (the same font), sounds, the title for “A Small Push”, and yells. Long’s dialogue is easy to read, though I wish the droid speech had been in a different font, rather than the shape of the balloons that contain it differed. This slight mar aside, the scene settings are zippy, looking futuristic and speedy, and the sounds are tons of fun. Read those sounds aloud to make yourself instantly ten-years-old. Overall grade: A-
The final line: Two fun tales, with Anakin and Padme’s alone time leading to trouble and Mace Windu helps a troubled Twi’lek. The visuals on both stories are great, with me wanting to see more of Mauricet’s work. This is perfect reading for all ages of Star Wars fans. Overall grade: A
To order a print copy go to https://www.idwpublishing.com/product/star-wars-adventures-12/
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Thanks for the great review. It’s much appreciated!