If you picked up the first issue to J.W. Rinzler and Mike Mayhew’s The Star Wars then you already have probably added The Star Wars to your pull list at your local comic book store.  If you think all the good stuff was included in the first issue, then you’ll be happy to know the action and excitement doesn’t wane with Issue #2.  In fact, after Issue #1 required adequate room for the introduction of characters, Issue #2 beams forward with non-stop action.  If you missed Issue #1 check out our earlier review here then run to your comic book store now to get a copy and see what all the buzz is about.

Middle-aged Jedi General Luke Skywalker has a heightened sense that everything is wrong on the planet Aquilae.  Appealing to the king for a declaration of war against the Empire, he draws trepidation from the peace-loving royals.  What does the future hold for Skywalker, his new padawan, and his protectees?  Luke Skywalker never looked better and Annikin Starkiller may very well be your next favorite Star Wars character.

George Lucas’s original screenplay for Star Wars is packed full of intrigue.  Political secrets and complexities that bogged down the Star Wars prequel films are deftly handled here in Rinzler’s adapted script.  The story even in its initial form is grandiose, epic.  It borrows from Greek and Roman story devices and yet incorporates the wartime human-to-human conflicts you’d find in World War II films.  Somehow this is all filtered through a futuristic lens by Mayhew’s singular artistic style that plants you in the story and leaves you needing that next issue now.

Look for plenty of hidden gems on each page–throwbacks to the original films, updates to characters–some big, some small–and inspired character design from the late Ralph McQuarrie, including an alternate cover for Issue #2 from the McQuarrie archives.  And the “new” look of characters like General Vader is just superb.

Disney’s new Star Wars sequels should take some pointers from Rinzler and Mayhew.  They’re really able to tap what we all love about Star Wars and reveal it to us in this great new-yet-retro way.

The Star Wars Issue #2 of an eight-issue mini series event is available Wednesday, October 2, 2013, at comic book stores everywhere.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com