Review: OBI-WAN & ANAKIN #1

STWOBIANI2016001_DC11

OBI-WAN & ANAKIN #1
Written by Charles Soule
Art by Marco Checchetto, Andres Mossa
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: January 1, 2016

The newest Star Wars mini-series heads back to a time before the Clone Wars, shortly after Episode I, with a bearded Obi-Wan Kenobi shepherding Anakin Skywalker through the galaxy. He’s a headstrong bugger, and the seeds of Palpatine’s influence are being planted….

Charles Soule does a fine job with the iconic characters, selling Anakin as the headstrong pupil to the wiser-by-the-day Master. The story takes place in a new world (Carnelion IV) with flashbacks to Anakin being a show-off in the Jedi Temple. The parts in the Temple are pretty straightforward and predictable considering what occurs in Episodes II and III, and I found myself wanting much more of the new world and less of the Temple. It may be personal bias, but the warping of Anakin and machinations of Palpatine never interested me all that much, so those aspects of the issue didn’t click for me. Give me a fan-favourite Jedi Master and talented Padawan on a new world that appears to be embroiled in a civil war and you’ll get my attention, though.

The new world may be such an invigorating scene stealer in this issue because of the exceptional work of Marco Checchetto and Andres Mossa. Checchetto’s work on Shattered Empire astounded me and his strong pencils continue in this issue. He excels at the big picture, huge splash pages and the battle occurring on Carnelion IV is amazing. There’s an intriguing integration of elements of steampunk into his ships on this world and every page set there was engaging and had me glued to the panels. His work in the Temple is good, but those pages lack the impact that the Carnelion IV pages have. His pencils are never bad (nor is Mossa’s colour work) but the dynamic nature of the new world and what Checchetto brings to it are the real draw of this comic.

Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin #1 stays true to the characters and sets up what could be an interesting story through some dynamic artwork by Marco Checchetto and Andres Mossa. I will definitely be reading the second issue to see where this adventure takes this Master and his Padawan, and here’s hoping Carnelion IV continues to be as fun as it is setting up to be.

The Verdict: 8.0/10

Authors

Related posts

Top