Star Wars Addiction

June 11, 2008

For fans of fledging Rebel operative Deena Shan, Rebellion #14, the final part of the Small Victories story arc, marks something of a turning point. The book itself is also a milestone of sorts, as the first fourteen issues were exclusively focused on the Galactic Civil War, whereas the next few will feature the Vector cross-over before the title gives way to the forthcoming Clone Wars comic line up.

Bannistar Station is burning, and a small group of Rebel saboteurs attempts to escape the fiery results of their mission to permanently disable the Imperial refueling depot. Deena, temporarily conquering her self-doubt, has managed to destroy several decks of the facility, as well as damage a Star Destroyer, and her life hangs in the balance as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia commandeer a Lambda shuttle and attempt to rescue her before fleeing the carnage.

Issue #14 is a quick read, as it rushes to tie up all the loose ends of the story arc's previous three issues. The action feels a bit forced, as if there was more story to tell and not enough pages to tell it. Jeremy Barlow's script is serviceable, but leaves you wanting a bit more, not necessarily in terms of exposition, but a few more meaningful dialogue exchanges would've gone a long way towards building a more satisfying conclusion.

Colin Wilson's pencils are in fine form, and he saves the big guns for the numerous starships that dodge and weave their way through the issue's forty pages. Though there is some question of continuity (B-Wings in service nine months after the Battle of Yavin?), the artwork itself is superb and the ships come alive, particularly in the full page spreads that show Dagger Squadron in action. Ryan Sook's cover art is similarly slick, and indicative of the visual spectacle that runs through the issue.

Deena gets the visual star treatment, even over stalwarts with last names like Skywalker and Organa. While her more well-known co-stars are drawn with enough accuracy to be recognizable, Deena stands apart, particularly the portraits near the close of the issue that feature very realistic renderings of human facial detail and expressions.

At the end of the day, Rebellion #14 is more than up to the task of polishing off one of the more enjoyable story arcs in recent Star Wars comics. While you may find the narrative payoff to be a bit underwhelming, the stellar artwork more than makes up for it.


	RebelFox June 11, 2008 Comment 1 Spanking fine review Jef. I've really enjoyed this series. Your reviews are a nice cherry to top off my fanboy dessert... wait that sounds wrong. Too wrong. MR FETT June 11, 2008 Comment 2 Finally we get to see the B-wings in action. I wish though we could have seen them drop some of the big ordinance that they had strapped under their wings. Glad to see Deena made it out and has the possibility of returning in another adventure. DarthDan June 11, 2008 Comment 3 Nice review, J. iam118 June 12, 2008 Comment 4 I just noticed something on those B-wings... The wings aren't proportioned right. JediJef June 12, 2008 Comment 5 I thought they looked a little long. iam118 June 12, 2008 Comment 6 The s foils are too long, the main wing is too short and the cockpit is too big... Methinks from looking at it that the artist used the Kenner/Hasbro B-wing for reference.