Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Star Wars Blood Ties #1Star Wars Blood Ties #1 of 4
Dark Horse Comics
Taylor & Scalf

Dark Horse's latest Star Wars launch focuses on characters that are related to one another. The first mini series is about Jengo and Boba Fett. I was hesitant about picking up this issue because Jengo Fett as a character was pretty much played out in the movies and the idea of having his bratty kid tagging along was rather lame. However, I found the issue to be good and introduce an element to the relationship that didn't exist in the movies. This is a promising start to the mini series.

The issue opens with Jengo putting Boba's life in danger simply to prove a point and as a means of training. I enjoyed the entire opening sequence because it really helped to crush some of the notions I had about these characters from the Attack of the Clones film.

Jengo is an assassin and a bounty hunter. Why in the world would he want to drag a kid around? Then you have Boba, who after witnessing his father's death picks up Jengo's helmet (with head presumably still inside) and decides then and there to become a bounty hunter. The movie handled this all so cheesy that I'm glad the comic book shows some reason for Boba wanting to become like his dead other than just watching his father get decapitated. The opening of the issue also manages to explain some of the reasoning behind Jengo dragging a kid around on his adventures.

The second half of the issue is Jengo and Boba taking on a job. We get to see the side of Jengo when he works with others while, again, he thrusts his kid into the job as part of his training. I found it all to work very well because of the setup from the beginning of the issue.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsThe artwork was very good. The style is has a painted, realistic look, but not overly photographic like an Alex Ross painting. It has a water color quality to it that gives some layers to the backgrounds. I found the characters to be a good blend where they weren't too shiny (like in the movie) or too dark, as you might expect with a painted look. The art definitely presented a good visual story.

I'm not sure this mini series is going to be able to make Boba the kid very likable but I am pleased to see the story isn't going to be simply Jengo fighting while Boba watches from the cockpit of Slave-I. This is definitely a good start to a mini series set dead center in the heart of the Clone Wars. I am looking forward to the next issue.

3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles