Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Star Wars: Invasion #4Star Wars Invasion #4 of 5
Dark Horse Comics
Taylor, Wilson & Dzioba

This issue of Invasion focuses on the familiar Star Wars lineup making for a refreshing change of pace. The comic doesn’t necessarily put the classic Star Wars characters in the forefront, but they do dominate the scenery. It’s a good issue as it seems to return to basics. It’s a caper of sorts in the one plot thread, but the jailbreak sequence holds true to the terror of the actual invasion. It’s a good issue.


Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsAfter a short introduction to the prison, the issue jumps right into the familiar sight of the Millennium Falcon. Luke and Leia debate the mission at hand as they discuss events that occurred outside of this comic book arc. Particularly, the death of Chewbacca, and the apparent rift between Han and his son Anakin. For those that haven’t read the novels that detail these events this provides a decent enough recap but it does it come a little late? In previous issues I hadn’t even realized that the Wookie in the issue wasn’t Chewbacca and one of Han’s son’s looks exactly like him to the point that I mistook him for Han. The other minor problem with this information is the question of where R2, Threepio and Lando are during these events. It’s nice to get the rundown in any event though.

As Leia, her children, a new Wookie and Luke’s protégé head out on their mission they leave behind Luke. The cockpit banter provides some fun memories from the original trilogy.

Next we get a description of what the Vong are and what they are capable of doing with their technology. This part of the issue begins to piece together some of the various events from the first three issues. Having limited knowledge of the Vong prior to this mini series, this outline goes a long way in understanding the overall story.

The comic closes as the Solos attempt to hunt down the mystery smuggler and Kaye leads the jailbreak.

The comic is a good one. It might seem like its juggling a lot of plots, but it really is a very concise story. For the most part, the original trilogy characters have taken in a refugee and are trying to stop the Vong invasion in multiple ways. In one issue they are involved in a rescue attempt and in this one they are looking to gain an advantage on the Vong by way of finding this smuggler. The other plots all centered around the remnants of the family of the refugee that Luke rescued in the first issue. There is no promise of a reunion. The arc is merely plotting what ends up happening with the cast that had their lives turned on its side. In some ways it very similar to the type of arc you might find in the Dark Times title.

The artwork was outstanding. I enjoyed all of the details of Falcon. Whether it’s the interior or the exterior, the Falcon looks every bit the part of the original trilogy. The characters also remain very true to the actors that portrayed them. Sure, there was some difficulty understanding which kid was which and the identity of the mystery Wookie, but the artwork tells a nice visual story worthy of a Star Wars movie.

I’m not sure what we have in store for the finale of this mini series but it would seem that some of these plots will continue into the next mini series. For those readers who are craving the original trilogy cast then this issue is for you. Not only do you get most of the key characters, but they don’t feel hollow. Their dialogue and actions seem worthy of the actions that took place in Return of the Jedi or some of the post-Jedi comic book stories. This was a fun read for a Star Wars fan.

4 out of 5 geek goggles