Star Wars Adventures:  The Will of Darth Vader AND Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes

“…offering two thought provoking, yet action-filled stories. Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes takes place during Luke’s training on Dagobah with Master Yoda. Taylor allows himself to have fun with Yoda as Yoda in turn has fun with Luke in the name of training. (Teachers who can get this volume away from their students will completely sympathize with Yoda’s desire to gently torment his disciple.) When Yoda sends Luke on a journey to rescue treasure from a ferocious beast, Luke at first cannot understand why his monastic mentor would suddenly be making a selfish request. But, as with all of Yoda’s teachings, there is a deeper meaning. Daxiong’s art is vivid and perfect for action scenes, though he seems unable to draw any facial expressions which would allow his characters to show emotion. Luckily Taylor’s writing is strong enough to carry the story through to a full-circle finish that is not preachy or overly pat.

From there, Taylor turns his focus onto Darth Vader, crafting a story which shows off the massive power Vader commands, while also clearly pointing out the flaws in his philosophy of servitude to the Dark Side. Vader uses a captured smuggler named Luca to get to a Rebel base hidden deep within an asteroid field, but Luca is a wisecracking man who does not lightly given into authority. The brilliance in Taylor’s story is that Luca is not a stand-in for Han Solo. He is very much his own person, a theme which is central to the point Taylor aims to make. The ending of the tale is shocking, powerful, and will force readers to think about the nature of free will.” - Graphic Novel Reporter

The Authority #25 – “This is Gonna Suck”

“Don’t let the title of the issue fool you. It does everything BUT suck! But rest assured, Tom Taylor finds a clever way to present the title too. I personally thought it was hilarious how he did it.  But the creative team’s not done with us yet. As the solicits reads ‘The Carrier appears to finally be approaching its ultimate destination’. Taylor not only gives us a cool little twist at the end but also leaves us with a great cliffhanger!” - Wildstorm Addiction

Star Wars Invasion: Rescues #3

“Probably one of the best issues in terms of action and moving the story along.”

“I definitely will say I liked this issue. The action was there and the story didn’t drag out but thrust us to the next level.
Overall the issue was solid and action intense. Taylor and Wilson delivered.” - NJOE.com

Go buy it.  Buy it for your friends.  Buy it for your family.  Buy it for your casual acquaintances.  Buy back-up copies.  Buy it for that lonely guy who rides your bus and always does that weird thing with his sinuses.

“If you only pick up one Star Wars title a month – this is it…”

- Undercover Fanboy

“this book does do a great job of establishing a galactically tense situation where our protagonists have been strewn across the galaxy. There’s a strange excitement to that sort of singularly Star Wars kind of setup and “Invasion’s” is a fine interpretation of the trope.”

- Comic Book Resources

“…22 action-packed pages!” “This issue kept moving and wouldn’t let you go until the very end.”

- NJOE.com

“Taylors’ writing is complemented by Wilson’s exceptional art skills. In an issue that starts the series off with a gratifying amount of action Wilson’s illustrations shine. He makes excellent use of perspective in nearly every panel using it to great effect whether it be to emphasize the speed at which the ships are traveling through hyperspace or to give us the the sense of intimidating awe that the planet’s victims feel as we do in the first appearance of a Yuuzhan Vong as he stands looming over a terrified victim.”

- Comics Bulletin

“Luke as a full Jedi Master is just so much cooler than the Luke from the movies. He doesn’t come off as a wise master but he sure knows how to be a badass when it’s needed.”

- ComicList

“3 pages in and I laughed and just had to put it down and enjoy… I’ve been loving this series… I want to see more.”

- Legion of Dudes

“The very first issue hooked me. I was done.” “ Where with ‘Legacy’ I was sort of interested in it… this one, I’m more than interested.  I can not wait for the next issue!”

- Alternate Reality – The Comic Book Podcast

Interestingly enough, I haven’t read a truly negative review since issue 2.  So, clearly we’re doing something right.  I’ll update this post as they come in but, already, there are some very nice reviews coming in for Star Wars: invasion #5.

The Comic Center devotes an entire video episode to Star Wars comics and has some nice things to say about Invasion.

“It’s good.  It’s really good.” “Tom Taylor is writing some really good dialogue.”  “…the Star Wars Invasion one-shot from Dark Horse… just came out.  Search it out.  Pick it up.  I love it.”

- Comic Centre

From Undercover Fanboy.

“…the interaction between the Solos twins and Leia and Anakin about the death of Chewbacca was worth the price of admission. Writer Tom Taylor is doing an amazing job writing established characters while covering new ground at the same time.  Here’s to hoping that Invasion will be the new series Dark Horse was talking about (and) Tom Taylor will still be the writer…”

“4 STARS”

- Undercover Fanboy

We come in for more praise from the good people over at NJOE.

“This was a spectacular ending to an outstanding new series.”

- NJOE

Meanwhile, EU Cantina has updated with reviews for issue 1-4.

You can read reviews of all four issues here, here, here and here.

They have consistently give us 4-4.5 Sith Hounds…

I find this amusing…

From Undercover Fanboy…

“Star Wars: Invasion #0 does not disappoint. Writer Tom Taylor has done his research and brings new insight to established characters every issue.  If you only pick up one Star Wars title a month – this is it…”

-undercoverfanboy.com

From NJOE…

“When TOS posted the first two-parts to the Invasion story I figured that Tom and Colin had told what they wanted to.  Oh how wrong I was. In six extra pages we learn so much more about the series and it’s main heroes.”

-NJOE.com

From Comic List…

“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.”

“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… 4 out of 5 geek goggles.”

-Comiclist.com

NJOE.com have a lot to say, with Kaye Galfridian getting a heap of love.

“Have I mentioned before that I love Kaye? I do, I really do. Everything about her just screams ‘Kick ass!!’”

“AND Tom totally nailed the interaction between Han and Leia!! That whole scene was heartbreakingly sad and humorous at the same time.”

-NJOE.com

From Undercover Fanboy…

“(A) Must buy for any Star Wars fans.”

-Undercoverfanboy.com

Also, there will be some big news tomorrow – stay tuned.

I thought I’d highlight some nice, balanced reviews here… I doubt I’ll get around to highlighting the negative ones.

http://theflickcast.com/2009/07/02/the-pull-list-comic-reviews-captain-america-reborn-batman-

and-robin-and-star-wars-invasion/

http://www.njoe.com/2009/07/02/review-of-star-wars-invasion-1/

http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/125082900796024.htm

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=1189

http://www.ifanboy.com/reviews/stuclach/dark_horse_comics/star_wars_invasion/1_(of_5)

http://www.thecomicaddiction.com/reviews/2009/7/1/star-wars-invasion-1.html

http://pdxcomicgeek.com/?p=1329

http://comicbookjesus.com/2009/07/06/star-wars-invasion-1-review/

http://www.tfaw.com/Comics/Profile/Star-Wars-Invasion-1___345924

And a few reviews have already appeared for #2, with the fine people at NJOE once again seeming happy, Nerdgasm feeling it was worth picking up more than anything else they reviewed in the week, the Gaijinside staff selecting it as one of their nine books that have ‘risen above all others’ and TFAW giving Star Wars: Invasion #2 a rare 5 star staff review.

http://www.njoe.com/2009/08/06/review-of-star-wars-invasion-2/#more-1961

http://www.tfaw.com/Comics/Profile/Star-Wars-Invasion-2___347593

http://eruditorum.co.uk/poptart/?p=65

http://www.gaijinside.com/wednesdayinreview-wars-and-worlds-reborn/

Colin and I are very happy to know that we’re ticking some boxes for people already, particularly given that we know what’s coming.  This was early days for both of us.  By issue 3 and 4 we’re really hitting our stride and the next story arc, post set-up, should be huge.