Comic Review: Star Wars Invasion #1

Who put the Vong in the Vong-she-vong-she-vong?

By Jeffery Cox 

Star Wars Invasion #1: Refugees (1 of 5)

It appears to be the opening days of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, and to date the Galaxy on the whole is completely unaware. On the planet Artorias, it is an average day for the Galfridan family. Until, boom! Some goth guy in crab suit throws a giant potato bug into a crowd! It’s a bioorganic blitzkrieg in the premier issue of Star Wars Invasion!

For those of you unfamiliar with R.A Salvatore’s "Vector Prime" or the subsequent New Jedi Order Series, let me set the stage for you: It is 20 some years after the fall of the Empire. The Jedi are back in force and there is for the most part peace through out the galaxy. Enter the Yuuzhan Vong, a militaristic alien race from beyond the edge of Galaxy. Their technology is based on bioengineering, and they hate all things mechanical. They have come to conquer.

In this rapidly paced episode, we are briefly introduced to the Galfridan family before the amphistaff hits the fan. There is Finn, a cocksure and bored youth who entertains himself by balancing on one hand; Kaye, Finn’s tough sister; Prowl, the sarcastic floating droid. Then mom, Nina, and dad, who is Mr. Galfridan to you!

In short order, they are all thrown into chaos as the Vong roll through their idyllic city. Nina and Kaye are taken captive, while Mr. Galfridan, who seems to be a king in his day job, sets out to take on the Vong head on. Finn is the only one who comes out ahead. After a last second rescue by none other than Luke Skywalker, he is promoted to king and invited to train to become a Jedi.

The artistic team of Colin Wilson and Wes Ozioba delivered the stylistic goods in this issue. Crack it open to any page, and it is Star Wars. The world looks intricate and lived in. Some points could have been made clearer in the framing. When the boxes containing the crowns are collected, simply placing them in the foreground would have been enough to convey their importance to the reader. As it is, this important detail is hardly noticed.

The story serves as a quick introduction to the characters and their situation but feels like a missed opportunity. In some places, peaks in action seem edited out. Kaye’s fight with a Vong warrior is an example. He laughs off her attacks until she declares, “One more try,” and in the next frame, the Vong is dead on the floor. It was like she killed him with her words. In General, much of the action seemed to be out of sequence. So much could have happened in this story - the frantic search for Kaye and Nina, Finn’s emerging force powers, Luke’s arrival and showdown with a squad of Yuuzhan Vong and even The King’s valiant last stand allowing for the escape of his son and people. All of these were hinted at but not shown. Hopefully, more time will be taken to let the story unfold in future issues.

Specs

TITLE	STAR WARS Invasion #1
PUBLISHER	Dark Horse
BOOK RELEASED	July 2009
COVER PRICE	$2.99
WRITER	Tom Taylor
ARTIST	Colin Wilson
COVER ART	Jo Chen
LETTERING	Michael Heisler
COLORIST	Wes Ozioba

*Image via Dark Horse Comics (Used with permission)

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