Review by Chris Partin

“Refugees” - Part 1 of 5

Script: Tom Taylor

Art: Colin Wilson

Colors: Wes Dzioba

Letters: Michael Heisler

Cover Art: Jo Chen

Assistant Editor: Freddye Lins
Editor: Randy Stradley

Designer: Scott Cook

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

I remember a time where I would read every Star Wars comic book on the shelves. I couldn’t get enough Star Wars each week from Dark Horse. I managed to buy nearly everything that came out up until Star Wars Legacy and I stopped reading them. I forget the reason why; probably money. What comic book reader hasn’t had that stop them from reading a comic book? Either way, I find myself back in the Star Wars universe with Dark Horse’s new series – Invasion.

This new series takes place about twenty-five years after the Battle of Yavin. For those of you who read the novels, this takes place during the New Jedi Order series of novels. While Del Rey has firmly established a lot of what has happened during this time period, Dark Horse is starting this new comic series in order to tell the story of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion.

I give you this bit of information to follow it up by saying I haven’t read the novels. I didn’t even know that this is where the series was taking place until I got to the end of the issue and saw it in Editor Randy Stradley’s notes to the reader. This means, if you’re like me and new to the overall story – you’re not missing anything. At no point in this issue did I feel lost or that there was something I should have been told before going into this issue. I know everything I need to know as I read the issue. There are some turns in this very issue that surprised me, and I don’t know if I would have gotten those if I had read the novels. So, I’m curious about the novels and I may go check them out now.

Writer Tom Taylor is debuting his comic book writing style with this issue. He’s an accomplished playwright with multiple awards, so he is no stranger to telling a story, and I found no real problem with this issue on a storytelling level. I think the pacing is good. The dialogue is strong. I like the characters and have already found myself becoming attached to them. I think this is a successful debut for Mr. Taylor.

The art in this issue is good. There are some moments where Colin Wilson’s pencils are a little off and his characters have odd shaped faces, but beyond that I like what I see. Wilson really has a nice sense of panel layouts. I really like the amount of art he puts on the page. There are some that just are so dense while others are fairly light and there’s nothing overdone or lacking in either. The colors by Wes Dzioba really make Wilson’s pencils jump off the page.

Overall this is a really good first issue to a new series. I think Star Wars fans will enjoy this issue and will get to see another side of the universe while keeping connected to what they’ve seen before in the movies, novels, and comics. I’m looking forward to seeing how this first arc plays out.

Rating: 7 out of 10 (Above Average)