With the fate of the Rebel Alliance in the balance, can our heroes do anything to stem the tide of an emboldened Empire?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Dark Horse:

When Princess Leia is caught between two squadrons of TIE fighters, her undercover scouting may be at an end. But Luke Skywalker is doing his best to disobey Leia’s own orders, and to once again save the princess. Time is short and the Empire is closing in!

Clearly at this point this series has either attracted followers or it hasn’t.  The people inevitably decide if the narrative itself is trying to tell us something that’s worthy of fanboy or fangirl attention.  But for me at least, at this juncture, the creative team has entertained me just enough to ensure that I will be coming back for more even if they’ve played it rather safe so far.

Brian Wood does a fine job on the script but at this crossroads I’m starting to wonder what the point of this interstellar tale really is.  When this series was first announced I honestly thought this was going to be done in a way that would be an update of sorts while simultaneously doing justice to the original trilogy in a wholly unique vision.  In the end that’s not what we have here, members of the audience are given some solid nuggets full of political intrigue but nothing that’ll make someone stop and think right after they close this comic book as they theorize what could happen next.

The art by Carlos D’Anda is the same caliber it’s been since the initial launch issue. The line work is done in a way that evokes the tropes of the saga while instilling his own sense of self to create some unique reinterpretations of this fantastic characters.  That being said some of the illustrations might be too much of a departure as they might be the cause of some legitimate concerns.

Star Wars #5 is a good book that does enough to engage and entertain while its creative team plays it safe.  Recommended.

3.5/5