Star Wars: Sana Starros Review #1

 

Star Wars Sana Starros #1 Cover A by Ken Lashley

 

Note: This review was previously published on website The Comic Book Dispatch

 

Star Wars: Sana Starros #1 Review

Writer: Justina Ireland

Art: Pere Perez

Color Artist: Jay David Ramos

Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham

Publisher: Marvel

Price: 4.99

Release Date: February 1, 2023

 

When everything in your life’s going wrong, it’s tempting to go home. That’s what Sana Starros chooses, when a perilous heist on an Imperial world fails to deliver on her expectations. Yet despite the beauty of her homeworld, there are signs that this visit with her family will prove less restful than she had hoped.

 

Story

Writer Justina Ireland launches us into this cosmic romp from the very first page, and has you chuckling by the second. Her smart, witty banter lightens the tone, yet doesn’t distract from the action as Sana battles Imperial Stormtroopers. Sana’s return to her homeworld brings more exciting action, and a comforting reunion with her family. Yet subtle clues hints that the lives of Sana’s family members—her grandmother, aunt, and cousin—are every bit as complicated as her own.

 

Ireland delivers up plenty of dialogue, yet the writing never seems wordy. Not only does she help us understand and empathize with the characters, but we’re falling in love with them as well. When trouble comes—as it always does in the Star Wars universe—we’re instantly rooting for Sana and her family. Hey, I even want to know more about her wrinkled friend Jand, a fellow thief who prizes things Sana readily dismisses.

 

The size of letterer Travis Lanham’s uppercase font never taxes the eyes. His restrained use of bold letters helps us hear the character’s intonations. Colorful sound effects enhance the action. Even when they call attention to themselves, they celebrate the action gloriously.

 

Art

The penciling and inking of Pere Perez help imbue the comic with the big screen cosmic scenes the Star Wars films are known for. Characters are drawn believably, and the filled-in backgrounds and excellent use of shadows give this book a cinematic look. Even on the rare instances that a panel focuses solely on a character’s head, the background is filled with texture that reminds us of the film’s lived-in quality. 

 

When the story moves to Sana’s homeworld, Perez reveals a planet that we want to know more about. His portrayal of Sana’s family home suggests a very unconventional upbringing for Sana, without spelling out exactly why the “home” looks the way it does. Like writer Justina Ireland, Perez’s art makes me want to know more about the everyday lives of this fun and caring family.

 

None of this takes away from the coloring of Jay David Ramos, which is excellent throughout. His soft, rich palette gives this issue a warm, comfortable feeling. Space glows with distant, burning stars, and light sources and direction bring warmth to the characters. Even blaster bursts display color and richness. 

 

And when Ireland needs to fortify the action and drama with a little backstory, Ramos imbues those scenes with a softer tonality, while still providing depth and appeal.

 

Final Thoughts

Sana Starros #1 may not be a perfect comic. No matter how well writer Justina Ireland paves the way, when Sana gets into trouble, she opts for an over-used plot device to escape and turn the table on her attackers. Secondly, one character also comes off as two-dimensional. Lastly, sound effects such as BAP BAP and PEW PEW struck me as inadequate expressions of blaster-fire.

 

Yet these seem minor quibbles for a story filled with a rich cast of characters, exciting action, and jaw-dropping beauty. The way the story opens at the end suggests the infinite possibilities this series could deliver. Sana Starros #1 is a beautiful, heartwarming comic that celebrates diversity and the mythic storytelling of the beloved Star Wars franchise. Don’t miss it!

 

Rating: 9.5/10

 

P.S. If you'd like to see the preview art, head over to my review of Star Wars: Sana Starros #1 at The Comic Book Dispatch. Thanks for reading.

Preview: Star Trek Strange New Worlds: The Illyrian Enigma #1

 

Cover A by Megan Levens

 

Hailing all Star Trek fans!

When you watched the original series two-part episode "The Menagerie," or the unaired pilot, "The Cage," did you wonder what Captain Christopher Pike and his crew did next? The new Paramount+ series Star Trek Strange New Worlds covers Pike's continuing adventures. Some of the characters have changed. The series has been updated--spectacularly so--for today's audiences. Nonetheless get to follow Pike, Number One, Spock, and other fan favorite characters like Dr. Mbenga, Nurse Chapel, and a young ensign Uhura on their ongoing interstellar voyages.

If you've watched the Paramount+ series, this comic picks up right where the first series left off. If you haven't yet watched Star Trek Strange New Worlds, but are familiar with "The Menagerie" or "The Cage," I calculate a probability of 98.423% that the comic's strong story and art will still draw you in. I picked up the first issue last month, and felt so strongly about it that I wanted to share it with you. 

I'm a little late, but here it is: the first few pages of Captain Pike's ongoing voyages. Enjoy!

Did this preview ignite your antimatter engines? If so, head down to your local comic shop and pick up your copy of Strange New Worlds: The Illyrian Enigma #1 to see what happens next. And if you enjoy the first issue, let the good folks there know so they can pull a copy of the following issues for you. Hey, it's only logical.

Star Trek Lives!

Dragon Dave

The Strange New World of Saguaro National Park West

 

 

Venture into Saguaro National Park West, and you step into the Land of the Lost. Giants guard this barren world. Called Saguaro Cactus, they tower over puny Humans like you and me.

 

Once in danger of being cut down and lost forever, Saguaros now guard this swath of desert outside Tuscon, Arizona. Their silent vigil reminds us of an earlier time, before the incursion of civilized man.

Yet not all of this forgotten landscape is relegated to earlier times. Explore beyond the well-trodden paths, particularly in the less-visited months, and you'll discover a quiet land, populated by denizens such as the Gila Woodpecker. This puny resident pecks cozy homes into this land's giant guardians.

Once its eggs hatch, and the Gila Woodpecker moves on, other species, such as the elf owl, may come along and discover a new, ready-made home inside the mighty Saguaros.

 

Outside Saguaro National Park West, Tuscon's local comic shops also offer strange new worlds to explore. Some of the journeys they'll propel you on may surprise and delight you.

 

Like Saguaro National Park West and the elf owl, you'll never know what wonders you might discover, until...

Dragon Dave

Diana Wynne Jones on the Magic of Doorways

 

Portmeirion, UK

 

In Diana Wynne Jones' novel Howl's Moving Castle, the wizard Howl has a magical door. Even though his castle roves the land of Ingary, he's not limited by his home's current location. With a twist of the knob, he can push open the door, and step out into the village of Market Chipping, the seaside town of Porthaven, the capital city of Kingsbury, or even his childhood hometown in Wales. 

Although Diana Wynne Jones was born in London, England, she was evacuated to Wales during World War II. Like wizard Howl, she could call that part of the United Kingdom (UK) home. Perhaps Howl's ability to visit his hometown whenever he wished bespoke Wynne's love for the land of her youth. 

 

If so, it would seem that, like Wales, doorways also held a special magic for her. Ordinary doorways separate a home from the street or the garden. In an interview in the back of her novel, she mentioned that she usually kept interior doors in her home open, just to prevent another place turning up on the other side of them.

No place is that more likely to occur than in the Welsh village of Portmeirion in Jones' beloved Wales. Sir Clough Williams-Ellis designed the village so that every possible viewpoint could present a strikingly different scene. It remains a village that invites photographers, filmmakers, and artists to share his colorful and evocative vistas with the rest of the world.

 

If I had a front door like the wizard Howl, I would love to adjust the knob and return to the idyllic Welsh village of Portmeirion. But for now, I think it best to adopt Diana Wynne Jones' view on doors. Every time I go outside, I step into a place in which anything is possible.

A world in which I can make anything happen.

Dragon Dave

Sedona Sunrise

 

Five years ago, during our last visit to England, we stayed in a bed-and-breakfast in Harrow, where a friendly Indian couple took good care of us. The man seemed very intrigued by our explorations of his country. "I've never been to some of these places you've visited," he told me.

If, like us, he were to take a trip halfway across the world, what place would he like to visit in the United States? His first choice: Sedona, Arizona.

 

Due to the pandemic, the war in the Ukraine, and the troubled airline industry, my wife and I have elected to drive to nearby locales for our vacations. We visited Sedona twice last year, and both times, the touristy nature of the community oppressed me. But this year, I was able to see past that, and enjoy our time there. 

 

We stayed in the village of Oak Creek. Everyday, we went out for a walk. Somedays we explored the residential streets. But several times, we struck out on the walking paths surrounding Bell Rock, and walked through the arid wilderness.

 

 

Too often, and especially since March 2020, I've longed to return to England. This time, I was finally able to embrace Sedona, and view it like others do: as a place of healing and rebirth. This change of mindset allowed me to look at many things in my life differently. 

There's not just one ideal place. There's not just one path to follow. Our world offers innumerable opportunities. Explore them all!

Dragon Dave

In Awe of Tuzigoot

 

Tuzigoot National Monument was not carved into a cliff. Nor was it sprawl across a plain. It was built atop a hill overlooking the Verde Valley, and stood several stories high. 

From the safety of their hilltop community, the ancients descended to forage and hunt. They planted crops. They called this hill home for centuries.

 

From their hill, you can gaze out upon their surroundings. Although much has changed since people called Tuzigoot home, the land to one side remains arid, while the other is still marshland. Knowing how and where water flowed--when it flowed in this desert landscape--helped them capture and harness it. This knowledge also helped them avoid its potentially devastating effects. For even today, in the Verde Valley--despite all our ability to access the latest weather information--the unwary still die in flash floods.

 

 

Their time has long passed. Yet life still flourishes in the Verde Valley. You can observe it, as they once did, if you choose.

 

Visitors return to this ancient site every year. Descendants of those ancient inhabitants work with the National Park system to carry out regular repairs to the stonework. They may not rebuild the structures made of wood and other less durable materials. Yet they preserve the foundations, and keep the ancient hilltop community safe to visit. 

 

 

My wife and I observed these members of our land's first nations during a visit last year. This year, they had moved on, to another site in need of preservation. Still standing after a thousand years, and inhabited for longer than the United States has been a nation, Tuzigoot National Monument still inspires.

Dragon Dave

As Time Goes By: The Unwritten Screenplay

 

 

Lo, it is written:

"I am alone with my sheep.

But my sheep are not alone with me."

 

Let the words of Romanian author Eugeniev Antonsecu guide you this day.

And Lionel Hardcastle, if you're out there: please adapt this classic novel into a television miniseries.

 

Lastly, always remember:

"We sheep are not alone."

Dragon Dave

Remembering Greg Bear

 

 

Science Fiction author Greg Bear died last Saturday, after complications from surgery.

I met Greg Bear once, at the World Fantasy Convention held in San Diego in 2011. While I had not read many of his books, I would list his novel Dinosaur Summer as a favorite. The story forms a worthy successor to Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. 

While attending a presentation given by production designers of Disney theme park attractions based on science fiction and fantasy stories, I noticed Greg Bear and his wife Astrid sit in the row ahead of me. If my mind always worked in a straightforward manner, I would have taken the opportunity to compliment him on Dinosaur Summer, as well as tell his wife Astrid how much I had enjoyed the novels of Poul Anderson, her father. Instead, I approached them with a...well, something completely different.

While reading Dreamer of Dune, Brian Herbert's biography of his father, a story had stuck in my mind. It concerned a mutual project involving three of the authors I grew up with: Frank Herbert, Jack Vance, and Poul Anderson. The three science fiction authors worked on a houseboat together. Even young Brian lent a hand. But then, Brian records that the houseboat sank, and Frank lost his investment in it.

The story left me curious. It seemed like there ought to be more to it than that. After all, all three men had written visionary fiction that I've continued to read and reread throughout my life. So, with the opportunity to ask two people who knew Poul Anderson well, I wondered if, perhaps, they could share Poul's remembrance of the project with me.

While Greg and Astrid had nothing to add to it, Greg told me how much he had enjoyed Dune, and that he admired Frank Herbert's stories. Although he was an award-winning, bestselling author, he took the time to make me comfortable, and to assure me that, at heart, he identified with me. He shared my love of Herbert's monumental novel, and the sequels it spawned. I think, in the end, I was the one to break off the conversation, mainly because I appreciated his kindness, and didn't want to intrude unduly on his time.

Farewell, Greg Bear. Thank you for your great stories, and for your even greater kindness.

Dragon Dave

 

P.S. I wrote an earlier piece about this meeting, which you can read by clicking the link below (or searching my blog for Greg Bear). I also found a link to the houseboat story written by Jack Vance. If you're interested in that story, I've provided a link for that too.

Obituary in Locus Magazine 

More on my Conversation with Greg Bear

Jack Vance remembers building his houseboat

Montezuma's Revenge

 

Life had gotten rather off-kilter before last month's vacation. So this time, I resolved to give myself a total break, and not to do any blogging. Once or twice I almost backslid, but the focus seeped out of me before I could compose a post.

My wife and I enjoyed exploring places like Montezuma's Castle on our vacation. Arizona may not be England, but it has its historic sites to inspire. As I walked around this national monument, I wondered about the lives of those long-ago cliff dwellers. So many questions arose.

Did they live there all the time, or just part of the year?

Did they farm the land below, or was the nearby Green River much closer to the cliffs?

What were their everyday activities? What were their trials and challenges?

Historians may have pieced together clues to address all those questions. Still, I suspect there's much left to ponder. So many stories about their lives yet to be told. 

 

 

I returned home less with fixed plans than with ideas and resolutions. Yet Montezuma insisted upon wreaking his revenge. We also returned to our California home with a automobile gremlin which ultimately the dealership would need to sort out. Exhaustion played its role, as did unexpectedly high gas prices ($3 per gallon higher than in Arizona). All this delayed my return to my local comic shop, to pick up the new stories I hungered to read.

Of the five I expected, my local comic shop only received three. As has become a theme since 2020, the other two were delayed. One I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever arrive. The new-to-me Star Wars #27 I picked up, as I'm trying out the series. Also, after reading several old DC comics I picked up during our vacation--and enjoying them--I picked up a copy of their preview magazine, to survey their contemporary titles.

I'll always have plenty of old stories to discover. I'll always have plenty of old stories to reread. Yet I wonder: was the reason my life felt so off-kilter before our vacation because I wasn't seeking out and discovering enough new stories?

Dragon Dave

 

New Journeys of Discovery

 

Recently, I've been ordering fewer new comics at my local comic shop. Even though I read comics regularly, some of this may reflect a reluctance to invest myself (my time, thoughts, and emotions) in new comics. Still, I think mostly this is due to publishers ending series I enjoy, producing fewer titles, and releasing issues less frequently. 

I must also admit that, with the prices of new comics rising, costs all across the board increasing, and retirement looming, I'm questioning how much I ought to be spending on new books. 

Still, I love new comics. Old comics are great. Like old novels: they're always fun to read. But new comics are just...awesome. There's nothing quite like the thrill of perusing the comic shop each week, and checking out the new arrivals. What stories might I discover? What adventures might I embark upon?

If I had the financial means, and the time, I might just read them all! But then, I wouldn't have time to read my older comics. 

(Sigh).

Lately, I've been feeling the desire to embark on new journeys of discovery. While I've read most of Brian Michael Bendis' run on Ultimate Spider-Man, I've never followed Marvel's premier series about webhead Peter Parker. I'm not nearly as familiar with Frank Miller's work as (perhaps) I should be. I read the first few issues when Star Wars returned to Marvel, but nothing since. As for Daredevil...

Can you believe that I've never read a single issue about the blind superhero? (Until now, that is).

There may come a day when the arrival of each week's new titles no longer interests me. There will likely come a day when I cannot purchase and read new comics. But until that day comes, I'll keep on the lookout for new stories that transport me to strange and wondrous places.

Dragon Dave