C&C Review - Star Wars: Obi-Wan & Anakin #1

C&C Review - Star Wars: Obi-Wan & Anakin #1

Old School Jedi Tales

By Alex Burns

Marvel's reign over Star Wars comicbook titles got off to a pretty successful start in the first year. Whilst the first collections all shared a great focus on the events surrounding the characters in the original film trilogy, now we're in for something a little different as along comes 'Obi-Wan & Anakin' #1 to give the prequel years some love. While that might not sound too exciting to a large core of the Star Wars fanbase, don't run off just yet because this new mini-series has something pretty special to offer. 

Fleshing out the years between 'Phantom Menace' and 'Attack of the Clones' writer Charles Soule delves deeper into the relationship between Obi-Wan Kenobi and teenage Padawan Anakin Skywalker. The dynamic between these two iconic characters is the ultimate appeal of the mini-series, giving us more insight into Anakin's frustrations and of course his ultimate fall to the dark side. Though the performances of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen as Obi-Wan and Anakin in the prequels divided the fanbase, the comicbook opens no such debate as Soule gives us a series of excellent exchanges between the pair and bears light on an often overlooked friendship.

As for the plot specifics, there's absolutely nothing to write home about, this about adventure and getting straight to the goods. The action looks great but of course, you'd expect nothing less from artist Marco Checchetto, who will hopefully stay on board for the entire series run, he just nails the look of the prequels so well but at the same time also hints at the more rugged and dirty original trilogy setting. An awful lot of the first issue is told through flashbacks and the plot isn't so much concerned with keeping you guessing as opposed to just giving a simple reason for the action, the cliffhanger ending should hopefully yield some improvements in that respect come issue 2.

All in all this is one of the better Star Wars books I've come across recently and is certainly the best looking. I'm looking forward to more off the cuff adventures with this Jedi duo, while the book also continues to shed more light on the beginnings of Darth Vader. Anakin Skywalker is seriously well realised, as headstrong and arrogant as you'd expect but there's a bit more nuance behind it here than we saw in the movies. This is one mini series to keep an eye on, as much like the chosen one himself; there's tons of potential. Let's just hope it stays true to the force.

Verdict:

RECOMMENDED

Beautifully drawn, back to basic storytelling for a period of Star Wars history that seriously needs some TLC