Book Review: Marvel Comics' 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'

Cover art by Phil Noto. (C) 2017, 2018 Marvel Comics Group and Lucasfilm Ltd. 

On July 11, 2018, Marvel Comics published the hardcover edition of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a 176-page volume that collects issues 1-6 of writer Jody Houser’s adaptation of the 2016 Star Wars Anthology film and the standalone Star Wars: Rogue One – Cassian & K-2SO Special #1.

Scripted by Houser (Star Wars: Thrawn) and illustrated by Emilio Laiso (issues 1-2, 4-6), Paolo Villanelli (issue #3), and Oscar Bazaldua, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story follows reluctant Rebel Jyn Erso’s perilous mission to redeem her father, Imperial scientist Galen Erso, by helping a small group of freedom fighters, an Imperial defector and two acolytes of the extinct Jedi Order steal the plans to a planet-killing superweapon – the Death Star.

The Rebellion is here! The Rogue One crew makes the leap from the big screen to the comic-book page in this action-packed adaptation! All looks lost for the galaxy when the Empire's new super-weapon is discovered. Any insurgency will quickly be thwarted by the devastating new Death Star! But maybe there's hope for the rebel cause when Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor lead a crew of new heroes on a desperate mission to steal the plans to the planet-destroying threat! A crucial tale in the Star Wars saga is told at last! Plus: In an all-new story, flash back to the ill-tempered first meeting between Cassian and scene-stealing droid K-2SO! Collecting ROGUE ONE ADAPTATION #1-6 and STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE — CASSIAN & K-2SO SPECIAL #1 – Publisher’s blurb, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Following the template of previous Star Wars movie adaptations produced by series editor Heather Antos and supervising editor Jordan D. White, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is divided into seven chapters, each of which corresponds to one of the six issues of the film’s official comics adaptation and the single-issue Star Wars: Rogue One – Cassian & K-2SO Special #1. The chapters are indicated by a reproduction of Phil Noto’s original cover art for the individual issues that comprise this collection, which debuted as a digital edition on November 29, 2017; a trade paperback edition was published on December 12.

My Take

Although the comics script by Jody Houser follows the screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy and John Knoll and Gary Whitta’s original screen story, it also adds its own spin on Rogue One.

Basically, all of the major beats in director Gareth Edwards’ film are here, starting with the prologue set 15 years before the Battle of Yavin and ending with the Battle of Scarif, the now-legendary first victory for the Rebel Alliance against the evil Galactic Empire.

Due to the limitations of the comic book format, many of the movie’s scenes are compressed – such as the confrontation between Galen Erso and Imperial Commander Orson Krennic on Lah’mu. Others, such as Jyn Erso (masquerading as “Liana Hallik”) verbally sparring with a murderous alien cellmate on Wobani and Galen’s final meeting with Imperial defector Bohdi Rook at the Imperial research base on Eadu, are additions written by Houser but based on ideas by Weitz, Gilroy, and Gareth Edwards that did not make it into the final cut of the movie.

The artwork – by Marvel illustrators Emilio Laiso, Paolo Villanelli, and Oscar Bazaldua – is  pretty good. The style is contemporary, but sometimes it comes close to resembling the work of the late Al Williamson, who along with Archie Goodwin and Carlos Garzon created the acclaimed Marvel Comics adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi back in the early 1980s.

I especially like the way that Houser and the various illustrators manage to distill the essence of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on the printed page. Some readers may quibble about the “rushed” feel of the comic adaptation and the brevity of Darth Vader’s last-minute efforts to snatch victory from the badly mauled Rebels in the story’s climax; that’s par for the course in movie-to-comics adaptations, especially when it comes to Star Wars films.

Star Wars: Rogue One – Cassian & K-2SO Special #1 was written by Dwayne Swierczynski and illustrated by Fernando Blanco (artist) and Marcelo Maiolo (colorist). It chronicles the fateful first encounter between Cassian Andor, a Rebel Alliance operative on a dangerous mission against the Empire, and K-2SO, a sarcastic Imperial droid with an attitude. In this brief story, we see Cassian and 2SO facing off on opposite sides; after skirmishing and some on-the-spot reprogramming, the two reluctantly join forces to escape from an Imperial high security prison facility.

While this is a minor story in the Star Wars canon, it is a quick and fun-to-read adventure with lots of action and K-2SO’s biting humor.

All in all, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’s Marvel Comics adaptation is a worthy addition to any serious Star Wars collector’s library. I give it a solid four out of five stars.