Comic Review: Star Wars: Age of Rebellion – Grand Moff Tarkin (2019-) #1

Star Wars: Age of Rebellion – Grand Moff Tarkin (2019-) #1

Marvel Comics

Writer: Greg Pak

Artist: Marc Laming

I’ve found the post-Disney buyout era of Star Wars to be very lacking. I’d be hard pressed to say that George Lucas always handled the franchise properly, but at least his vision for Star Wars extended beyond its profit margins. Even the recent comics, while not bad, have been sorely lacking in many ways. Especially when you compare Marvel’s publications to the high-quality content Dark Horse was previously publishing. Their comics perfectly captured the grimy, complex, but hopeful atmosphere of the films. More importantly, they actively expanded upon the setting, exploring underdeveloped aspects if not creating entirely new eras. Conversely, Marvel’s Star Wars comics have a very short lease, rarely stepping outside of the films’ shadow. That’s very much the case for Star Wars: Age of Rebellion: Grand Moff Tarkin. But this comic at least feels like a throwback to the old Star Wars expanded universe.

Grand Moff Tarkin follows the titular officer during his time in command of the Death Star. It also draws from the James Luceno novel Tarkin and the traumatic childhood it established for the Grand Moff. It’s refreshing to see Star Wars’ largely abandoned focus on cross-media plots make a return. No matter how small it might be. More importantly, Age of Rebellion: Tarkin is an entirely self-contained story. It examines the motivations of someone who enthusiastically commands a planet-destroying battle station. Writer Greg Pak paints the outwardly cool Tarkin as a man with deep-rooted trauma and a grudge to match it. Grand Moff Tarkin establishes that he’s driven by more than just a desire for law and order. Rather, it’s a deep loathing and possible respect for his own ruthless past that allows him to terrorize the galaxy.

Pak constructs a convincing, setting building character study that concludes in a single issue. Unfortunately, the art for Grand Moff Tarkin isn’t nearly that effective. Marc Laming’s art is functional and definitely exceeds the standard level of quality. He also captures the actors’ appearances without blatantly tracing them, like other artists frequently do in licensed works. Unfortunately, his work has the same overly bright, sterile look that defines modern Star Wars content. Most tellingly, his interpretation of the Death Star lacks the oppressive simplicity it had in the films. But I should point out this problem exists well beyond Laming’s work. All in all, he’s vastly preferable to many of the alternatives. Age of Rebellion: Grand Moff Tarkin is a good pick for Star Wars fans of all stripes but especially those who miss the old style of Expanded Universe stories.