 [click on image to enlarge] |
Girls
Rule! Review by Toryn
Farr |
This is a double issue with two covers, so if you turn it
over you can read halfway in starting from either side. On one side you have paintings of
Xena's Gabrielle, Ghosts' Shilhouette, and Spyboy's Bombshell. On the other you have
photos of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Star Wars bounty hunter Aurra Sing. I'm going
to confine this review to the Aurra Sing story, although I have to say I enjoyed the other
stories, especially the Buffy one.
I guess I'm spoiled by all the great full-color art in the Star Wars comics, because having to look at this black-and-white line art seemed like such a chore. I did like the artist bios in the middle of the book. I wish they'd do this more often, perhaps at the beginning of each new series. Other stuff I liked included editor Randy Stradley's diatribe against the proliferation of industry awards, and the list of hilarious "Black Nag Awards" categories such as the pencillers "Where do I go from Here?" award for the penciller whose wild layouts or overlapping panels most often leave you wondering which panel you should read next.
Aurra's Song |
|
| Script:
Art: Letters: |
Dean R. Motter Isaac Buckminster Owens Steve Dutro |
We begin with Aurra the captive of an old acquaintance,
Torgo Tahn, who we find out through a long flashback was her instructor back when she was
a slave to the Hutts and was being trained as an assassin. In the flashback, Aurra claims
a Jedi called the Dark Woman (Aurra was her padawan learner at one point) sold her to the
Sennex pirates. The vampire-like Anzati who train her (including Torgo) are in the habit
of consuming other creature's brains. Back in the present, Torgo very smugly reveals to
her how he killed a bunch of other Anzati and left. He revels in his own cleverness in
luring her into a trap. She turns the tables and reveals she's been playing him for a
chump all along.
The story is fun, and the art complements it nicely. I liked the varying and unusual "camera angles," as well as the lines of the clothes on the bad guy. My only complaint is that Aurra is so ... pouty and pretty. Owen draws her much less intimidating that the photo on the cover.
I'll give this story a B+. The only problem is Things From Another World is sold out of this comic, so you'll probably have a hard time finding it. Try eBay or some of the other online auction houses.
This title contains the following stories:
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Take Back the Night
- Star Wars: Aurra Sing - Aurra's Song
- Silhouette: Haunted Past
- Gabrielle: Atlas Shrugged
- Bombshell: Blowing Your Cookies
Discuss this review on the Echo Station message boards.
(Toryn Farr knew everything about
Star Wars back in 1977 thanks to Starlog Magazine. She's been trying to keep her
know-it-all reputation ever since. During the 90 minutes per day her preschooler is
napping, Toryn attempts to run an internet design business and write fantasy fiction.)