As far as I am concerned, everything Kevin Rubio has ever touched has turned to gold. (Well, okay, I've not seen everything he's ever touched ... let's limit the discussion to Star Wars, okay?) TROOPS was a masterpiece of parody, not to mention an awesome example of filmmaking. His earlier Star Wars comic stories, "A Death Star Is Born" (Tales #4) and "Force Fiction" (Tales #7) are two of my all-time favorites, and have stuck with me long after most of the other stories faded from my consciousness. I am glad to say he does not disappoint with the two-parter, "Tag & Bink Are Dead."

The Story:

Two doofus soldiers in the Rebel Alliance run away from the fierce battle on the Tantive IV (the blockade runner at the beginning of Episode IV: A New Hope) only to find themselves shipping out to the Death Star disguised as stormtroopers. They end up bungling their way through just about every important moment in Star Wars history, from getting disciplined for letting Ben Kenobi disable the tractor beam (now we know who those two troopers discussing the "BT-16" were!), to blowing Threepio to pieces on Bespin, to stealing the shuttle Tydirium. The story is truly hilarious. My biggest giggle came when they found Chewie's missing medal on Yavin IV, but there are plenty of laughs throughout.

The Art:

The art in these issues is a perfect match for the stories. Lucas Marangon has been paired with Rubio every time, and it's a partnership that works. Marangon must have a terrific sense of humor. Let's just hope he doesn't go insane waiting for the script to show up and then trying to fit in all the in-jokes, like that Big Boy elevator on the Death Star.

The arrangement of panels is pretty straightforward, making the story easy to follow, with just enough variety and things breaking out of the boxes to keep it interesting. The inks and colors are uniformly good. I really enjoyed the lush greens in the second book. There are so many funny touches throughout the series that I couldn't list them all if I wanted to. Check out a pajama-clad Arthur Dent with towel in the Death Star corridors, and is that the obelisk from 2001: A Space Odyssey lying broken on the Yavin IV courtyard tiles? The decor in Lando's personal quarters had me laughing out loud ... black lights, a lava lamp, a Schlitz ad, beanbag chairs, and a poster of Mace Windu signed, "To my main man Lando, may the Force B w/ U."

I'll give this series an overall A. It's not as funny as TROOPS, but then what is? I definitely hope we see more of Kevin Rubio's work soon. Be sure to check out our interview with Kevin for a list of in-jokes from this series. They are not to be missed!

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