Star Wars Adventures (2020) #4 - Comic Review

Check out the review of the previous issue before moving on my review for Star Wars Adventures (2020) #4!

The first vignette of IDW’s Star Wars Adventures (2020) #4 Tales of Villainy picks up where issue #3 left off, with our heroes Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi on Kashyyyk dealing with a Life Day catastrophe. An investigation of the disappearance of several Wookiees leads the pair of Jedi to discover the culprit the hard way; a band of marauding Trandoshans! Faced with insurmountable odds and cut off from Kenobi and their Wookiee allies, Qui-Gon is taken prisoner. Korgan, the leader of the Trandoshan hunting party, taunts the Jedi despite his attempts to mindtrick his way out of his cell. At the same time, Kenobi draws inspiration from his Master’s teachings about finding the unconventional solution when faced with a challenge.

Hands up, Obi-Wan crests a ridge and offers his surrender to the Trandoshans, with shock and surprise from Korgan and Qui-Gon alike. Lightsaber firmly clipped to his belt, he is, by Korgan’s standards, unarmed. Is a Jedi really ever unarmed? What’s Kenobi’s play? Will Korgan’s taunts come back to bite him on his green, leathery rear end? Why has Master Qui-Gon Jinn allowed this to go on this long? What DO you get a Wookiee for Life Day if they already have a comb?

The warm, festive glow of Life Day lights seems more than a galaxy away from where our second story begins; a cold jail cell occupied by notorious ne’er-do-well Tobias Beckett. Set before the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story, Han’s future mentor is in desperate need of a little surprise himself. Of course, the one constant with Beckett is that, in a pinch, he can always rely on his better half, Val, to come to the rescue. Just don’t expect her to be thrilled about it. Sprung from his cell, Beckett insists that the “shipment” he was seeking is still within reach and too valuable to leave there.

Val, who’s heard Beckett’s promises and assurances far too many times before, grits her teeth and decides to throw her trust to her favorite scoundrel once again. Fleeing from security droids, Val and Beckett find themselves in a gaming room where an old acquaintance of Beckett’s, Tu-Wane Jipps, is the one-alien house band for the evening. Is it an accident that our antiheroes have found their way here? Clearly, Jipps owes Beckett something, but will Val find it valuable enough for her to have risked her life? One thing is certain; if you enjoyed their chemistry from Solo but wanted more, you’re in for a treat.

Life Day Part 2, written by Michael Moreci with art by Megan Levens and colors by Charlie Kirchoff, and Credits, written by Jordan Clark with art by Yale Nathan, both also feature letters by Jake M. Wood. Both installments of Life Day are a blessing in that they give us a much more fleshed out understanding of not just the relationship between Master and Apprentice but also Qui-Gon’s unique, example-based form of instruction. While the Force may have willed it, it’s bittersweet to see such a pair while knowing that their time would come to a tragic end. The same goes for Val and Beckett (and I’ll even add Rio in there). These ruffians from Solo were a response to the cold, cutthroat environment that arose on the periphery of the Empire and, after witnessing the depth of their relationship in this comic, it’s hard not to wonder what kind of decisions Beckett would’ve made if Val had survived the film’s coaxium heist.

Star Wars Adventures (2020) #4 is another fun installment with recognizable characters and action to spare and, like many great Star Wars stories, has the reader wondering wishing there were more of their stories to tell.