Published: July 13, 2022
Rating: Rated T
Writer: Rodney Barnes
Artist: Georges Jeanty
Inker: Karl Story
Colourist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Designer: Carlos Lao
Cover Artist: Adi Granov
The synopsis;
For the first time, THE MANDALORIAN arrives in comics!
The Mandalorian bounty hunter tracks a target for a well-paying, mysterious client. Witness the introduction of Din Djarin and the first meeting between the Mandalorian and the Child!
The review;
Adaptations. They have been part of the make-up of Star Wars ever since the very first movie, when children, without it to rewatch at the cinema, would read the Marvel adaptation of the film to relive those moments again and again. It was a trend that would follow every movie release of the saga. For the originals and to a lesser degree, the prequels, they were very much needed. Months between a film coming out at the cinema to home release. In today’s world, where one only has to wait weeks, or in this case, it is being released after the fact, the need for adaptations seems less and less. In recent years there have been some less than favourable series adapting the films; mere copies of their big screen counterparts. Others, such as Gary Whitta’s The Last Jedi, have really added something to the story that we already know, making them an important read for fans. The first series of The Mandalorian has been out for years, we even have had season two (and technically 2.5!), so there is a lot of pressure on this series to give us something new and fresh. Writing the series is Rodney Barnes, who has written IG-88 War of the Bounty Hunters and Lando: Double of Nothing (and of course his other non-Star Wars titles like Daredevil). He is joined by Georges Jeanty, who has done a lot of work on The High Republic comic series. I’m interested, and a little trepidatious, to see what these two will bring to this series.
The first thing that really struck me about the issue is the artwork; it’s fantastic. Jeanty does an amazing job of capturing the feel and atmosphere of the show. The dank nature of the bar, the cold of the outside, the beating sun when we move around. It all feels very well done. The action moves speedily and the movement between panels is flawless, keeping a beautiful pace for the whole issue. Jeanty brings The Mandalorian to life. To see him in comic form is great to finally see.
So, the story itself. Unfortunately, what is here feels like a carbon copy of the show. There are no added pieces, no things to make you think a little. If you’ve seen the show, there is not much else to glean here. Of course, the other huge problem for Barnes with this issue, is that we all know how it ends. When the pilot for the show came out, no one knew about Baby Yoda* (I know he has a name, [*Grogu], but – Baby Yoda) and so the ending came as a huge surprise. Even if, for whatever reason, a reader has yet to see the show, there is very little chance with all the advertising that they will not know that the ending is Baby Yoda here. It takes away the suspense. That’s not to say it is badly written, it isn’t, but with the confines of the page count, it means this is a hard sell to any reader other than art lovers and die-hard fans.
So where does this fit in? After the disappointment of not having extra scenes, I can’t help but say I enjoyed reading the issue. Did I gain a lot from reading it after seeing the show? To be honest, it’s a no, this is like watching the television show in comic form. And yet, having had a bit of time since I last watched the first series, it was good to go back to rewatch the story again. Now most would say to just watch the series again – if only life was that simple! With a five-year-old, life gets in the way quite a lot, when sitting down for a television show can be difficult to sort. But a comic – that’s far easier to manage. I felt like I was able to do a quick catch up on things, things I may have missed after watching the series the first time around. Releasing an adaptation so long after the initial big screen release would seem to be a misstep, but I actually think it helps this adaptation. Book Of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor they’re all going to be taking up our time (not to mention other shows away from the franchise). This digested view of the series might be just the thing to give you a replay of what started this crazy journey. I’m also not giving up just yet with extra scenes, there are still seven issues to tell season one, surely, we’ll get some extra bits, right?
Below is a gallery of the exclusive variant covers available for this issue;
Availability;
The Mandalorian is an eight-part series available from Marvel. This issue retails at $4.99 and is available via the Marvel App and all good comic book stores.
