Published: March 16, 2022
Rated: T
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Artist: Will Sliney
Colourist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
Cover Artist: E.M. Gist
The synopsis;
YOUR TICKET TO THE HOTTEST RIDE IN THE GALAXY!
• The Halcyon comes under fire from pirates – with little chance of escape!
• Who is the mysterious Resistance spy on board that may lead to the fiery end of the ship’s 275-year run?
• And find out how, years earlier, bounty hunter AURRA SING and a mysterious partner gambled with their lives during the galactic starcruiser’s era as a flying casino!
The review;
For the second issue we have 3 covers to choose. The E.M. Gist direct cover follows the same theme as issue 1, but this time features Aurra Sing and Zam Wessell. I’m loving These covers by Gist; they are so beautifully crafted, and the white backgrounds seem to make the art jump off the page. Will Sliney and Lee Loughridge combine to bring us the second of his interconnecting variant, again featuring Sing and Wessell, but also the main players for this issue. Finally, we have the David Lopez variant, which features Sing being chased by a Predavorexx on Numidian Prime. The colour pallet used by Lopez for this cover is used in a very clever way.
Issue 1 established the base story for the series and reintroduced the iconic space pirate Crimson Jack. Many of us remember Jack as an arch nemesis of Han Solo and Chewbacca throughout the early days of the Marvel Star Wars title in the 70’s. So, after a fanfare return, what will Jack be up to now in the era of the First Order, but it will also be interesting what the prequel trilogy bounty hunters bring to the table.
Poised to attack Jack’s ship sends a barrage of lasers towards the Halcyon. He wants to scare the passengers and hopes they’ll submit, but Captain Keevan has a plan to mislead Jack. She invites him to board, much to the angst of the new Cruise Director, Lenka Mok. Mok doesn’t want to threaten the passengers, Keevan wants to delay until the can send the Halcyon into the centre of a massive solar storm.
While Keevan plots on the bridge, life goes on as normal, but D3-09 suggests that Shorr Komrrin and Cimina head to a muster point. Deethree then assures them that is not the first time the Halcyon has been in a jeopardous situation…
Deethree advises Aurra Sing that the last shuttle for Numidian Prime will depart in 10 minutes. He also lets her know that a patron at the Sabacc table may also need her help. Colram Vestig starts to ask for help but is interrupted by his son who wants to see the Predavorexx on the planet surface. Vestig berates him and he moves away from his father. He is a man who owes money to the Hutt’s, gambling debts to be precise and wants to hire Sing for protection.
The request may have come too late. The Hutt’s have taken his son, Wilmar, and are holding him captive on the planet surface. They are also in negations to purchase the Halcyon from its current owners, so they well and truly have the upper hand over Sing and Vestig, but Wessel uses her Clawdite shapeshifting to blend in the background and go under cover. Sing heads for a shuttle, Deethree tries to stop her due to the approaching solar storm but ends up accompanying her in the shuttle.
Sing isn’t there to play games, she just wants Vestig’s son back, but she has been lured into a trap. The trap is she is now the prey of the Predavorexx that Wilmar was so impatient to see. Chased alongside one of Weequay through the jungle landscape, she tries to outwit her pursuer and escape. It keeps coming for them and good shots don’t seem to stop the beast. It catches up with the Weequay and devours the first part of his prey, but Sing sees her chance. An expertly placed single shot is enough to down the Predavorexx and halt it in its tracks. All this is just for the Hutt’s entertainment and gamble on the outcome, but they lost, and they are not happy.
Sing tries to reclaim Wilmar’s freedom, but they refuse, the 3 of them outnumber her, but there are 4 of them. Wessel has infiltrated their ranks using her shapeshifting and rescues Wilmar. A shot into the hover platforms controls sees it careen in the jungle and explode. The race is on to get back to shuttle and return to the Halcyon before the solar storm hits.
Wilmar is reunited with his father, while Sing and Wessel can continue with vacation in peace, although watching their backs as the new owners of the Halcyon are the Hutt’s.
Confused, Cimina questions what the solar storm had to with that story. Deethree then states they avoided entering the storm on that occasion. Komrrin is not reassured with that and asks to speak to Mok immediately. On the bridge Keevan prepares her manoeuvre as Jack lines up to board the Halcyon. Keevan gives the command, engines flare and they head into the storm, ensuring the wrath of Crimson Jack.
The tried and tested format for tie in comics is successful once more to bring us this issue. Sacks, Sliney, Rosenberg and Sabino work in prefect harmony from the first page to the last to convey a really solid story.
It’s interesting to see Aurra Sing and Zam Wessel chosen to be the stars of this issue. Both are seen in different films in the prequels, and both very strong female characters, so a team up was never something that would have been on my radar. The inclusion of Wessel especially gives us a time frame within the timeline, which is pre-events during Attack of the Clones.
Sacks has managed to give Sing a very humane side too. Willing to help someone against the Hutt’s is not something you would not necessarily expect from a bounty hunter, especially when on vacation! But this is something The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett has dabbled with successfully.
The artwork, colours and lettering are spot on. The sequence with Predavorexx is well executed and there are some really cool action sequences that are very well captured. Crimson Jack’s ship was originally a stolen Imperial Star Destroyer, but Sliney has changed it up for this incarnation. The ship has more of space galleon fell to it, with sail like additions that make it quite Nihil in style and a very interesting vessel.
I want to see so much from Crimson Jack going forward. We have only had a cameo so far, so could someone at Marvel please give Sacks or even Cavan Scott the chance to expand on this much-loved character? A one-shot or even his own 5-part mini-series, would do quite nicely. I’m certain they’d fight over the opportunity to give him the storyline he deserves.
The issue 3 cover shows that Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala will be central to the storyline. This pair being on board was alluded to in issue 1, so let’s see what Sacks and the gang have lined up for the Halcyon!
Availability;
Halcyon Legacy #2 is part of a mini-series from Marvel Comics. This issue retails at $3.99 and is available via the Marvel App, ComiXology and all good comic book stores.
