Published: June 30, 2021
Rating: T
Writer: Jason Fry
Adapted: Alec Worley
Penciler: Ruairí Coleman
Colourist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer:Amauri Osario
Cover Artist: Ruairí Coleman
The synopsis;
The critically praised novel by New York Times bestselling writer Jason Fry is adapted to comics in this all-new adventure. The Rebel Alliance has destroyed the Empire’s dreaded Death Star, but the Imperial starfleet continues hunting the rebels throughout the galaxy. Luke Skywalker now seeks to support the Rebellion as an X-wing fighter. But as he flies with the pilots of the Red Squadron, Luke feels stirrings of the Force. And this farm boy turned fighter pilot begins to suspect that his destiny lies along a different path.
The review;
Coleman’s cover for The Weapon of a Jedi #2 is almost all the key elements of the plot distilled onto one page. Luke is ready for battle, his previous engagement with the Empire a flurry of green laser bolts beneath, whilst the mysterious scavenger Sarco Plank looms ominously behind.
Back in 2015, in the run up to the release of The Force Awakens, there were many mid-grade novels released as part of The Journey to The Force Awakens publishing programme. These were meant to introduce younger fans to some of the characters they’d meet in the film, perhaps especially those who hadn’t seen the Original Trilogy, but by being based on iconic characters then they were enjoyable reads for fans of all ages.
The Weapon of a Jedi by Jason Fry was a fun adventure starring Luke as he’s saddled with C-3PO to retrieve Imperial logs for the Rebellion from three different planets in the Outer Rim just after the destruction of the Death Star. Luke’s not exactly thrilled by the mundanity of the mission, but as he sets off, he’s nearly caught by an Imperial patrol. Taking severe damage to his assigned clunky Y-Wing (which Luke is even less excited about), the young Jedi limps to the planet Devaron in need of repairs. What he doesn’t expect is to find a curious young Devaronian, nor a Jedi Temple.
Usually, plots are split into three acts, with the middle act hosting a lot of the action, but Fry’s original story wasn’t about Luke battling the Empire. Nor the bandit locals of Devaron. Luke has to battle his own self-doubt as he tries to learn the ways of the Force. Worley’s adapted this very well into The Weapon of a Jedi #2, taking this slower pace and focusing on Luke’s frustration as he struggles to learn by himself. You might think that reading a comic dedicated to Luke learning his lightsaber would be dull, but it really isn’t with Worley condensing it a bit too, and Coleman’s artwork brings it to life superbly.
Each panel features the training remotes seen in Episode IV, and they’re just as vicious with their laser bolts. Coleman keeps the artwork clear though, only focusing on Luke’s stances as he goes through combat poses, along with the arc of his lightsaber. Movement is suggested by the blurred lines and angles, adding to the dynamism. It’s simple and wonderful to look at, only enhanced by O’Halloran’s beautifully coloured backgrounds. The Weapon of a Jedi is set a few weeks after the destruction of the Death Star, and this story certainly helps to fill in the gaps of how Luke got to be so skilled by the time of The Empire Strikes Back.
But Luke doesn’t learn all this for nothing. The action comes right at the finale in the form of Stormtroopers and Sarco Plank finally showing his traitorous colours (to be fair Luke was warned on multiple occasions about the alien). The duels are amazing, with a stand-out moment being when young Farnay gut-punches an Imperial officer to a great big ‘oof’ lettered by Osorio.
There isn’t room for everything from the book to be included into this comic adaptation, but there are no scenes actually missing. Some are just condensed to fit within the limited pages of the comic. As the original tale was mainly from Luke’s point-of-view, not all of his thoughts are on the pages, so reading the book is worthwhile for that along with some more details regarding the rather open ending.
It’s not that the comic is left on a cliffhanger, it’s a wonderfully poignant ending, but some questions that readers may have are answered properly in the original book but left to interpretation in this comic. The IDW adaptation has been so good, really working well as a comic, and the two versions can be read separately or enjoyed together. For fans who prefer visualising the action then the comic should be your first choice, whilst those looking for more of the character development may prefer the book. Reading one version will certainly not detract from enjoying the other and that’s testament to the amazing work of Worley, Coleman, Osorio and the rest of the team.
Availability;
Star Wars: The Weapon of a Jedi #2 was published June 30, 2021 from IDW Publishing. This issue is available from all good comic bookstores in the USA and from Forbidden Planet in the UK. This issue retails at $5.99.
