Star Wars by Charles Soule vol. 5: The Path to Victory

Commander Zahra is dead and the Rebel Fleet has been reunited.  Everything looks to be coming up roses for the Rebellion, especially after they smash up an Imperial Unity Day parade being broadcast throughout the galaxy.  However, the Empire is always up to something, and that something is usually kept secret until it’s ready to be unleashed.  Which is why it’s a good thing that a couple of agents of Crimson Dawn have decided to defect and tell the Rebellion all about the secret project they’ve been working on.  They’ll just have to survive long enough to spill the beans about it.

Soule wrapped up the story he was telling in the previous volume, so vol. 5 finds the series in transition as the writer sorts out his long-term plans (which will likely involve some “Dark Droids”).  The three issue arc which opens this volume is a solid effort in that regard as the plight of the defectors – and their kids – is unexpectedly thrilling for most of its run even if it wraps up a bit too quickly.  It does have the added bonus of providing a key bit of continuity for the post-”Empire” era, which may also lead into what the writer has planned next for this series.

Or not, as the two issues that follow take the cast into some uncharted territory for the series – literally and figuratively.  The first has Luke, Leia, Lando, Chewie, and Lobot joining Amilyn Holdo on a vacation that turns into a caper when they try to steal a bit of ancient tech from the curator of the Imperial Museum.  That leads directly into the second as the tech winds up taking them somewhere few people have been before.  It feels a bit “Star Trek” in that regard, which doesn’t seem like a bad thing. Yet.

It’s all perfectly solid in terms of story and plotting, enough so to make me wish it was illustrated better.  Most of the volume is illustrated by Andres Genolet, who provides perfectly serviceable work that tells the story with remarkably little flash or style.  It’s the kind of work that makes me remember when “Star Wars” was being illustrated by Marvel’s A-list artists on a regular basis and how that’s very much not the case anymore.  Ramon Rosanas, no stranger to this run, returns for one issue here and he does some nice work.  Nothing exceptional, but likely good enough to stave off my previously mentioned sentiments had he illustrated the whole thing.

While I enjoyed this volume, it left me hoping that it finds some long-term direction for its storytelling.  The three-parter here was nice, but I’m left feeling conflicted about where the next arc is going.  Soule’s track record for this series has been pretty good, so it’s likely that he’ll deliver again here.  I just wish I could feel more excited about that sentiment now.