Star Wars: The Mandalorian
#1
CHAPTER 1: THE MANDALORIAN
After the fall of the Empire, lawlessness has spread throughout the galaxy.
The Mandalorian travels ever onward, with an unshakable code of honor.
This is the Way….
Writer: Rodney Barnes
Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Inker: Karl Story
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover artist:V Adi Granov
Editor:Â Mark Paniccia
Publication date: July 13 2022
After the fall of The Empire and under the governance of the fledgling New Republic the galaxy is in a period of transition. Warlords and crime bosses rush to fill the power vacuum and the Outer Rim is as lawless as ever as the New Republic struggles to gain a foothold through more peaceful means than it’s predecessor. A lone Mandalorian bounty hunter is moving from low paying bounty to low paying bounty to get until he takes on a mysterious bounty that many before have tried and failed to collect…
As you might have guessed this series is an eight issue adaptation of season one of the Disney Plus show of the same name. Each issue adapts an episode of the show with this issue, obviously, telling the story of the debut episode. When the series was announced I was a little worried that a single issue wouldn’t be long enough to adequately tell these stories with severely cutting them down or changing the intended pace. If this first issue is indicative of the quality of the series going forward then I needn’t have worried. It was absolutely fantastic.
Writer Rodney Barnes has crafted a wonderful adaptation that perfectly captures the tone and pace of the show. Yes things have been trimmed but the cuts are negligible and really intelligently done. The story is focused and leans into the conventions of the format to wonderful effect. For example the scenes from the show depicting the Mandalorian’s flashbacks to when he was rescued as a child during the Clone Wars have been condensed to one page with the images flashing around the figure of our anti-hero. It still conveys the same message but in a much leaner and more direct fashion.
The artwork by Georges Jeanty is vibrant and the hazy pencil quality works much better than the hyper real style of someone like Larocca. It gives this comic it’s own identity and justifies it’s existence alongside the show. It sits somewhere between cartoony and realistic allowing more animated visual storytelling without losing the signature adult leanings of the source material. The graphic novel released by Panini adapting the entire first season moved at a much brisker pace, being only 80 pages long, and employed a more campy and over-the-top style to accommodate that, much in the same way as the IDW movie adaptations. This sets the two works apart and allows them their own space on your shelves.
I like The Mandalorian a lot but it’s not my favourite Star Wars thing and I don’t subscribe to any notions that it’s “saving Star Wars“, but I did feel myself connect to it a little more here as the format highlights the visuals, pace and plot and can’t rely on action sequences like the show can tend to lean on. I’m optimistic and extremely looking forward to seeing the rest of the issues, particularly the adaptations of my least favourite episodes to see if I can enjoy them in this gorgeous and more focused way.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian #2 @ ForbiddenPlanet.com