Tsuei, Jon

AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:

3 out of 5

(1 book)

Star Wars: Guardians Of The Whills - The Manga

(Art by Subaru)

The Manga adaptation of Greg Rucka's novel (reviewed here), this story follows Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus on Jedha months before the start of 'Rogue One'.  As the Empire grinds Jedha under its boot, Chirrut and Baze try to figure out how they can protect the people of their homeworld.  The possibility of fighting back arises, however, when they join forces with the revolutionary Saw Gerrera.

Chirrut and Baze were brilliant additions to the Star Wars mythos and I was immediately endeared not just to them as individuals but their relationship as a duo when I saw 'Rogue One' for the first time.  So getting to spend more time with them is definitely something I'm onboard for.  I particularly liked how this book explores the way in which they choose to resist the Empire and contrasts it with that of Saw.  Saw and his Partisans are dedicated to toppling the Empire at any cost but we soon discover that Chirrut and Baze are less concerned by the politics and more by the effect it has on the people.  Their empathy and compassion mean that 'at any cost' is not a type of war they're willing to fight and that plays into their role in 'Rogue One' too.

For me, however, this book was a bit let down by its artwork.  The style was just not one I liked, finding it a bit too simplistic, which detracted from my enjoyment of the book as a whole by a significant amount.  It's a particular shame because seeing these events in Chirrut and Baze's lives through a visual medium like Manga actually made them more vivid than when I read the prose novel, and I just feel that better art would've elevated it much further.

3 out of 5

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Star Wars (here)