Review – Star Wars: Forces of Destiny #1 (IDW Publishing)

Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer(s): Elsa Charretier & Pierrick Colinet
Artwork: Elsa Charretier
Release Date: 3rd January 2018

While admittedly not being the world’s biggest Star Wars fan, I was still intrigued by the concept of the Forces of Destiny series. Promising to deliver a collection of stories from the Star Wars universe focusing on the female characters, I was looking forward to seeing some interesting takes on characters such as Padme and Ahsoka.

This first issue focuses on Leia, which is to be expected given her standing in the franchise. However, while I had been hoping for an interesting story, after the first few pages I knew this was not going to be the case.

The blurb states that the series will bring us stories for beloved characters, and in some ways I’m sure it will, this this will also certainly not be what a lot of people were expecting.

This Leia spotlight story is about her learning to treat a Tauntaun properly, and they end up becoming friends at the end. And that’s about it.

Now I love the style of comics like The Broons and Oor Wullie. They’re undoubtedly saccharine nonsense, but done from a place of fun and mischief, and as a result I just can’t get enough. Conversely, this Leia story drips with Disney sugar so much that it practically rots your teeth just by reading it.

I can see a good story in there somewhere, and Charretier and Colinet have a solid track record together, but it unfortunately appears to have been buried by higher-ups and marketing. Granted, the series seems to be aimed at the younger audience, but it shouldn’t be difficult to tell a nice, sugary story without having this apparent level of distaste for the audience.

Honestly, I have tried to avoid writing the following words but I simply can’t: This series feels like nothing more than a blatant cash grab.

Rating: 1/5.

PREVIEW ARTWORK
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