Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - Ewoks #1 (2023) Comic Book Review

 Hey everyone, how's it going? I'm really excited for the series finale of Star Trek: Picard tonight. But, until then I decided to do this quick comic book review for you. Brad showed up with a couple of comics for me while I was outside earlier, one trade paperback that collects the first twelve issues of the 2006 Blue Beetle comic book series, the first to star Jaime Reyes, and an Ewoks one-shot published by Marvel. And that's what I'm going to be reviewing today. So let's get into it.

Ewoks #1 is probably the most unique comic I've ever read. Mostly because there's no dialogue and the only text in the issue are Onomatopoeias like "thump", "krack", "rustle", "CHOMP", and "boink!" among others. I'm kinda used to it since there are several Calvin & Hobbes strips that do the same thing. It's just interesting to see it done in a Star Wars comic.

When I saw this issue online, I figured it would be similar to the mid '80s Ewoks comic that Marvel published that was based on the old Ewoks cartoon. It's not. The first story, "Woklings' Tale" is very similar to the style of the show, which was very lighthearted and more like The Care Bears than Star Wars, and the artist, Paulina Ganucheau, has an artstyle that reflects that lighter tone. It's probably my favourite of the three stories presented in this issue being that Ewoks, and to a lesser extent, Droids, was my introduction to Star Wars long before I ever saw any of the movies. Basically it's about a young Ewok who befriends a young Dulok. The Duloks were originally created for a 1984 storybook and were later adapted and expanded upon in the cartoon series.

The second story, called "Paploo's Tale", involves the Ewok, Paploo, facing off against the Gorax from the 1984 TV movie, Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure. The art for this story, done by Kyle Hotz and Rachelle Rosenberg, has more of a horror movie feel to it. It's still a good story, but being that I'm not a big fan of horror stuff, this story wasn't my favourite. The final story, "Peekpa's Tale" deals with an Ewok named Peekpa (obviously) who builds an atmospheric flying machine out of an AT-ST cockpit cube, and spare parts from a downed Scout Trooper speeder prior to the Battle of Endor. The art for this story is done by Caspar Wijngaard.

Overall this was a very interesting issue. It's a one-shot, so no ongoing Ewoks comic, but still really cool and unique. I recommend picking it up if you want a quick read. 

Alright my friends, that's going to be it for me for today. I'll be back tomorrow for my review of Star Trek: Picard. So until then have a great evening and I'll talk to you all later. Take care.