One of the things that makes the recent series of Marvel Star Wars comics so interesting is that, unlike their earlier run in the 1980s and the Dark Horse comics in the 1990s they have much more of the canonical franchise to work with. A case in point is this volume, in which the intrepid trio return to Jedha in the aftermath of Krennic's use of the Death Star on the planet's capital. Though the planet is now a gutted ruin, the Imperials are back to extract whatever remaining kyber crystals they can find, while Leia, Han, and Luke ally with the remnants of Saw Gerrera's band of partisans to oppose him.

In writing a story about the post-Rogue One events on Jedha, Kieron Gillen does exactly what Star Wars extended media should do: tell an interesting story that expands upon the narrative available in the canon. By interconnecting the story with the non-episodic movie, we get to see the fate of Jedha and how it fits into the larger story of the rebellion after the Battle of Yavin and even lays the groundwork for a plot detail in Return of the Jedi. It makes for a much richer reading experience, one that shows what possibilities exist for exploring the new movies and television shows within the comics and books being produced around them.

The fantastic storytelling, humor, and lush art help, true, but I'm 100% going to continue this for the murderous robots. 

This was a somewhat confusing book, at least for me reading in my second language. We start off reading about an older man from El Salvador who lives and works in a stable in California, and has written a manuscript based on his experiences fighting in the war there, which he mails to an unknown friend. The protagonist of the novella isn’t the narrator from the frame story – or is he? The last chapter seems to blur the line between the two, while each individual chapter slips between multiple time periods and focuses on a different episode from the protagonist’s life. Although the backdrop is the war, the episodes are about the protagonist’s many sexual and romantic liaisons. I never really lost the sense that I’d rather have read the “true” story about the fictional writer’s past than about the misadventures of his promiscuous alter ego.

Nevertheless, the book was engaging enough (and short), and while the protagonist didn’t especially interest me, the women he got involved with did. I also learned a bit about El Salvador, its war and the lives of the guerrilleros. To my knowledge this hasn’t been translated to English, but I think it is likely worth translating.

Portugal and the Portuguese language are still fashionable... Who would have thought?

We cheated by bringing a quality song to the Eurovision Song Contest, and we didn't need any dancing bears, baking granny's, or rockers dressed as monsters. (*smile*)