Star Wars No. 60 review: The escape from Hubin begins

Scar Squadron has arrived at Hubin, ready to bring in Han, Luke, and Leia to the Empire’s custody. First though, Sergeant Kreel must indulge his bloodlust for another lightsaber duel with Luke.

Star Wars has kind of stalled recently with this current arc, but due to these past two issues, the series has begun to pick up steam yet again. While the previous issue dealt with the slight set-up for either the next arc or the arc after this, this issue contends with the immediate threat of Scar Squadron, which makes everything feel all the more urgent, and that Star Wars is finally back on track.

The reintroduction of Scar Squadron in this issue makes for a nice immediate threat that makes this issue actually feel like it has stakes. So much of this arc, while not poorly written or told, has felt mediocre because there have really been no stakes. Without stakes, a story simply cannot be interesting. Whether it be on a microcosmic level or macrocosmic, there needs to be something that can cause a loss for the main characters and so far in this arc it has been that they won’t be able to get off of Hubin for a couple of months. So thankfully in this issue, there is an immediate threat that could actually do some lasting harm to Luke, Han, and Leia which makes for a more exciting read.

Image by Marvel Comics/Art by Angel Unzueta

That being said, Scar Squadron isn’t actually in much of the issue. Most of the issue focuses on the escape from Hubin and redemption of sorts for the characters that have been introduced in this arc. While these characters haven’t been the most interesting characters in the Star Wars universe to date, this issue does a solid job of making you feel something for them, especially Thane Markona. His actions and thoughts in this issue make the Star Wars universe feel bigger than it already does. Nothing drastic changes in a canonical sense, but his guilt about his past actions for the Empire makes the Empire feel all the grander in a terrifying way. While the most exciting parts of the issue deal with the escape from Hubin, the best part comes from Thane Markona.

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As for the art in this issue, it does a great job conveying the tone of the story very well. The entire issue takes place at night, which is very much a thematic choice, and the art nails the tone and thematic perfectly. And while there isn’t much in the way of action in this issue, the entire issue feels very fast paced due to the art. The action is present, but it’s limited and feels more vicious because of that limitation. The rest of the issue though is pretty much just people talking and working to escape, which often would feel slow-paced in a comic, but here it feels urgent and as fast as it needs to feel.

On a separate note, from anything mentioned above, it’s surprising that this issue doesn’t have a bigger scale than it does. It’s the five-year anniversary issue of the series launching, which usually means something. It’s not a criticism, rather just an observation.

8.0/10 

Star Wars begins to find its footing again as our main trio finally makes their escape from Hubin and begins to head back to the Rebellion.