Review: Poe Dameron Vol. 1- Black Squadron

Quick Summary

Pros: This series forms a unique part of the Star Wars continuity and helps establish Poe as a character. The second half of the book is fun. The conclusion leaves the series with some potential

Cons: The story here tries to do too much, too soon. The impact of the first story arc is lost in the rapid pacing. The artwork has a few places where it suffers.

Overall: This is a story with an interesting premise and a lot of potential that stumbles in the delivery. It starts right out by throwing a ton of characters and a ton of concepts at the reader, distracting from the entertainment. There are moments where this collection shows potential but it has not been fully developed yet. Those with an interest in Poe Dameron as a character may enjoy this.

Story

Poe Dameron Vol. 1: Black Squadron does not shine quite as brightly as some of the other Star Wars comics out there. An unappealing plot featuring somewhat rapid pacing hampers the work and prevents it from being as instantly entertaining as it could have been. On the plus side, the comic takes some time to highlight a unique point in the new Star Wars continuity and has moments that are genuinely entertaining. Though it is not necessarily a bad book, there are not enough positives to make this a good book either.

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The story in this book starts out very promising. Leia Organa asks Poe to track down a man who may know the location of Luke Skywalker. Movie fans will recognize that this man is the same man who meets with Poe at the beginning of Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens. Since the movie starts right at the end of this meeting, it makes this story a little more interesting to Star Wars fans. This is a piece of the puzzle that fans have not seen yet, something with the potential to elaborate on the mysteries of the movies.

However, from these hopeful beginnings, the story starts to go downhill. Poe starts out by helping a secluded tribe of aliens defend against an interrogation from the First Order. This story introduces the tribe’s religion, a new villain, and Poe’s entire squadron all at once. It is way too much and leaves each aspect feeling more shallow than the story believes it to be. So when the story ends with an odd, yet insightful, message from the aliens, it does not have any of the impact that it was intended to have.

From here, the story picks up a little bit, as Black Squadron’s time on the prison planet is somewhat fun. They have to free a Hutt prisoner from captivity while also dealing with the evil Agent Terex. This mission further develops Terex into a conniving and unique enemy among the first order, one who I would like to see return again in future stories. It also establishes Poe as an intelligent and strategic leader, as his method for defeating Terex is very well planned. Overall this is best part of the story, whether it makes up for the book as a whole will be up to individual readers.

In addition, there is a very interesting subplot introduced throughout this book involving a possible traitor in Black Squadron. As this collection ends by discussing who the traitor may be, hopefully we will be seeing more of this in subsequent volumes.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in Black Squadron has a few problems but is mostly positive. Artist Phil Noto brings a stylized take on the Star Wars universe that helps this volume stand out as something unique. This unique quality is also enhanced by the creativity of the visuals, which help make the strange worlds seen here feel as if they truly belong to a whole other universe. However, there are moments in this collection where the artwork lacks detail and the space battles are rather lackluster. Overall, the visuals here are good but there are moments where they stumble.

Continuity

Poe Dameron Vol. 1: Black Squadron takes place right before the movie Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens. It also makes reference to the events of Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi.

The story here continues in Poe Dameron Vol. 2: The Gathering Storm (Review). 

Besides this, there is only one other reference to the greater Star Wars continuity.

• Captain Phasma mentions a mission that Poe Dameron lead that involved intercepted information. This is a reference to the prose book Before the Awakening.