Star Wars #44: So much talking.
I mean, I get it. After all, Admiral Ackbar, Princess Leia, General Madine, and Mon Mothma have a pretty interesting discussion about balancing the Rebellion's need to show they'll bring back justice to the Galaxy against the its need to punish treason to maintain discipline in the ranks. Leia suggests a compromise: a secret military tribunal comprised of Ackbar, Medine, and Mothma. I don't really get how that helps her drive for transparency, though, given the implication they won't announce the verdict against Lando if he's found guilty.
Anyway, Lando appears almost suicidal in his conversation with Lobot, admitting that he's going to let them hang him for treason because he's committed so many crimes. To his mind, the best crime he's committed is committing treason to save Lobot, so he might as well get his just desserts for that one. But Lobot tells Lando that he's delusional if he thinks the Rebellion is just going to embrace him (Lobot) after Lando's death. As such, he convinces Lando to call in Salli Georgio, as we saw in "Star Wars: Revelations" #1.
Again, I get all the need for a lot of dialogue to let these events develop. The problem is that I was already pretty tired of reading by the time we start the trial, which is the main event, after all.
The good news is that Georgio is as great as she was in "Star Wars: Revelations" #1. First, she obviously has some ulterior motive for getting her droid to plug into the Rebellion's audio system to record the trial. (It clearly isn't just that she doesn't like taking notes.) Second, she's correct when she tells Lando the Rebellion has him dead to rights, so she has to convince the tribunal — somehow — that they don't care about the truth. She hasn't figured out that part, so she's stalling, though Lando isn't wrong when he says her attempt to blame his actions on the Jedi Mind Trick (again) probably isn't going to work so well with this crowd.
But Georgio gets her distraction when a group of Silverhawk-esque mercenaries break into the facility where Mothma is located (she's tele-participating in the trial) and kidnap her. Or, as Georgia says, "Yep. That'll work."
Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how great Lando looks in a beard — woof! — I didn't resurrect pet peeve #1 by pointing out that nothing in this issue has to do with Darth Vader or Han Solo, who both feature prominently on the cover. With the scene set, I'm looking forward to seeing where Lando's trial goes.
Void Rivals #7: And away we go.
Ten years ago, Darak worked as an "edgewalker," using a robotic exoskeleton to move crates for reasons that Kirkman doesn't explain. Darak's foreman tells him and his colleagues to hustle, since the "bleeding edge" (of Agorria and the Wasteland) has so little gravity that any mistake could send them hurling off the Ring. When a stack of crates falls onto one of Darak's colleagues, he springs into action, saving his colleague but sending himself into the Wastelands.
In the present day, Handroid calculates Darak and Solila's trek across the Wasteland will take three months and notes they only have four to six weeks' worth of supplies. However, Darak informs Handroid and Solila that he's been to the Wastelands before and saw something (what, we don't know, because we didn't see it when he looked upon the Wasteland earlier in the issue) that makes him believe they only need to last half that time.
Elsewhere, Zalilak appears, Darkseid-esque, in a room bathed in dark red light. He informs the room's occupant, a young Zertonian studying a tablet, that an Agorrian has corrupted a Zertonian warrior and headed into the Wasteland. Zalilak says the Zertonian is the only one brave enough to go after them, which the Zertonian questions. The Zertonian wonders what could cause the panic in Zalilak's voice but then informs Zalilak that he's also read the sacred tests and guesses stopping the pair has something to do with preventing Goliant's coming.
As such, he agrees to hunt the pair but ponders what Zalilak will do if he turns against him once his task is complete. Zalilak is unconcerned, noting that their last confrontation was unpleasant and that the Zertonian seems happy in this room.
After Zalilak alludes to the Zertonian's "current state," we discover that this conversation is happening inside the Zertonian's mind as his body is a Vader-esque rump filled with cybernetic implants. Zalilak orders Guilan to free Proximus, and Guilan begs for Zerta's mercy as he does so. After Proximus leaves for the hunt, Guilan falls to his knees, and Zalilak states that Proximus is simply a man, though the deadliest one of them.
The issue ends with the creepy religious sisters we saw in previous issues meeting with their leader who informs them that Solila is on her calling's path and her destination approaches.
All in all, it's a pretty slow issue, as Kirkman is clearly just setting up the upcoming arc's events. I'm OK with that, but it doesn't make this issue the most thrilling read.
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