Six-Month-Old Comics: The August 31 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Knights of X #5:  Overall, I liked the story that Howard tells here, as Betsy and company resurrect Gambit and, in so doing, somehow connect the Siege Perilous with Krakoa.   But the execution was terrible.  She spends the entire issue telling, and not showing, us the story.  For example, the climactic battle - where the entirety of Krakoa takes on King Arthur's army - is reduced to a splash page.  Overall, it's sufficiently anticlimactic to make it hard for me to recommend this miniseries unless you're really committed to Betsy's story.

Moon Knight:  Black, White & Blood #4:  Man, this series was terrible.

Star Wars:  Obi-Wan Kenobi #4:  Cantwell continues to use this series as a way of exploring the darker sides of the galaxy far, far away.  It's exactly the type of stories that I wish we'd see more often.

The issue begins with Obi-Wan recalling the final days of the war, where "victories" like the one he describes on Atraken still resulting in millions of dead and the planet left uninhabitable.  He recalls that he and Anakin were the closest during this period, perhaps due to the need to help each other "purge the shrouds of shadow that threatened to fall across [them]."  Hello, foreshadowing.

Anakin and Obi-Wan arrive for a briefing from Admiral Yularen who asks if Obi-Wan remembers Commander Mekedrix from the Battle of Abrion Bridge.  (He does.)  Mekedrix apparently continued serving the Republic after Abrion Bridge, including at the Battles of Ryloth, of Saleucami, and at the Temple of Eedit (battles from the first, second, and third seasons of "Star Wars:  Clone Wars," respectively).  Yularen informs the pair that Mekedrix went rogue after the Temple of Eedit and formed an execution squad called the Death Wind.  

The Death Wind apparently has no allegiance, striking both Clone Trooper detachments as well as Commerce Guild and Confederacy of Independent Systems high-ranking officials.  Yularen and the Republic's military leadership worry Mekedrix is irrevocably broken given the lack of coherence to the Death Wind's targets, and Yularen essentially orders Anakin and Obi-Wan to assassinate him.  Despite the earlier foreshadowing, Anakin is outraged in a way that Obi-Wan isn't.  Cantwell does a great job here, showing how Obi-Wan and Yularen's lack of shock of the Republic getting into the assassination business is only a few steps from Mekedrix's brokenness.

As Anakin and Obi-Wan's journey through Ando's swamps, Cantwell is clearly miming "Apocalypse Now," particularly when they discover Clone Trooper effigies before arriving at the Sith temple Mekedrix has taken as his own.  When they find Mekedrix bearing a sword made from a Clone Trooper's bones, it isn't exactly a surprise.  Mekedrix believes he "freed" his victims by showing them the truth, that annihilation is our existence's goal.  Obi-Wan tries to get him to see that life exists outside death, but it's too late:  he attacks Obi-Wan with the sword, resulting in Anakin impaling him with his light saber.  With his dying words, Mekedrix admits he used Anakin as "suicide by Jedi," if you will.

Cantwell's use of Anakin is the most interesting here, and I'd love to see Marvel put him on a series that explored Anakin's fall.  Anakin is the most morally grounded character in this issue, and Cantwell hints that it's because he's the one still struggling with his demons.  Mekedrix, Obi-Wan, and Yularen have all resigned themselves to the war that dominates their lives, though obviously with different outcomes.  Anakin's struggle with the violence and how it fits his moral code is unresolved, opening the door to the Emperor's manipulation later.

I feel like this series is a must for any fan of the "Star Wars:  Clone Wars."  I can't recommend it enough.

X-Men #14:  This issue is weird for a tie-in issue, since the X-Men basically treat the Eternals' invasion of Krakoa as an inconvenience.  In a way, they're not wrong, as some gamblers who don't know Gameworld isn't in business anymore dump a flare torpedo in the Sun to take out Earth.  It doesn't help the mutants if they survive the Eternals only to die with Earth.

Bobby creates an ice shield around the planet, and the rest of the X-Men take care of the falling ice after the shield holds.  Unfortunately, Duggan decides to use Bobby's heroism as a way to have Bobby come out publicly in the media.  His speech is shunted to one of this era's beloved interstitial pages, which makes it feel awkward and obligatory.  The subsequent Norma Rae speech the journalist delivers to her editor at the end after he tries to take out the gay part is particularly cringe.  

In fact, the most interesting part of the issue is that Scott declares that Jean is his wife when he arrives at the Progenitor for judgment.  The Hickman era has never really address Jean and Scott's relationship, and I'm hoping this hint is a sign that we're going to get the back story soon.  Also, is everyone just wandering up the Progenitor's way?  Is that how it works?

In other words, Duggan makes the odd decision to use a tie-in issue as a way to address two pretty emotional and significant developments in Bobby, Jean, and Scott's lives.  It's a shame, in my book.  I wish Marvel would find a way to get back to some of the great character moments that Hickman managed to include during the early days of his era.

Also Read:  Amazing Fantasy #1,000

Six-Month-Old Comics: The July 27 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #6/#900:  I'm so jaded when it comes to these anniversary issues that it's hard to get too excited about them.  But this issue is particularly meh for the price.  The back matter tells us that issue #7 involves "one of the most monumental status quo changes...in Spider-Man's history."  For a $9.99 cover price, it would've been nice if the Spidey team gave us that story in this issue.  But it is what it is, I guess.

I was excited when I thought that the Ultra Living Brain was the culprit behind whatever happened at the start of issue #1, given, you know, all the green.  It turns out the Brain's quest to answer "Who is Spider-Man?" drives the issue.  But he doesn't mean Spider-Man's identity:  he means his soul.  Get it?  GET IT?  Apparently, it's all because Peter wasn't kind to the original Brain in "Amazing Spider-Man" (1963) #8.  I'm not sure, either.  At any rate, the Brain kidnaps Spidey's enemies and friends to get the answer.  Ultimately, he learns who Spider-Man is when Peter defends him from the Sinister Six.  It's something, I guess.

If I have a specific bone to pick with Wells, it's that some characterizations seem seriously off here.  Aunt May brings back her dislike of Spider-Man, Bobbi acts like she's dating Peter, Flash is a dick to Peter, Peter seems completely over Mary Jane:  it feels like this issue exists outside continuity.  Other than Dr. Octopus' arms falling in love with Peter like the symbiote did, it may be, to be honest.  

The highlight of the issue is probably the Ayn Rand and Dr. Faustus jokes in the first back-up story, but it's hard to say it's worth $9.99.

Captain America:  Symbol of Truth #3:  Just like last issue, this one is a confused mess.  

After Sam tells Doom that he's tracking vibranium smugglers, Doom frees him for no other reason, it seems, than the fact that we can't have Sam cooling his jets in a Latverian jail for a few years.  Sam returns to the United States and visits a childhood friend (I think) in Sing Sing becuase he may know something about the smugglers.  Why would a seemingly random criminal in Sing Sing know anything about the smuggler?  Onyebuchi doesn't say, just like he didn't say last issue how Sam tracked the smugglers to Latveria.  It's MYSTERIOUS.

Even Sam doesn't seem to know what the plot is, as his recap of the situation for the Wakandans makes no sense./  He tells Shuri that people are going to die if they don't find the smugglers, but I'm not sure why exactly.  I mean, obviously, vibranium is powerful but I don't get why criminals having it immediately equates to death.  To make matters worse, it turns out the White Wolf is sitting on piles and piles of vibranium, which isn't even feasible.  The Wakandans would definitely know if that much was missing.

In other words, I'm really reading this series because it has Sam in it, not because of anything Onyebuchi is doing.

Sins of the Black Flamingo #2:  This issue flies by quickly.  I mean, I admittedly found it hard to focus at times given all the nakedness; Moore and Bonvillain deserve all the awards for Abe's beauty alone.  But Wheeler manages to get you to look beyond the pretty with the clever plot and witty script.

We begin after Sebastian swiped Scar's boat to flee with the Angel.  He thankfully arrives on South Beach right where an angel-themed circuit party is happening.  Unfortunately (and not surprisingly), it's full of guys Sebastian has done wrong, so he's a little short on help.  Enter beautiful, beautiful Abe.  He fights off Scar's goons as the golem and then takes the Angel to a synagogue (whose religious energy will hide the Angel from Scar's scanning) to wait for Ofelia.

Knowing Scar is going to throw everything he has at him, Sebastian lures the next round of goons to an abandoned zoo in a cursed swamp.  Wheeler is at his best here as he takes the time to humanize the goons.  When an alligator eats the goon talking about how he used to love the parrots at the zoo as a kid, it underlines what Wheeler raises several times during the issue, that Sebastian has a "dark heart."

Just when you think Sebastian has won, Scar appears.  Sebastian tries to convince Scar to hire him to study the Angel, but Scar shoots him to death instead.  Given next issue's cover, it seems pretty clear that Ofelia is going to resurrect him but, damn, I didn't see that coming.

Star Wars:  Obi-Wan Kenobi #3:  This series remains one of the smartest ones I've ever read.  

It takes a while to settle into the issue, as Cantwell doesn't rush the story.  At some point, you want older Obi-Wan's narration to end so we can get to the action.  But then you realize the care Cantwell has taken in crafting the pace.  After all, you're seeing it through an older monk's eyes:  rushing isn't in his nature.

When we get to the younger Obi-Wan, he's somewhere between patient and rash, showing signs of vainglory on the battlefield but also weariness.  He volunteers his 212th battalion to lead an attack on Abrion Major where the Confederacy of Independent Systems has constructed a facility producing a new mega-ion cannon.  Joined by a Roonian commander named Mekedrix, it's essentially a suicide mission:  the split battalion will attempt to take both sides of the sole bridge leading to the island where the facility is located.

Mekedrix is full of piss and vinegar and good-naturedly competes with Obi-Wan to see who can get to the facility first.  But Obi-Wan is beginning to make that transition from young warrior to older monk, as he sees the sunrise over Abrion and realizes that he doesn't want to fight anymore.  Eventually, the violence subsumes him, and he forgets about the sunrise:  he tells Mekedrix that he's going to win.

It's all for naught, though:  the remains of the two battalions converge on the facility, where the Confederacy has stashed all its heavy firepower.  Over Obi-Wan's objections, the Fleet destroys the bridge, with plenty of Republican soldiers still on it.  Mekedrix and Obi-Wan survive with Commander Cody but they're shaken.

Honestly, this series delivers the type of "Star Wars" stories I've been dying to see, and I can't recommend it highly enough.  I'd love for it to go past five issues if Cantwell is writing it.

Three-Month-Old Comics: The June 29 Edition - Part Two (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Spider-Man 2099:  Exodus #3:  Thanks to Carlos' art, this issue at least feels like an old-school 2099 story.  Orlando is still using the "hero of the month" schtick that's plagued the 2099 line during its last few iterations, but the heroes he uses here at least make sense in terms of the larger story that he's telling.

To whit, Moon Knight contacts Spider-Man telepathically from her Crescent Crypt on the Moon, where she's been healing since the Masters of Evil killed the Avengers a year earlier.  The Masters at the time were the (Iron) Patriot, Black Knight, Enchantress, Melter, Radioactive Man, and Zemo.  (The Avengers themselves are never identified here; the only one I vaguely recognized one was a gray Hulk.)  After killing the Avengers, the Patriot showed his black card to the people recording the fight with their smartphones, making it clear that he and the Masters were now above the law.

Moon Knight is contacting Spider-Man because her alarms awoke her with the Celestial's arrival.  Her alarms sound again when the Masters (minus the Patriot) return to our solar system after traveling in their spaceship to plunder other systems (including the Cancerverse).  Enchantress exposits that Doom "is gone" so figures (correctly) that Osborn is behind pulling down the Celestial.  (We also learn that Zemo killed Black Knight for insubordination.). 

With Spider-Man agreeing to help Moon Knight get vengeance on the Masters (and stop them from helping Osborn secure the Garden), Moon Knight assembles the team:  John Eisenhart (the Hulk), Rowena Stern (Captain Marvel), Zhe Li (Aero), MacKenzie Salgado (Wave), Roberta Mendez (Captain America), and T'Shamba (Black Panther).  As an old-school 2099 fan, Eisenhart and Mendez's inclusion is the most exciting, as it's the clearest sign that we're gotten that we're operating in some version of the original timeline.  At some point, the Masters had control over Roberta and used John as a "doomsday device."  They also destroyed poisoned "Super Malay" (Wave's homeland) and Wakanda and murdered Rowena's fathers and Zhe's students.  In other words, everyone has a reason for vengeance.

As the fight begins, Miguel realizes that Osborn isn't with the Masters, meaning that they're just his soldiers.  Moon Knight reminds Miguel that they don't want the Masters in charge of the Garden either, so they fight in earnest.  The team makes fairly quick work of the Masters, and Black Panther takes them to Planet Wakanda to stand trial, since they're outside Osborn's black-card immunity.  Moon Knight declares to Planet Wakanda (and presumably Earth) that the Avengers have returned.  As she does so, four additional Avengers are standing with the team:  a Captain Britain, Kid Gladiator (if I'm not mistaken) a She-Hulk, and I think a Black Widow.  In the epilogue, Miguel tells Moon Knight that he's heading for Latveria for help taking down Osborn, though he doesn't explain why.

At any rate, it all is what it is.  It isn't terrible, and I can accept the "hero of the month" approach as long as it's ground in the story like it was in this issue (unlike last issue).  Black Widow and Hawkeye are up next, so we'll see if that peace holds.

Star Wars:  Obi-Wan Kenobi #2:  I don't usually have high hopes for these anthology series, but this issue is great.  One challenge I've found that trips up authors of these sorts of issues is that they imagine too complicated a plot or setting for one issue.  Cantwell successfully avoids that trap and keeps the narrative tightly enough focused that the story really sings. 

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan travel to a moon that has inexplicably descended into darkness.  When they arrive at the mine that sent the S.O.S., they discover bloodshed.  Qui-Gon discovers a thief who admits that he and his crew used a "non-incendiary photonic charge" to take out the outpost's power core.  Obi-Wan realizes that the charge likely resulted in the core's accelerite producing a radiation capable of supressing the light spectrum.

The issue's tension comes from the fact that one of the miners is from a light-sensitive, werewolf-like race.  The darkness has driven him insane, and it's only when Obi-Wan is able to reactivate the core with the help of the mining supervisor that the remaining miners and thieves are saved.  Obi-Wan is temporarily blinded (due to the supervisor having to raise the heat levels high enough to fuse the accelerite back together), which plays nicely to the issue's theme, of Obi-Wan getting lost in the facts in front of him and not feeling the larger context.

In sum, it's a great issue.  If you aren't reading the full series, it's definitely worth checking out this issue.

X-Men Red #4:  This issue is incredibly interesting, as it centers entirely around the question of death and what it means now that mutants are functionally immortal.

The issue arrises in three separate places:  Arrako, Earth, and the Proscenium.

• On Arakko, Ora Serrata, who sits in the Seat of Law, notes that Magneto and Storm are, on some level, cheating in holding seats on the Great Ring.  After all, the seats are won through combat in the Circle.  Ora Serrata caveats her statement by noting that the Great Ring has never allowed back a member who was defeated in the Circle but was somehow later resurrected.  As a result, she isn't saying that Magneto and Storm are cheating because if they died they'll get back their seats.  She's more asking whether Magneto and Storm really faced the same stakes as the rest of them since they knew that they couldn't die.  After some squabbling (particularly with Isca the Unbeaten), Magneto announces that he and Storm have destroyed their backups.  As Storm says, "to everything a season."

• At the Proscenium, Oracle has gathered galactic representatives to announce that Xandra is dead.  Fearing an astro-nuclear war as various Shi'ar factions jockey for control, Oracle is implementing a protocol that Deathbird put in place of shoring up support of the Empire's most important allies.

T'Challa gets around the issue by asking if Krakoa can resurrect Xandra, since she's a mutant.  Orbis Stellaris of the Galactic Rim Collective objects for two reasons:  first, the unfairness of an empress getting resurrected when her subjects do not have a similar option and, second, the possibility of an eternal Xandra becoming a helluva dictator.  Nova recalls resurrecting Xandar with the Nova Force and notes that Xandar was destroyed again during the Annihilation Wave. He stresses that no one is immortal; even if the mutants can resurrect people, it doesn't mean that they don't die.  He supports resurrecting Xandra since he doesn't regret giving the Xandarians a few more days' peace. 

Ororo then announces that Krakoa has already resurrected Xandra, since her father (Charles) heard her psychic broadcast just as Oracle did.  Ororo then basically tells Orbis Stellaris to go fuck itself since mutants won't bow to anyone.  Richard follows her and ask if he can spend some time on Arrako, since his "Nova-sense" has him worried that its Diplomatic Zone is the focal point of a coming "big" event.  Ororo agrees and welcomes him.  Again, I love seeing people like Ororo giving Rich the respect that he deserves.

• On Earth, Roberto is resurrected, since Isca the Unbeaten apparently killed him last issue.  Rockslide is there because he likes to observe the resurrections, though we learn that it really isn't "our" Rockslide:  "our" Santo died in Otherworld as seen in "X of Swords."  This Santo is somehow an amalgam of all possible Santos.  I had to Google to find out it happened in "X-Factor;" an editor's note would've been nice here.  At any rate, the kids called Rockslide "Wrongslide," which he doesn't mind because it at least addresses that he isn't "our" Santo.  He knows that his presence hurts people, which hurts him because he loves it so much on Krakoa.  Roberto echoes what Nova said, that everyone dies.  He then invites Rockslide to Arrako.

Again, I loved the big questions that Ewing is asking here, particularly because it's clearly setting up the next few months of stories given Scott's revelation of mutant immortality.  This series continues to feel like what "Immortal X-Men" is supposed to be.

One-Month-Old Comics: The May 4 (2022) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Marauders #2:  I have to say, I am here for the Marauders-Shi'ar war that we're clearly getting.

Despite occasionally confusing moments, Orlando does a solid job throwing a lot of information at us here without relying on too much exposition.  I mean, the conversation between Delphos and Betel, a fellow Noble of the Kin Crimson, pushes this boundary, as they list the Ten Shames in an IM exchange as if they're discussing them with at uninitiated person and not a fellow Noble.  But, it does what it needs to do.  We learn that only one person can speak about the Tenth Shame and Xandra only knows about the First Shame.  

Orlando does a great job with Xandra, as she both acknowledges to Gladiator that they have to keep the First Shame secret since it's so heinous but is also furious at him (and all Shi'ar) for essentially making her subordinate to the Kin Crimson.  Xandra's horror at just the First Shame makes it clear that the Shi'ar's treatment of the first mutants (I'm guessing involved making them lab rats) was far beyond the pale.  As such, it's hard to empathize with the Nobles' outrage at the mutants' "affront" in trying to discover what happened to the first mutants.  Orlando is setting up a story that involves some comeuppance for the Shi'ar, though I'm not quite sure how it's going to happen.

My only complaint here is that Orlando uses several deus ex machina in the Marauders' battle with Erik the Red.  For example, Somnus can essentially stop time given that his dreamscape exists at a slower pace and Bishop (I think) somehow creates energy helmets for everyone after the ship explodes.

In other words, I like where we're going, but I'm hoping Orlando tightens up some parts.

Spider-Man 2099:  Exodus - Alpha #1:  I'm fucking thrilled to say that this issue is spectacular.  This issue is Orlando's best work in comics.

Honestly, I'm so excited, I don't even know how to begin.  As anyone reading this blog for a while knows, I don't say the following part lightly, but I think Orlando wisely puts aside Miguel's continuity for the moment and keeps the focus on Miguel and Lyla here.  Miguel's (and 2099's) continuity is so confusing at this point that it does no good trying to explain it in a debut issue.  Orlando sticks to the basics, and it's a reminder how good the basics are.

We kick off this new chapter in Miguel's adventures with a man named Bruto Olafsen cutting off a man's arm.  When Public Eye officers try to arrest him, he shows them a black card with white concentric circles, and the officers realize that he's a Cabal pledge.  Bruto tells them that he's just trying to make his numbers when Miguel snatches him.  Bruto is shocked Spidey would take on the Cabal, but Miguel notes that he's just a pledge; Miguel tells Bruno the Cabal was testing him and, if he had passed the test, it would be there to help him.  Realizing Spidey speaks the truth, Bruto says that he's Nueva York's sixth richest man and can pay him.  (This part makes it clear we're not dealing with an organization recruiting from the lower classes.)  Miguel wants the Cabal's leader's name, but Bruto doesn't know it.  Instead, Bruto can only send him to the comms station where Bruto was supposed to transmit his zipgun's thrill counter.  (I love the "thrill counter" idea.)

As Miguel heads to the comms tower, Lyla and Miguel's conversation provides some background on where we are in 2099.  Lyla informs us that the Cabal is the world's only "real" superpower, and I love Orlando deciding to put the days of Alchemax serving as 2099's sole villain behind us.  We learn that the Cabal operates from "Heaven," which I'm guessing is a satellite, and brutally and publicly murdered the Avengers, which has left the world in a state of shock.

Arriving at the comms station, Miguel uses the key that he swiped off Bruto to hack into the system.  He discovers the Cabal has routed a "stellar mass" on a collision course with the Ontario Expanse.  He also learns that the station was going to explode with Bruto inside.  Miguel realizes that Bruto's initiation was a "cruel joke," and I'm intrigued why the Cabal singled out Bruto for such punishment.  Miguel also discovers that the Cabal is scanning the entire planet for some reason but notices some dead zones.  Lyla tells Miguel that the drive has more encrypted files, so Miguel grabs it before the station implodes.

Miguel then heads to one of the dead zones while Lyla scans the news.  The C.E.O. of Green Globe Partners, an activist fund, blames Alchemax for "R&D gone wrong, citing the crash's immediate mutagenic effects on the terrain."  At the dead zone, Miguel discover the Ghost Spire, a tower that Ghost Rider controls and where he protects a city of unhomed, unwanted people.  Zero informs Miguel the crater is birthing new elements and new conspiracies, worrying that the coming fear riots will hurt his people.  Zero agrees to crack the "mysterium datadrive" (a great Easter egg for X-Men fans) but demands Miguel leaves after he does so before the Cabal can track him to the Spire and hurt Zero's people.

In a truly genius moment, the drive is "quest encrypted," which means, to decrypt it, Miguel and Zero have to defeat a digital troll.  I mean, this part is just brilliant.  It wasn't necessary - Zero could've just decrypted it.  But, Orlando adding in this detail shows how carefully he's thinking about each part of this issue's plot.  After defeating the troll, Miguel learns that the "stellar mass" is a dying Celestial, Jovion the Enactor.  The Cabal used the bullet inside him (which they probably shot at him) to pull him to Earth, creating the "weird Eden" they clearly plan on harvesting.  

Before Miguel can learn more, Zero pulls him from the drive as the Cabal has sent a killcraft with shocktroops to the Spire.  As the Spire disintegrates, Zero takes out the killcraft and Miguel engages the shocktroops.  One of the shocktroops tells Miguel that he's a Manfredi (so, again, not a plebe), and Miguel demands to know who the Cabal's leader is.  Before Miguel and the residents can take out the troops, the Manfredi tells Miguel that the leader will reveal himself soon and then uses a "cellular cyanide" tooth to dissolve himself (as do the other shocktroops).

One of the residents demands Miguel helps them now that they've lost the Spire, and he agrees to ferry them to the Transverse City Spire.  Lyla informs Miguel that the Cabal has offered membership to anyone who can stake claim to the Celestial Garden, and Miguel understands that pretty much anyone alive now stands between him and the Garden.  More shockingly, Lyla tells him that the Cabal's leader has, in fact, revealed himself:  it's a very Norman Osborn-looking Green Goblin.

Again, I couldn't be happier with this issue.  I would love for Orlando to keep ignoring most of Miguel's past to create a new 2099 status quo that we could embrace.  I cannot wait for next issue.

Star Wars #23:  Although everything doesn't go exactly as she planned, Zahra reminds us why she's the Empire's best officer in this issue.  In fact, she only fails to take out the entire Rebel fleet -- three full divisions -- and a ground division because two Pathfinders sacrifice themselves to take out the Tarkin's Will's primary reactor.  When Kes and Shara arrive at Home One (the Rebel Fleet's command frigate), Leia mentions celebrating their win, but I think that's just Leia blowing smoke up everyone's ass.  Sure, Zahra lost Tarkin's Will, but the Rebels lost at least three ships by my count as well as most, if not all, of the ground division.  Given the Rebellion's already reduced capacities, they'll miss the ships a lot more than the Empire will miss Tarkin's Will.

Star Wars:  Obi-Wan Kenobi #1:  This series appears to consist of vignettes from Obi-Wan's life, timed to the debut of the Disney+ series.  This issue is fine, if a little lackluster.  

Obi-Wan recalls losing his time as a Padawan, when he lost his friend and protector, Gehren Rand.  After receiving a Force vision of her father in terrible pain, Gehren wants to leave Coruscant to go help him.  Yoda tries to explain to Gehren that the Force may (or may not) be showing her the future, but she decides that she has to leave.  As Gehren is the only person ever to care about Obi-Wan, he follows her.  

To me, I would've preferred to learn more about Obi-Wan as (seemingly) an orphan, since the other "Star Wars" titles have frequently mention how the Empire largely recruits orphans.  The parallel between the Empire and the Jedi would be interesting.

When a gangster Gehren paid to transport her off-world double-crosses her, Gehren and Obi-Wan using their fledgling powers to escape.  Obi-Wan decides against leaving Coruscant with Gehren, and, as he tells us in the present, he never saw her again.  This mini-adventure makes Obi-Wan realizes the dangers of acting from fear (as Gehren was), and, later that night, Yoda tells him that it's time for him to protect himself.

I can't say that the Young Obi-Wan Chronicles interest me all that much.  (Next issue focuses on an adventure with Qui-Gon.)  But, after watching the first episode of the Disney+ series, I'm thrilled to see that Eopie survives so I'll take it!

 
Also Read:  Ben Reilly:  Spider-Man #4; Giant-Size X-Men:  Thunderbird #1; Quests Aside #1