Series: Poe Dameron
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Phil Noto
Publisher: Marvel
Official Summary: AN ALL-NEW ONGOING SERIES SPINNING OUT OF STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS! Poe Dameron, former Republic flyer turned Resistance fighter, is the best pilot in the galaxy. Hand-picked for the resistance by General Leia Organa to lead a squadron on a top secret and vital mission…Poe sets off investigating sites of historical importance to the Force. Revealing backstory leading directly into the holidays’ greatest adventure, follow Poe and his X-Wing squadron on covert missions against the First Order.
When I heard that Poe Dameron was getting his own book, I was somewhat excited – he is a great character, after all – but when I found out Charles Soule (LANDO) and Phil Noto (CHEWBACCA) were combining forces, that’s when I got REALLY excited and knew I had to have it.
Poe is one of the many great things to come out of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Oscar Isaac’s charismatic performance as the cocky Resistance pilot makes the character pop off the screen. Now, with POE DAMERON #1, we get to see the events that lead to his meeting with Lor San Tekka at the beginning of the film, and boy are they crazy.
All of Isaac’s charm and charisma is on full display in this issue, which finds Poe running into all sorts of problems trying to locate old Lor. The more I read Soule’s work the more I realize he is the Swiss Army Knife of the comic industry. He is great at making his characters true to form. His work on the LANDO miniseries made it seem like Billy Dee Williams had become trapped in a two-dimensional time-warp and was stuck in a five issue miniseries. Well, that may be a *little* much… Look, what I am trying to say is, Soule captures a character’s tone perfectly, and POE DAMERON #1 is no different.
The art of this book is easily comparable to the superb writing. The almighty Phil Noto knocks it out of the proverbial park, as is his custom. As I mentioned, Noto previously worked on the fantastic CHEWBACCA mini-series, and his work on POE DAMERON is equally impressive. He obviously has a handle on the Star Wars universe – his artwork is beautiful, and he is able to capture Leia’s somber sarcasm and Dameron’s mischievous smile perfectly.
Overall, POE DAMERON #1 was a fantastic first issue. I was kind of nervous about another ongoing Star Wars title (not because they aren’t good, but because I am running out of room in my comics budget), but Poe and his Black Squadron are definitely joining my pull list.
