X-Wing Rogue Squadron #33 [Mandatory Retirement (Part 2 of 4)]

Story: Michael A Stackpole
Pencils: Steve Crespo and John Nadeau
Inks: Chip Wallace
Colors: Dave Nestelle
Covers: John Nadeau
Editor: Peet Janes

The Rebel Council sends the Rogues to rescue Pestage. Isard attempts to control Pestage's retrieval for her own purposes. When the Rogues go in, the plan goes awry... Reviewed 09/16/98 Story Shore leave is over. These are serious times... and I welcome them. Mike's done a nice job on making Fey'la the kind of greasy character that rings true with people I've sat in meetings with. He achieves this while leaving room for the full blown creep from Zahn's trilogy. It's very interesting to watch the debates and decisions filter down from the council to the officers to the soldiers. From morals to tactics to relationships. As always, this is contrasted by the power games of the Imperials. Stackpole's Imperials are refreshingly aware of what's going on. I smiled to see Leonia taken down a couple of notches. The continual roadblocks thrown up in Isard's face make her a more interesting and worthy villain than many we've been given (Jax, Daala). Clearly, she's had to fight for whatever power she has. At first, I was very pleased to see Fel fitting in with the Rogues. Now, these gestures of good will are going to twist like a dagger in the side... I just know it. Art The challenge of illustrating this title has always been the balance between the biology and technology. As a special parting gift for the fans, Dark Horse decided to give us a title without compromise. We have the best of both worlds. Crespo has proven many times over that his inspired characters stand up with the best the SW universe has seen. Add Nadeau's wonderful ships into the mix and we have a book with virtually no artistic flaws. Fey'la and Kerrithrarr (Wookiees are very hard to draw well) stand out among the many well-composed and highly populated panels in the first half of the book. Not many comics could contain 14 pages of meetings and remain visually exciting. I finally saw 'Saving Private Ryan' and these ground scenes had the same feel of desperation and resolve as that film's climax. (Notice the skewed panels adding to the feel of chaos.) Conclusions Both the story and art have a matching dark tone. We're gearing up for an exciting finale. Don't miss it... 8.5 / 10. Recommended.
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