Review: ‘Return of the Jedi: Ewoks’ Will Make You Fall in Love With the Iconic Species All Over Again
If you aren’t a fan of Ewoks, there are two notes this author has for you off the bat. Number one is that you’re wrong. Number two is that Alyssa Wong’s Return of the Jedi: Ewoks one-shot might make you a believer. The latest entry into Marvel’s Return of the Jedi celebration is charming, hilarious, innovative, and a *insert superlative here* journey that will make you fall in love again with everyone’s favorite murder bear.
Teaming with a fleet of artists, Wong (Doctor Aphra) tells a sweet tale unlike anything you’ll read in Star Wars comics today. There is not a lick of dialogue in this entire issue, instead choosing to rely on the mannerisms of Ewoks to carry the story. The basic framing device is a trio of campfire stories, with each capturing an element of what makes the Ewoks, dare I say it, the best alien species in Star Wars.
Spoilers ahead…
The first of the three stories come from the Woklings. The babies of the village tell a story about how their parents are mean and won’t let them be friends with another species native to the Forest Moon of Endor. The story gets going when one day, a Wokling leaves home against their parents’ wishes to go meet up with their pal: a Dulok.
The classic green, tall, and lanky distant relatives to the Ewoks haven’t always been the kindest to their teddy bear-like brethren throughout Legends and their brief appearances in canon. They live in the swamps and sometimes hunt down the Ewoks, making them natural adversaries. I loved how Paulina Ganucheau (Captain Phasma) drew them closer to their take in the old Ewoks cartoon, making them seem kinder and gentler to a child’s untrained eye.
Interpretation is paramount to this issue, and Wong allowed me to be sucked into the Woklings’ imagination running wild. Can the Ewoks and the Dulok coexist? I loved the panels that cut back to the campfire with the older Ewoks trying to maintain control as the Woklings told their tale.
The second of the campfire stories comes from Paploo, who wasn’t having any of what he just heard. He tells a story about the monstrous Gorax. The point of this story was to simply say that if they aren’t careful, everyone they know and love will be brutally murdered and made into lunch. Kyle Hotz (Marvel’s Carnage: Black, White, and Blood) and Rachelle Rosenberg (Legacy) crafted a visual masterclass as Paploo’s horror unfolds.
This story is much shorter as Paploo is hysterically cut off with a swift bonk to the head from Chief Chirpa to spare the Woklings. The comedic timing in this issue is top tier and I found myself smiling throughout thanks to the absurdity of it all.
Peekpa (introduced in Last Shot) brings up the rear with a story about her dream to start a new life. Caspar Wijngaard (Doctor Aphra) draws the simplest tale as Peekpa crafts a ship from the cockpit of an AT-ST Imperial walker. The way it was drawn evoked Luke Skywalker looking out onto the horizon of Tatooine’s twin suns and a longing for more. This story got across a lot of those same themes and what makes the Ewoks great for me.
I have always seen the Ewoks as an extension of the normal person. They have their own dreams and goals in life, and they greatly cherish their own families. The Ewoks standing up against the Empire in Return of the Jedi and winning was never a slight against the Empire. It was always way more about how you can stand against evil, no matter what abilities you have. (Being unafraid to murder and harm never hurt their ability to save the galaxy either.)
Back to Peekpa though, seeing her dream big channeled the simple idea that the Ewoks are like us and deserving of respect and admiration despite their flaws. It hit me more than it should and was a great way to make this issue as memorable as it was for me.
Return of the Jedi: Ewoks is a special issue that was made with a lot of love. Telling a tale without dialogue is a challenge for any writer, but doing it in the comic medium is even trickier if you aren’t careful. At a certain point, average art can just become noise and you tune it out. It’s like that phenomenon in novels when you realize you read 10 pages and can’t remember a single thing. Thankfully, this experiment paid off. Wong relied heavily on the artwork to tell her tale, and every single panel delivered. Ewoks rule, and this issue proves it.
RATING: 9/10
Nate uses his love for Star Wars and movies in general as a way to cope with the pain of being a Minnesota sports fan. When he's not at the theater, you can usually find Nate reading a comic, listening to an audiobook, or playing a Mario video game for the 1,000th time.
