Rogue Squadron Prequel Review

ALL TIMELINES


		ROGUE SQUADRON PREQUEL A comic by Michael A. Stackpole, Mike W. Barr, and Gary Erskine (1997, Dark Horse Comics) Just before Star Wars: A New Hope Wedge, Biggs and the other "Rogues" secure a shipment of R2 astromech droids.

		Read on April 29th, 2001
		A fun little trip down memory lane, as we get to see how the unit gelled before Luke actually formed Rogue Squadron. Of course, Rogue Squadron existed before The Empire Strikes Back, but it didn't have that name back then. Wedge was part of it, as was Biggs, Porkins, and a few others. This is a one-shot comic that I really wasn't going to read, but it became available, so I decided why not! It was nice to see all those guys who we just got to know briefly during the Battle of Yavin in Star Wars. This little adventure takes place just before the Death Star arrives. The group we know so well in hindsight is gambling, sending back and forth the banter that Stackpole does so well between his fighter jocks. They await arrival of a shipment of R2 units. Once the shipment arrives, of course, nothing goes smooth as expected. Thugs try and take their landspeeder, so they fight to get it back. They meet with their contact, who has been shipping things for the Alliance for a long time now. But one of the thugs contacts an Imperial officer, who overhears them talking about the Alliance. Thus, when they leave, a squadron of "eyeballs", TIE fighters, engage them. Splitting up leads to the expected result. One Rogue sacrifices himself to save the others. This is one, of course, that we've never heard of before. The so-called expendable crewman. Wedge and the others shoot down the remaining TIEs, and save the freighter. They arrive on Yavin 4 in time to learn about the Death Star and to meet Luke. The timing cannot be conveyed properly in a single issue, I'm sure, so the gap in continuity can be ignored. But in Star Wars, Biggs only meets up with Luke just before they board their X-Wings. If they arrived just in time to meet Luke, then they missed the briefing. But that's a minor point. It was interesting to note that the Imperials had a base on Folor, which was used in Wraith Squadron and Dark Empire. I also liked the indicators that told us exactly when this story was taking place. The news reports about the dissolution of the Senate, as well as the disappearance of a certain Alderaanian Princess, and trouble with transmissions to Alderaan. There was not much going on, but it did have the banter that I expect from Rogue comics, the cool fight scenes, and some decent artwork (though it was nothing spectacular, by far). This comic was collected in the Requiem for a Rogue graphic novel.