Rebellion #13: Small Victories, part 3 (of 4)

According to JJM's website, Issue #1 of Vector sold 25,015 issues to comic shops in January, and 2,018 in February. One year prior, Issue #12 of KOTOR sold 24,900 issues in January, while Issue #13, also released in January, sold 24,100 issues. (Source). So no, KOTOR isn't down from this time last year. As Jedi-Ben said, it's not that odd for a comic shop that doesn't carry many non-Marvel/DC titles to only stock the most popular Dark Horse titles --- Legacy is #2, falling only behind Buffy.

And it looks like this issue is out tomorrow. Let's do this, Leeroy Jenkins.

 

Hmm, you do mean 22,018 in Feb, don't you Jeff?

 

Nope --- that was the same issue which sold copies in both January and February. It came out pretty late in the month, and it seems like it was popular enough for more copies to be ordered. I probably worded it dumbly, but whatevs, KOTOR still rox!!!

 

Ah, just noticed that subtle wording!

 

Great issue, best of the arc (so far)! Deena punting her torturer off the catwalk was the highlight of the issue IMO. I hope she makes it out of the arc in one piece.

I liked how Basso is mentioned in the summary blurb, mentioned by Leia/Abel, mentioned by Deena herself and yet is is Denna that hands our all the ass-kicking in this issue.

Also not a single panel of Luke

My only complaint is that the black-haired rebel who has been with us since the first issue of the arc has still yet to be named, although the introduction of the four Dagger Squadron pilots more than makes up for it.

 

I did too until he revealed himself to be a big wuss

Looked like Deena to me, it never crossed my mind that it was anyone else. Also the figure is hanging by her/his arm, Denna wrapped a cable around her arm just a few panels befor then.

 

You have/work at a comic shop? Man, you are living my dream.
I spent years at school to become a teacher and, as much as I love my job, still wish I invested that money on opening my own comic shop.

But anyway, that is pretty weird - at my LCS it looks like tons of people have Legacy pulled (judging by the amount of copies I see in the pull boxes). I really don't see much of the other titles selling, though.

 

Overall a pretty good issue. I'm not sure why, but over the course of this arc, I've come to like Colin Wilson's art a lot more. Though his work in Legacy wasn't too bad, I just didn't care for it.

That isn't to say that I had some quibbles with his work in this issue - for instance, Ackbar's right foot when he comes walking down the staircase is a bit too small and there appear to be some scaling problems with the Certainty's (good Star Destroyer name, by the way) bridge tower as Deena decides to toss the detonator into the fuel supply (but maybe that's just me in the latter case). But these are minor things and they didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the issue. I'm looking forward to #14 .

Favorite moments-
-The introduction of Blade Squadron.
-Rishyk's untimely demise.
-Able finger striking a stormtrooper in the throat.

Questions-
Pollard says that "no other ships in our hangars are as fast or as maneuverable. You'd have to send twice as many X-wings to get the same results." with regard to the performance of the B-wings. From what I've read previously (and it hasn't really been a lot) I got the impression that this is an inaccurate statement. Was he making a comparison in terms of how much terms of how much firepower the starfighters were capable of delivering or was he just saying "the starfighter that I prefer is better than <X starfighter>"?

The later part of this issue shows a Star Destroyer refueling within Bannistar Station's atmosphere (and possibly within the atmosphere of an astral body). How exactly is this made possible? Just wondering.

When D'vox tells Leia that he's informed the Emperor of her and Luke's presence, he adds (all lower-case here for objectivity's sake and so that I'm not yelling)

"but then -- whatever i could do to them [Abel and that unnamed Rebel] would be nothing compared to what the imperial inquisitors have planned, i'm sure. hmmm?"

Is this a reference to the Inquisitorius or is he using the word "inquisitors" as a synonym for "interrogators"?

But he was in two panels, though just barely.

I think Rishyk's being flung clear, Deena holding onto a cable just before the explosion and the figure's armor in the last panel point to it being Deena.

 

The person, at least to me, looks to be waring the Rebel special ops armor, no an imperial uniform.

 

Thanks for the kind words, everybody -- I'm glad you're digging the story.

Bannistar Station is comprised of several large docking platforms, refineries, and fuel tanks that are clustered together and attached to the planet's surface. Picture a bunch of enormous off shore oil rigs bundled together, then take away the ocean around it.

The body to which it is attached has an atmosphere but is otherwise unable to sustain life (harsh terrain, no vegetation, etc.) -- it's also extremely rich in the fuel that the Empire uses, so for the sake of efficiency the Imps tap right into it and have their ships come to the station, rather than transporting the fuel to orbit.

The station is tall enough and large enough that several Star Destroyers can easily be docked at it, and it'll give a person serious vertigo were they to stand on a platform and look down.

He means "interrogators" -- he's just being dramatic and scary.

It's Deena.

 

This is a great story and happy that all the important characters have survived too.

 

You would think they would invest in some railings then

 

No one is in the clear yet (except Luke, Leia and Ackbar of course; unless, *starts Ackbar clone conspiracy*).

 

The Committee to Approve Shields and Oxygen in TIE Fighters is in line ahead of the Bannistar Pro-Railing Lobby, I'm afraid.

 

Of course. Safety railings would bring an overall budget increase of 36%. The Death Star is already expensive enough as it is.

 

Jeremy_Barlow -

I am real stoked that you have Admiral Ackbar in these issues. It is nice to see the character again. Ever since his death at the end of the NJO, we see very litte of him in EU works.

Seriously though, you do a great job with him. Given the time frame, and the appearance of the B-wing, I am guessing that Ackbar was just recently appointed Admiral of the Rebel Fleet?

--Adm. Nick

 

Thanks, Nick -- Acky's one of my favorites, too. And that's correct on the timeline, though with so many sources published it's hard to pin down specifically when Ackbar's promotion took place. At this point in the story, he's still wrapping his brain around commanding the fleet and that's why it's so important to him to do what's best for the ships and the people under his watch, and why he's hesitant to send help to Bannistar.

"Small Victories" takes place shortly after the Shantipole adventure in one of WEG's Imperial Sourcebooks, which is also where Pollard and Suskafoo (the Verpine) first appeared.

 

Very, very well done! It is always good to know there are more Ackbar fans out there.

I normally consider myself pretty well versed in WEG stuff, but I had no idea that Pollard and Suskafoo appeared in Strike Force: Shantipole. Kudos for drawing from such an obscure source. There is nothing finer than a author who does his homewoek.

As others have said, Verpine are one of those great species that often get overlooked. Given their support for the Alliance and their development of the B-wing, it is nice to see one serving in uniform.

--Adm. Nick

 

Was that intended to be an in-joke for about 10 of us or is that just a coincidence.

 

QFT.

Deena's never bothered me like she has some of the other fans, so getting to see her step up and get her "small victory" is a treat. And Able's throat shot to the stormtrooper? Awesome. I really hope they don't take him out anytime soon. I'm a clone trooper fan and the idea of one fighting along side Luke and Leia in the Rebellion is wonderful. So here's hoping he's not a casualty during the escape (after all, who else would be around to give Basso a hard time?)

And great to see Ackbar getting some page time. Between him and Stazi, my fantastic good guy admiral quota has pretty much been filled.

Looking forward to getting more of the Daggers next issue. I'm always happy to see more squadrons highlighted outside of the Rogues and it's about time the oft neglected B-Wing gets its moment.

 

Here here! With the Rebellion era as crowded as it is, it really says a lot about Jeremy when he's willing to draw on West End Game stuff in order to accurately place this story. And the fact that you're using characters from WEG as well is amazing! Jeremy for the win.

I'd like to echo the sentiments of everyone who's praised this issue so far. As much as I loved My Brother, My Enemy, this may have been my favourite issue of Rebellion so far. It seemed like it was able to cover quite a bit, as we went from Leia & Able to Deena to Ackbar back to Deena back to Leia & Able --- but at the same time, it didn't feel hurried in any way. The narrative was able to slowly and effectively comment on Deena and her psychological struggle, and it came across the most powerfully that it has yet. I really enjoyed everything that went on in this issue, and the art also seemed like it was the best yet. It really complemented the narrative and the dialogue. This issue also set up what's sure to be an explosive conclusion, with he flight of B-Wings coming, Leia & Able in the middle of an escape, Basso still off doing something crazy, and Deena hanging on for dear life --- I find myself very, very excited for Issue #14.

Ah, brilliant. I know that this is nitpicky, but when Ackbar was protesting that the pilots hadn't logged enough time in the simulators yet, the first thing I thought of was that that didn't... seem like Ackbar. In the Black Fleet Crisis, Ackbar lobbies for Plat Mallar to be able to fly a K-Wing despite not logging time in simulation, and appeals to the Rebellion Days when they would put anyone who wanted to fly into a snub fighter, regardless of their VR Experience. But you make a great point about Ackbar being new to command and still getting used to everything --- and the fact that the B-Wings are new is very important, as well. Similarly, I think it would seem a bit wrong if Ackbar wasn't concerned for the lives of his pilots.

Besides which, nitpicky stuff like that often pops into my head, but doesn't affect my enjoyment of the story.

Edit: I remember what else I wanted to say! This comic, and the three released last week, were all not only good, but seemed to be exceptionally good, particularly in comparison to other recent issues of their respective series's. This has been a very fine week in SW comics --- can you imagine if this issue of Small Victories had been released last week? That would have been an uparallelled day of awesomeness in SW comic history.