Star Wars: Rogue One - Jyn Erso #1 (Marvel Comics)

Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! This week I'm going to be reviewing the FIRST issue of Star Wars: Rogue One - Jyn Erso from Marvel Comics!

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the release of Rogue One in theaters back in 2016! To commemorate the occasion, Marvel Comics is releasing a series of 5 seperate one shot issues surrounding some of the major characters from the film! The last issue was about Cassian Andor and this one focusing on Jyn Erso, so let’s jump into it!

Credit: Marvel Comics // Star Wars: Rogue One - Jyn Erso #1 by Ethan Sacks (Writer), Ramon Rosanas (Artist), Guru-eFX (Color Artist), VC’s Travis Lanham(Letterer), David Marquez & Laura Martin (Cover)

*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***

The Story

Ethan Sacks is at the helm of the story for this issue and the focus is on Jyn Erso! Through two issues it appears that this mini-series is going to be expanding on some of the unknown portions of the story involving the characters that are going to be the focus of things. And honestly? That works on so many levels. Rogue One is easily the best movie in the Disney Era of Star Wars, and one of the best one’s of all time. It’s a self contained story that while yes, it continues on in Episode IV: A New Hope it’s one that you can show to anyone and they’ll get it. The story in the comics are there if you want to learn some more and expand your viewing experience. Are they required to understand the film? Absolutely not. It’s this approach that’s made the issues so enjoyable.

When I saw Marvel was going to do a Jyn Erso story for this mini-series I had a feeling they were going to delve into this time period because it’s the only one that would make sense. The story takes place on the planet Wobani, which is of course the same planet we see Jyn get rescued from after the opening sequence of the film.

The way the story plays out feels like it was a sequence cut from the script due to time constraints or perhaps it didn’t work with the flow of the rest of the film. Ethan does a fantastic job capturing the feel of the early part of that film and capturing the sense of dread you get. Is there hope? Yes, but there’s still an overhanging sense of dread because you know what’s coming.

I did appreciate the sense of hope that Ethan was able to keep throughout the issue and he ended it with. Like I said, it’s a great self contained story that adds to the depth and beauty that is in the Rogue One film.

The Artwork

Ramon Rosanas & Guru-eFX really did a tremendous job with the art in this issue. They did such a great job bringing the likeness of Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso & the planet Wobani. While yes, it isn’t in the film for very long they still did a fantastic job recreating it to a level that I went “oh right it’s the planet from the start of the film.” Admittedly I haven’t watched Rogue One from start to finish in over 4 years, but I still recognized it thanks to the great artwork. Overall it’s one of the best drawn Star Wars comics you can find today and make it one of the best drawn issues out there.

Overall Grade: 8/10

Overall this is a incredible issue that is very accessible to even the most casual of Star Wars fans. Ethan Sacks does a fantastic job capturing the feel, while Ramon Rosanas & Guru-eFX do a phenomenal job capturing the visual feel of Rogue One. If you’re a fan of the film, this is a series that you won’t want to miss.