Comic Review: Star Wars #2 – Luke Skywalker’s Quest

Writer: Alex Segura
Artist: Phil Noto

Publisher summary:
ACTION AND ADVENTURE CONTINUES IN THE POST-RETURN OF THE JEDI ERA! What secret did the NAGAI PILOT tell LUKE SKYWALKER? What is the CROWN OF VERITY? What tragedy awaits Luke on the winter planet of GADRILIM?

Marvel Comics

Why it matters:
The new era of Star Wars comics continues as Luke Skywalker goes out on his own. Our hero finds himself on a new planet with unfamiliar foes, yet the story still feels like classic Star Wars. Alex Segura and Phil Noto are quickly developing an exciting new corner of the universe.

Key moments:

• Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master: Since the 2015 run of Star Wars, we’ve seen Luke go on many side quests for Jedi knowledge. It always makes for a fun time, and now he’s doing it as a Master straight out of Return of the Jedi.

• Mysteries continued: While this issue focuses on Luke’s adventures alone, we also get teases of the ongoing stories set up for Han and Leia in the debut. It’s clear that all these plotlines will converge… but how?

• Cinematic views: It probably goes without saying, but Phil Noto is still at the top of his game. This is simply one of the best looking Star Wars books in years.

Marvel Comics

The big picture:

It’s a plot straight out of a tabletop RPG campaign - Luke Skywalker goes to a new town, enters a tavern, has a brawl, meets a mysterious stranger, is taken to a mysterious dungeon, and ends up in another brawl, all to find a mystical artifact. To really hammer the point home, that artifact - the Crown of Verity - is an insanely deep lore pull directly from a 2016 Fantasy Flight Games RPG sourcebook.

Once you realize just how familiar the story structure is, right down to an ending reminiscent of Luke’s arc in A New Hope, it becomes easier to take in the sheer amount of information Alex Segura is throwing at us. We’re kicking off a new era, and with that comes new characters, conflicts, and factions. The issue is a bit of an infodump at times, much wordier than your typical Star Wars comic. But seeing Luke on a solo quest looking for Force artifacts is a classic adventure that makes all the exposition worth it.

The real star of the show, once again, is artist Phil Noto. His focus on big panels and hero shots make the comic feel like a movie, giving the story the epic scale it deserves. Despite being best known for his cover art, the art never feels stilted. The visual storytelling, even in dialogue heavy scenes, is engaging, and Luke’s lightsaber fights are every bit as thrilling as they should be.

Our rating: Incredible

What’s next: The post-Jedi adventures continue next month! Issue #3 - Crisis on Cloud City! - in stores July 16, 2025.

For a deeper discussion of this issue, be sure to check out this week’s episode of The Cosmic Force podcast!