#non-force user

I think they work for the same reason they don’t work actually.

(Guy who only ever understands things through the opposite twin) Imagine Cele and Arcann. They work because they understand each other on a pretty fundamental level. Similar proficiency in the Force, vaguely similar background beats (close enough on some fronts), able to connect with each other over these and thrive as a result because as a partner, they each needed someone that could understand what they’d been through and how they could move past it and grow from those shared experiences. They’re two sides of the same coin.

Zanya needs someone who is incredibly different from him to be happy, I think. He needs someone who’s on a whole other coin.

It’s Luke Week again!

Here are not just one but two comics in which Leia sends the boys out to get supplies for the Rebellion, and they fuck it up and then have some gay little banter.

“Star Wars Adventures 21: Swoop Racers.” Marvel. May 8, 2019. Writer: Cavan Scott. Penciller & Inker: Derek Charm. Letterer: Tom B. Long. Colorist: Matt Herms.

Another example of a gorgeous, intricate foreground, ephemeral background, and delicate character linework by Al Williamson. My favorite part of this panel is how the moss overlaps with Luke’s speech bubble, which emphasizes the power of nature over the designs of man. My least favorite part is our boys’ apparent disregard for gun safety.

I'm sorry this is SO late, but I just thought of the pun! (Also I couldn't pick a favorite menorah, so have two!)

Unedited panel here!

It's Padme Week! I love this moment; I think it's clever! It's so cool that Padme is in disguise for much of the first movie, as this parallels Anakin's disguise as Vader in his own first appearance and Leia's disguise as Boushh in Return of the Jedi. And I love Padme speaking up to Qui-Gon, even if she is forced to obey him for the sake of her ruse; this shows the rebellious attitude that she will share with her kids, and a Jedi-critical self-confidence which will distinguish her from her husband.

Finn vs Phasma is an underrated rivalry I'd love to see more of!

This week’s theme: Show, Don’t Tell!

I’m ending this week with another Visionaries comic, because you can’t bring up this series without discussing its strangest entry: Michael Murnane’s “Wat Tambor and the Quest for the Sacred Eye of the Albino Cyclops.”

While “The Artist of Naboo” is also an unusual comic, I have a stronger ability to relate to and interpret it. “Artist” is a more clear-cut example of “show, don’t tell,” as it is so sparse in text and meta in imagery. I think “Wat Tambor” is just as wonderful and inspiring, but more difficult to understand and pick apart. This comic is dense with text (that title!) -- a lot of peculiar words, spoken with a ceremonial tone, often arranged in Murnane’s idiosyncratic rhymes. And the imagery is detailed and distinct: in lieu of panels, the subjects are shown as shapes which overlap and bleed together in non-linear compositions. It’s as opaque as it is baroque.

It’s not only a dream; it’s an alien’s dream.

In the story, Wat Tambor undergoes a spiritual journey. This involves flying his cute rocketship; matching funky keys to locks; and confronting inky creatures, Biblically-accurate angels, and of course the cyclops itself, who is not humanoid but animalistic. The creatures taunt him and remove his cyborg parts, which leaves him vulnerable and in pain.

He is motivated not just by the demands of the Elders who send him on the quest, but also his own need for an eye. Sometime before this story, Anakin apparently damaged Wat’s right eye, so he must wear an eyepatch. This intriguing detail, as with many things about Wat, is only explored in this comic.

Anakin and Wat’s destinies are tangled together. Anakin appears in Wat’s visions beside the other mythical creatures, which enhances Anakin’s status as a spiritual being, and Wat’s as a believer.

While the movie shows that Palpatine ordered the Separatist leaders to gather on Mustafar so that Anakin could slay them, the comic contradicts this and has Wat go to Mustafar as a direct result of his spiritual quest. To make a current pop culture analogy, Wat willingly confronts Anakin much like Gawain confronts the Green Knight -- even knowing this means certain doom. Eagle-eyed Wat fans can even spot Wat accept his fate while the other Separatists beg for their lives (he sits down at 3:06).

While the story the comic tells is weird and confusing, the message that it shows is challenging and important: spirituality and disability are more complex than how Star Wars normally depicts them.

Star Wars divides its characters’ experiences with spirituality and disability by morality. This leads to some pretty ridiculous messages:

- Spirituality for the Good: If you believe hard enough, you can do anything. - Spirituality for the Evil: It’s never too late to become good -- but you’ll probably die. - The Good disabled characters have prosthetics so perfect or magic powers so strong that they might as well not be disabled at all. - The Evil disabled characters are “scary” because of their difficulties breathing and other quality-of-life modifications.

“Wat Tambor and the Quest for the Sacred Eye of the Albino (not the most sensitive of words) Cyclops” challenges these premises by detaching them from morality. Wat is one of the “badguys” of the Clone Wars, but that doesn’t matter in the story. His spirituality is painful and his disabilities matter. He isn’t defined by his morality, but by his trauma.

Luke sure knows how to inspire confidence!