Deron Generally
Deron Generally
Star Wars DJ: Most Wanted #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker
Art by Kevin Walker
Inks by Marc Deering
As the opening crawl of this issue suggests, this isn’t a heroes story. Canto Bight is the setting and the voice over suggests that this is the place to be. DJ is at one of the gaming tables, gambling away money that might not be all his and the droid at his side is cautioning him about the bet he just made. As the droid proceeds to tell him the odds on the bet he just made, the man decides to take his chances. A move that reinforces his belief that he is different from everyone around him because of his ability to overcome the inherent “programming” of people.
After losing the hand, DJ is flanked on both sides of the table by a couple of detectives who want to have a word with the codebreaker. Both men want to know what DJ knows about some stolen code-cards. Their investigation leads to someone from DJ’s past. Someone the detectives want badly enough to roust the codebreaker from a casino on a planet where the casino’s make the rules. As DJ gets to playing, his luck takes a surprising turn and he leaves the casino with his winnings only to run into the two detectives again.
What follows is an exercise in how DJ plays all the angles. He always seems to find a way to escape from whatever situation he’s in and seems to have a keen insight into the motivation and behaviors of others around him. A skill he’ll need to put to the test when his past comes back looking for him. A past that is unique in and of itself.
Acker and Blacker are great at writing dialogue and crafting an interesting, multilayered story and this one is no different. It does an extremely adept job at ramping up the suspense while at the same time giving the reader insight into how DJ works the angles to get himself out of trouble. Fleshing out this particular character’s back story is a big task and this manages to make the codebreaker an interesting and complex addition to the Star Wars universe.
