Cover detail from Star Wars #1, art by Alex Ross. Lucasfilm/Dark Horse Comics.
With Disney's acquisition of Star Wars. the future of this book - an on-going series set immediately after the events in Episode IV: A New Hope - has been called into question. Dark Horse has been very good to Star Wars, and though we may see the franchise return to Marvel, under Disney's watch, there's no better swan song than an indefinitely numbered Star Wars series starring Luke, Leia, Han, and, of course, Darth Vader.
There's an unusual amount of recap exposition going on in Star Wars #1, and I have to assume this is for the Clone Wars crowd, not for those of us that have the original films nearly memorized. It's right after the Battle of Yavin, and Leia is afforded an opportunity by Mon Mothma to assist the Rebels in a way that will help shake her reputation as just a politician. Meanwhile, Vader is sidelined by the Emperor and asked to relinquish control of the Empire's fleet to new character Col. Bircher. I don't want to go into too much more synopsis detail than that because the best thing about Star Wars #1 is how it sets up the potential of an interesting new serialized adventure.
I mentioned Clone Wars, and, if anything, Brian Wood and Carlos D'Anda have made something for all ages in the same way that the best Star Wars films are all-ages. It's an easy read with an intriguing hook, sporting appealingly detailed art by D'Anda. It's not specifically a "kids' book" but it's been a while since I've read anything that I'd be 100% comfortable passing along to an 8-year old. If you're a comic-reading Star Wars fan parent, this could be the series you and your kid both read on a monthly basis (and with a digital copy included with every physical copy, Dark Horse is making Star Wars very easy to share).
For something so highly anticipated, Star Wars gets off to a downright modest start. That's not a huge criticism - it's a book with a lot of polish - but my expectations for the first Star Wars ongoing in years to deliver something truly fantastic were perhaps too high. Wood and D'Anda started this book with all the time in the world, and the first issue is them pretty much stretching their legs a bit and starting their sprint with a slow jog. I'm content for now to sit back and watch them run.