Star Wars: Empire vol 5, Allies and Adversaries

Star Wars: Empire vol 5, Allies and Adversaries 

By Various (Dark Horse Books)
ISBN 1-84576-272-X

Space opera fans have another fine romp on their hands as the classic cast members of the now-legendary film franchise strut their swashbuckling stuff in a selection of tales taken from issues #23-27 of the Dark Horse comic.

The action starts with “The Bravery of Being Out of Range” by Jeremy Barlow and Brandon Badeaux, a tale of smuggling and subterfuge, and proceeds with “Idiots Array” by Ron Marz, Jeff Johnson and Joe Corroney, with Han Solo and Chewbacca betrayed by old friends whilst on a mission for the Rebels. Darth Vader is on hand to provide some chills, too.

“General’ Skywalker” from Marz, Adriana Melo and Nicholas Scott closes the book, with the boy-hero teaming up with a stranded Clone-Warrior, lost since before Palpatine made himself Emperor, against a horde of Imperials on a rampage.

There’s no great import to these adventures, just good old-fashioned thud–and-blunder heroics, drawn well and engrossingly scripted, and surely that’s enough to ask for?

© 2006 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

Star Wars Clone Wars Vol 5: The Best Blades

Star Wars Clone Wars Vol 5: The Best Blades

By Various (Dark Horse Books)
ISBN 1-84023-903-4

This fifth collection of stories from the Clone Wars era of the franchise presents another fine set of classy comic stories (from Star Wars: Republic issues 60-62, 64 and the Star Wars: Jedi-Yoda one-shot).

“Dead Ends” by John Ostrander and Brandon Badeaux with Armando Durruthy is an insightful political thriller which sees Princess Leia’s soon to be adoptive father Bail Organa fighting a different sort of battle against the machinations of the evil Palpatine in the halls of the Senate, whilst the same creative team spotlight the eventual emperor himself in “Bloodlines”, a tale of personal seduction.

“Hate and Fear” by Haden Blackman and Tomás Giorello is a more traditional adventure with a captured Obi-Wan Kenobi and friend escaping the dungeons of a dark Jedi warrior queen, and “No Man’s Land” by the same team tells of what happened to Kenobi’s young squire Anakin Skywalker as his master was held captive and the bloody consequences of their eventual reunion.

Yoda’s tale “The Best Blades” written by Jeremy Barlow and illustrated by HOON, Ramiro Montanez and Stacy Michalcewicz is in many ways the weakest one of the bunch, as the diminutive master leads a team to the world ruled by an old friend in an attempt to prevent its succession from the republic, only to find a hotbed of palace intrigue and assassination. The story wanders between political thriller and samurai honour quest but doesn’t know how to get itself comfortably to the inevitable and predictable ending. The over-rendered, manga-derived painted CGI art also serves to blunt any edge of tension that might otherwise leak through, which is a pity, considering how popular the little green sock-monkey has become.

In the main though, this is a rock solid piece of entertainment, which is more than you can honestly claim for the film it devolves from.

© 2004 Lucasfilm Ltd & ™. All rights reserved.

Star Wars Clone Wars Vol 4: Light and Dark

Star Wars Clone Wars Vol 4: Light and Dark 

By Various (Dark Horse Books)
ISBN 1-84576-360-2

I’ve already declared my disinterest elsewhere, but I’ll briefly reiterate here. I’m not a great a great fan of the films, so any review will be based solely on what I see in a graphic novel. I will say however, that the Star Wars cast are not “great characters”. Rupert of Hentzau is a great character. Sherlock Holmes is a great character. Ozymandias, the Spirit and Dr Doom are great comic book characters. Let’s not labour under any illusions here.

The latest book reloaded from the Dark Horse franchise collects Star Wars: Republic #54, Star Wars: Jedi – Aayla Secura, Star Wars: Jedi – Dooku and Star Wars: Republic #63. Creators throughout are the usually excellent John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, who I must admit produce some of the best writing and art I’ve seen in quite a while as they trace the long story of Jedi Master Quinlan Vos as he goes deep, deep, deep undercover in an attempt to infiltrate the growing Confederacy rebellion instigated by the ever-so-evil Count Dooku.

There’s plenty of double-dealing, subterfuge and high octane action. Shadowy faces ponder aloud whether Vos is really undercover or actually turned to the Dark Side and whole bunches of exotic characters abound, but it feels like a Chinese menu: One from column A, two from column B, must have a veggie dish, and we’ll have a passable night out. I needed a scorecard to keep all the elements in play, and as any fule know, at a really good restaurant they take the damned menus away when the food arrives.

But enough metaphor. What we’ve got here is a competent piece of comic work in the old tradition of keeping a licence fresh while the mainstream product prepares its next outing or dwindles from public notice, and I’m sure on that level those who slavishly follow the films and bother to read books will be more than satisfied. There are many more layers and textures than you’ll find in the average action movie, but I can’t help feeling that, as an attempt to get more people to read comics, this can only bewilder not enlighten.

© 2004 Lucasfilm Ltd & ™. All rights reserved.

Star Wars: Empire vol 3, The Imperial Perspective

Star Wars: Empire vol 3, The Imperial Perspective 

By Various (Dark Horse Books)
ISBN 1-84023-933-6

This collection of stories deals with the battle between Empire and Rebel from the viewpoint of the bad guys. Reprinting adventures from the comic Star Wars: Empire (specifically issues 13, 14 and 16 – 19) it contains “What Sin Loyalty” by Jeremy Barlow and Patrick Blaine wherein an imperial storm-trooper/clone ponders the imponderables and re-examines his values during the last moments of the Deathstar, followed by “The Savage Heart” by Paul Alden and Raul Trevino, a cinematic and painterly actioner with a crash-landed Darth Vader fighting his way back to civilisation.

The real gem here is Welles Hartley and Davide Fabri’s “To the Last Man” which has echoes of The Young Lions, Cross of Iron and Zulu. Janek Sunber is a junior officer in the imperial infantry who finds himself and his unit trapped on a jungle world facing impossible odds, and hampered at every turn by the inept officer-nobility ranked above him. Rounding out the volume is another outing for the Dark Lord of the Sith in “Target: Vader” by Ron Marz and Brian Ching, a fairly standard, if engagingly illustrated, tale of espionage and assassination.

Unlike most media-derived comic productions many of the Star Wars publications manage to rise above their “cashing-in” origins, and this book is a fine example of good comics as well as a welcome addition to the canon of the franchise.

Star Wars © 2004 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

Star Wars Omnibus: X-Wing Rogue Squadron vol 1

Star Wars Omnibus: X-Wing Rogue Squadron vol 1 

By Various (Dark Horse Books)
ISBN 1-84576-360-2

Re-packaged as a handbag-friendly omnibus edition are the first few adventures of the eponymous band of space pilots led by Death-Star survivor Wedge Antilles. Collected here you will find X-Wing Rogue Leader, X-Wing Rogue Squadron: The Rebel Opposition and X-Wing Rogue Squadron: The Phantom Affair plus information pages from the Rogue Squadron Handbook.

Full of space opera and intergalactic swash-buckling, these are competent action tales set in the immediate aftermath of the first Death Star’s demise. The Battle of Britain spirit is evident and these classic tales should help plug the void caused by the hiatus of the movie franchise.

© 2006 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

Star Wars Clone Wars Vol 9: Endgame

Star Wars Clone Wars Vol 9: Endgame 

By Various (Dark Horse Books)
ISBN 1-84576-338-6

As the 30th anniversary of the monumental film franchise rolls on, this particular segment concludes with the final volume reprinting material from Star Wars: Republic issues #79-80, 81-83 and the one-shot Star Wars: Purge.

The long running plot involving Jedi Quinlan Vos, who might have been seduced by the Dark Side or might possibly be an agent of good submerged deep, deep undercover is resolved in spectacular manner in the first story Hidden Enemy. Written by John Ostrander and illustrated by Jan Duursema and Dan Parsons, all the questions of his allegiances are answered against a backdrop of the Emperors masterstroke against all the Jedi coming into effect.

Into the Unknown by Welles Hartley and Douglas Wheatley feature an overview two days after the Jedi were slaughtered and depicts the decisions of a pitifully few survivors on how next to proceed.

Set one month after the slaughter of the Jedi, Purge by Ostrander and Wheatley finds yet more survivors encountering the Emperor’s new weapon as Darth Vader goes on his first mission since donning his emblematic black mask and helmet.

These are all strong stories both for fans of this brand and also comic narrative in general. Edgy, fast-paced, action-packed and very well illustrated, they serve to show what can be produced when top talent gets to play with mass market properties that have a willing, eager and receptive audience.

© 2006 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

Star Wars: Honor and Duty

Star Wars: Honor and Duty 

By John Ostrander, C.P. Smith, Jasen Rodriguez, and Luke Ross

(Dark Horse Books)  ISBN 1-84576-334-3

It’s back to the beginning – as if that has any meaning with this franchise – in a tale of intrigue designed to fill in some edges in the puzzle of what happened between the second, third and fourth movies.

Sagoro Autem is a Senate Guard. That’s him on the left in most of those panoramic wide-shots, standing behind Senator, and later Emperor Palpatine. He’s basically a cop, and his life is a cop’s life. But when he becomes aware of some dangerous insights into just how the universe really works, he’s plunged into the thick of everything and his life changes forever.

Touching upon the disintegrating relationship of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, the rise of the Empire and the first days of Darth Vader, this is a sharp little adventure (two, actually – originally published in Star Wars: Republic, issues #46-48 and 78) designed to satisfy die-hard fans, but crafted well enough to please any fan of a good comic read.

© 2006 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved

Star Wars Omnibus: X-Wing Rogue Squadron Vol 2

Star Wars Omnibus 

By Various

Dark Horse Books ISBN 1-84576-369-6

In swift succession comes the follow-up omnibus edition of the eponymous band of space pilots led by Death-Star survivor Wedge Antilles, still in that handbag-friendly size and just as packed with thrills and spills. Re-presented here are issues #9 through 20 of the Dark Horse comic book of the same long and unwieldy name, which then saw print as the graphic collections Battleground: Tatooine by Ryder Windham, John Nadeau and Monty Sheldon, Warrior Princess by Michael A. Stackpole, John Nadeau and Jordi Ensign, and Requiem for a Rogue by Stackpole, Jan Strnad, Mike W. Barr with art by Gary Erskine.

Although hardly challenging, these licensed space opera romps are competent action tales that should help plug the void caused by the hiatus of the movie franchise.

© 2006 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.