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Post by aquagoat on May 23, 2018 11:16:49 GMT -5
Inspired by Confessor's excellent Marvel Star Wars reviews: classiccomics.org/thread/1039/star-wars-marvel-reviews-confessor.
Here I'll be reviewing the Dark Empire trilogy. It's very controversial among fans - but hey, isn't everything, apart from the first two movies? The Last Jedi's response reminds me of that to Dark Empire - some loved it, others demanded it removed from continuity altogether! Dark Empire goes in a different direction from the prequels and new Disney movies. I'll highlight 'different continuity' from what followed, but I don't regard them as errors as Dark Empire was created in the early 90s, and it was only written to follow the first three Star Wars movies, not predict six more movies that hadn't happened yet. It's essentially an alternate Episode VII. Star Wars: Dark Empire # 1:'The Destiny of a Jedi'  Writer: Tom Veitch Art: Cam Kennedy Letters: Tom Klein Cover art: Dave Dorman Plot: Six years after Return of the Jedi, Imperials fight each other over what's left of the Empire. Leia has been taught by Luke in the ways of the Force. She and Han, now her husband, are on a mission to rescue Luke and Lando, who have crashed on a planet that has become an Imperial battleground. Though the rescue is successful, a Dark Side energy storm appears and sweeps Luke up - and Luke goes willingly...
The first thing that hits you about Dark Empire is the art. It's probably not what many readers would expect from a Star Wars comic; but what it is, however, is atmospheric, dramatic, and eye-catching. Scottish artist Cam Kennedy combines realistic anatomy and attention to detail with romantic and otherworldly watercolours which gives Dark Empire a feel like no other comic. If you imagine a more stylised Alex Raymond making Flash Gordon comic strips in the psychedelic 1970s, this is what it might look like. Iconic spaceships and droids are all perfectly, elegantly depicted (you can virtually hear the roar of the Millennium Falcon on the opening pages); and while the human characters themselves don't resemble the actors (which could be due to a likeness issue), they are clearly recognisable as older versions of Luke, Leia & co. Many comic artists have drawn Star Wars laser beams as clear, straight lines from the attacker's gun to the target, which is solid storytelling. But Kennedy depicts them as short bursts of laser being spat out; closer to the movie, but still in his own style. Equally, Luke's lightsaber is illustrated as an elongated white flame. Lightsabers have been drawn many ways in comics over the years, but this is one of the most effective and coolest versions I've come across.  Jedi Master Luke, in dark robes, saves the rebels by confronting Imperial Walkers single-handedly in Dark Empire; and again in The Last Jedi.Kennedy also includes his own preference for smoky wastelands and battered technology (familiar from his work on Rogue Trooper), which is perfect for a story set in the aftermath of the Empire's collapse. An early scene in this issue depicts civil war among the Imperials, an incredible two-page spread of storm troopers, TIE fighters and AT-AT Walkers fighting on a battlefield strewn with wreckage. It encapsulates the entire situation instantly - the Imperials fighting each other amidst the wreckage of the Empire, vultures fighting over the remains of a collapsed universe.  Anakin's future is foreshadowed in Attack of the Clones: Luke's future is foreshadowed in Dark Empire. Both scenes show us what appears to be Vader at first before revealing our heroes.Dark Empire is very cinematic - it reads like storyboards for an unmade version of Episode VII. A sequence where Luke is confronted by - and defeats - an AT-AT Walker uses seven panels to depict something that would usually be done in one or two, and it's use of realistic motion, camera angles and epic visuals recreate the feeling of onscreen action. The writing balances the epic nature of events with the cliff-hanger serial style perfectly. We are immediately thrown into a series of action sequences with our heroes, who fight imperials, then scavengers with 'hot-wired weapons droids', then Cyborrean battle dogs, and then Luke shows up...it's all in the breathless 'one-peril-after-another' mode of the movies. Veitch also favours old fashioned third-person narrative boxes, describing the action like so... 'The ravages of civil war! Mutinous imperials are deadlocked with forces loyal to the Emperor's inner circle for possession of a world that once ruled the Empire!' These remind the reader of both the opening crawl of the movies, and the old Flash Gordon comic strips and serials that were an essential part of Star Wars' foundation. It feels like the logical and natural continuation of Return of the Jedi - specifically in the wreckage of the empire, and in Luke's development - but also in the murky, downbeat tone, which mirrors that of Luke's scenes with Vader and the Emperor in that movie. There Luke discovered the darkness of the Star Wars universe, but also the darkness within himself, and the epic nature of evil. Dark Empire is his struggle to come to terms with it. As such, it really does continue the saga from the movies directly and organically in a way Star Wars spin-off fiction seldom does. In terms of characterisation, these are broader versions of the characters. Slightly more poetic amidst the typical comicbook exposition. Leia says, 'I can feel the Force moving through me....guiding my hands in the terrible tasks of war..' - not something she (or anyone) would ever say in the movies, but fitting in with Dark Empire's depiction of a wrecked universe and battlefields strewn with bodies.  Luke in Dark Empire: Anakin in Revenge of the SithThe depiction of Luke is intriguing, and seems to have influenced the development of Anakin Skywalker in the prequel movies (George Lucas is on record as a fan of Dark Empire). The first time we see him, Luke's silhouette is similar to that of Darth Vader; and what emerges is a black clad, almost tragic hero, powerful but angry and isolated by his destiny. This Luke has acquired a momentous understanding of the universe now, but it's left him damaged. One particularly disturbing image has a pale-faced, yellow-eyed Luke gazing into the distance, awaiting his fate, whilst his friends flee the planet. Any negatives? Well, Luke had already dealt with the Dark Side in RotJ and rejected it...so Dark Empire compromises that movie's ending. But it makes more sense that the Dark Side is always there, tempting Jedi, rather than a simple yes/no decision, and here it is seeking Luke out in a way he can't avoid. This issue is essentially one long scene, putting all the pieces in place for the story. We learn everything we need to about what has happened since the last movie. A lot of attention has been paid to exactly how Star Wars movies work, and that, combined with Kennedy's unique, moody artwork and Veitch's expansive storytelling, makes for a wonderful start. Notable dialogue: ' Han, this isn't just another gun battle...a vast evil is approaching...it's knows I'm here. What will happen is unavoidable...it is my destiny.' - Luke Continuity issues: This darker Luke is obviously never mentioned in The Last Jedi, but we do briefly see a darker Luke doing questionable things in that movie. Leia's mastery of the Force here does correspond with The Last Jedi, as does her closer relationship with Han.  Favourite panel: So many to choose from, but this one is not only phenomenal art, it encapsulates the story as well. Luke faces his destiny and his friends can't help him. The layout of the panel is brilliant as well - looking at the Force storm devouring AT-AT Walkers, Luke at first looks helpless against it. But as you go down the panel, Luke casts a huge shadow that is visually the match of the storm, and represents his power and resolve. At this point, Han and Leia are just in Luke's shadow. Rating: 4/5
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 23, 2018 14:17:20 GMT -5
I think I'll dig out my issues of this and read along -- it's been ages since I last read this mini-series. I loved it back in the day and it's held up well the handful of times that I've re-read it. It's just that Cam Kennedy artwork that I can't handle. As I said over in my Marvel SW review thread, I didn't like Kennedy's art on Rogue Trooper and other 2000 AD strips back in the early '80s, and it seemed like a really surprising choice for a Star Wars comic. I love the Dave Dorman cover artwork though. Very much in the style of the movie posters.
Anyway, I'll let you know more detailed thoughts when I've re-read issue #1.
Will you also be reviewing Dark Empire II and Empire's End in this thread?
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Post by aquagoat on May 23, 2018 16:23:21 GMT -5
I think I'll dig out my issues of this and read along -- it's been ages since I last read this mini-series. I loved it back in the day and it's held up well the handful of times that I've re-read it. It's just that Cam Kennedy artwork that I can't handle. As I said over in my Marvel SW review thread, I didn't like Kennedy's art on Rogue Trooper and other 2000 AD strips back in the early '80s, and it seemed like a really surprising choice for a Star Wars comic. I love the Dave Dorman cover artwork though. Very much in the style of the movie posters. Anyway, I'll let you know more detailed thoughts when I've re-read issue #1. Will you also be reviewing Dark Empire II and Empire's End in this thread? Cool, I look forward to reading your thoughts. I'll do DE II and Empire's End as well. I don't know if you know this already, but it was The Light & Darkness War by the same writer/artist team that convinced Lucasfilm to let them handle Star Wars. Lucas himself said they couldn't bring back Darth Vader, but they could bring back the Emperor if they could come up with a good way to do it. |
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Post by brutalis on May 23, 2018 16:59:44 GMT -5
Dark Empire is awesome. It takes Star Wars into some serious and heavy fantasy/sci-fi and flows more like a novel than any other Star Wars comic ever has. A spectacular start for Star Wars once Marvel gave up the rights. It showed there was still some great stories and work that could be done with the saga in the comic book world. And I for one love Cam Kennedy. His artwork has a brutal, honest and unique styling I find to be very creative and evocative. Maybe because I had seen his work before through 2000AD I may be more accustomed to his work and not find it as shocking or different as others do.
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 23, 2018 23:09:14 GMT -5
It's been ages since I read Dark Empire... sadly, I don't own it, but I love that you're reviewing it. While I appreciate what Disney is trying to do and I'm thrilled they're hitting their target market to create a new generation of fans, I still like the 'old' canon alot better.
I'm intrigued by the fact that you are comparing the continuity to Last Jedi, which clearly isn't a consideration for either of them. Comparing that sorta thing is always fun!
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
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Post by Confessor on May 24, 2018 7:58:18 GMT -5
OK, I re-read Dark Empire #1 last night, and here are some scattered thoughts and comments on it... Plot: Five years after Return of the JediErrm...make that six years, will ya?  The above message was brought to you by Pedants Inc. The first thing that hits you about Dark Empire is the art. It's probably not what many readers would expect from a Star Wars comic; but what it is, however, is atmospheric, dramatic, and eye-catching. Scottish artist Cam Kennedy combines realistic anatomy and attention to detail with romantic and otherworldly watercolours which gives Dark Empire a feel like no other comic. Reappraising Cam Kennedy's work on this read through, I stand by my original comment about it being a bad fit for Star Wars, but actually, I think a lot of the problem is with the colouring (which I believe was also done by Kennedy). It's of a very limited palette, with lots of blues, purples, yellows and greens -- and not much else. It's like the story is taking place in a discotheque! As a result, it's sometimes hard to keep track of characters, since Kennedy isn't that great at differentiating between, say, Han, Luke or Lando (although Lando has a moustache to clue you in, of course). But generally, I think Kennedy's work looks better in black & white, as it was in 2000 AD. Still, Kennedy's art is very "widescreen", inasmuch as it captures the eye-popping visuals of the Star Wars films and, as you say, his ships and tech are very faithfully rendered. It's also nice to see familiar spacecraft in the artwork -- TIE fighters, regular Star Destroyers, Y-Wings etc -- without the movie series' unquenchable desire for new ship designs with every new film installment (which is something that is obviously driven by merchandising concerns, rather than storytelling ones). So yeah, Kennedy's art isn't as off-putting as I remember it being, but I still don't think he's a good choice to draw SW. Kennedy also includes his own preference for smoky wastelands and battered technology (familiar from his work on Rogue Trooper), which is perfect for a story set in the aftermath of the Empire's collapse. An early scene in this issue depicts civil war among the Imperials, an incredible two-page spread of storm troopers, TIE fighters and AT-AT Walkers fighting on a battlefield strewn with wreckage. It encapsulates the entire situation instantly - the Imperials fighting each other amidst the wreckage of the Empire, vultures fighting over the remains of a collapsed universe. Yeah, that's a very nice, double page splash. A sequence where Luke is confronted by - and defeats - an AT-AT Walker uses seven panels to depict something that would usually be done in one or two... Which can be both a good and bad thing. One criticism of this issue, and the mini-series as a whole, is that it's very decompressed and clearly written for the trade paperback market. That doesn't matter when you've got the whole thing in front of you, but it is a little frustrating when you're only reading issue #1. You just don't get much story for your money. It feels like the logical and natural continuation of Return of the Jedi - specifically in the wreckage of the empire, and in Luke's development - but also in the murky, downbeat tone, which mirrors that of Luke's scenes with Vader and the Emperor in that movie. There Luke discovered the darkness of the Star Wars universe, but also the darkness within himself, and the epic nature of evil. Dark Empire is his struggle to come to terms with it. As such, it really does continue the saga from the movies directly and organically in a way Star Wars spin-off fiction seldom does. I agree with all of this, although I will temper that by saying that I felt that Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy, which is set prior to Dark Empire, was by far the superior follow-up to Return of the Jedi, as far as I was concerned. In addition, both the Thrawn trilogy and Dark Empire have the same problem as the current Disney/Lucasfilm sequel trilogy, in that, if the Empire is at large again and is a credible threat to the New Republic, then it has the unintended consequence of making the events of the original trilogy look like it was all for nothing. It diminishes the sacrifices made in that trilogy and adds a bitter note to the Empire's defeat and resulting celebrations in ROTJ. I think the only way to get around this is to have a threat to the New Republic come from elsewhere, such as with the Ssi-ruuk invasion in The Truce at Bakura novel. However, alien invasions are not particularly something that I think suits Star Wars on the whole. So, I think this is just an inherent problem with trying to follow up Episode VI and still have the Empire (or First Order or whatever you wanna call them) as a credible threat. Some mopping up of Imperial forces post-ROTJ is fine (as we saw in the original Marvel comic series), but having the Empire regroup and push the Alliance back to the point where they are the underdogs again -- as they are in Dark Empire -- just invalidates or diminishes the original trilogy too much for my tastes. In terms of characterisation, these are broader versions of the characters. Slightly more poetic amidst the typical comicbook exposition. Leia says, 'I can feel the Force moving through me....guiding my hands in the terrible tasks of war..' - not something she (or anyone) would ever say in the movies, but fitting in with Dark Empire's depiction of a wrecked universe and battlefields strewn with bodies. The depiction of Luke is intriguing, and seems to have influenced the development of Anakin Skywalker in the prequel movies (George Lucas is on record as a fan of Dark Empire). The first time we see him, Luke's silhouette is similar to that of Darth Vader; and what emerges is a black clad, almost tragic hero, powerful but angry and isolated by his destiny. This Luke has acquired a momentous understanding of the universe now, but it's left him damaged. One particularly disturbing image has a pale-faced, yellow-eyed Luke gazing into the distance, awaiting his fate, whilst his friends flee the planet. Yeah, I think Tom Veitch got the main character's voices pretty spot on. You can definitely "hear" Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill speaking the dialogue as you read. It's also good to see the old cast front and centre, without a load of young, fresh faces being shoehorned into things, which is something I dislike about the sequel trilogy. I also loved Kennedy's fake out, where you think it's Darth vader coming towards the Rebels, but it turns out to be Luke. That was very cool. All in all, Dark Empire #1 is a solid start to this new adventure. One nitpicky thing that always bugged me was what happened to the other Rebels on the planet with Han, Luke, Lando and Leia, at the end of this issue? How did they get off planet and escape the deadly Dark Side energy that captured Luke and R2-D2? Dark Empire was a real treat when it came out. New Star Wars comics, at last! It had been over four years since Marvel had published their last Star Wars comic. BTW, did you know that Dark Empire was originally solicited to be published by Marvel as reactivation of their SW series? There was even an advertisement for it in the pages of Marvel Age Preview #1 in 1990 (note that it's a three-issue limited series in prestige format, not six as it was with Dark Horse)...  For some reason the book never appeared as a Marvel publication and was instead published over a year later by Dark Horse Comics. I presume that's why Kennedy's depiction of the Imperial capital world looks so unlike the Coruscant that author Timothy Zahn described in "Heir to the Empire"; Heir to the Empire appeared six months before Dark Empire, but the comic had actually been written and drawn back in 1990 or even 1989, possibly. As such, I think I'm right in saying that Cam Kennedy was the first person to depict the Imperial capital planet. |
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Post by aquagoat on May 25, 2018 9:41:07 GMT -5
OK, I re-read Dark Empire #1 last night, and here are some scattered thoughts and comments on it... Plot: Five years after Return of the JediErrm...make that six years, will ya? The above message was brought to you by Pedants Inc. The first thing that hits you about Dark Empire is the art. It's probably not what many readers would expect from a Star Wars comic; but what it is, however, is atmospheric, dramatic, and eye-catching. Scottish artist Cam Kennedy combines realistic anatomy and attention to detail with romantic and otherworldly watercolours which gives Dark Empire a feel like no other comic. Reappraising Cam Kennedy's work on this read through, I stand by my original comment about it being a bad fit for Star Wars, but actually, I think a lot of the problem is with the colouring (which I believe was also done by Kennedy). It's of a very limited palette, with lots of blues, purples, yellows and greens -- and not much else. It's like the story is taking place in a discotheque! As a result, it's sometimes hard to keep track of characters, since Kennedy isn't that great at differentiating between, say, Han, Luke or Lando (although Lando has a moustache to clue you in, of course). But generally, I think Kennedy's work looks better in black & white, as it was in 2000 AD. Still, Kennedy's art is very "widescreen", inasmuch as it captures the eye-popping visuals of the Star Wars films and, as you say, his ships and tech are very faithfully rendered. It's also nice to see familiar spacecraft in the artwork -- TIE fighters, regular Star Destroyers, Y-Wings etc -- without the movie series' unquenchable desire for new ship designs with every new film installment (which is something that is obviously driven by merchandising concerns, rather than storytelling ones). So yeah, Kennedy's art isn't as off-putting as I remember it being, but I still don't think he's a good choice to draw SW. Kennedy also includes his own preference for smoky wastelands and battered technology (familiar from his work on Rogue Trooper), which is perfect for a story set in the aftermath of the Empire's collapse. An early scene in this issue depicts civil war among the Imperials, an incredible two-page spread of storm troopers, TIE fighters and AT-AT Walkers fighting on a battlefield strewn with wreckage. It encapsulates the entire situation instantly - the Imperials fighting each other amidst the wreckage of the Empire, vultures fighting over the remains of a collapsed universe. Yeah, that's a very nice, double page splash. A sequence where Luke is confronted by - and defeats - an AT-AT Walker uses seven panels to depict something that would usually be done in one or two... Which can be both a good and bad thing. One criticism of this issue, and the mini-series as a whole, is that it's very decompressed and clearly written for the trade paperback market. That doesn't matter when you've got the whole thing in front of you, but it is a little frustrating when you're only reading issue #1. You just don't get much story for your money. It feels like the logical and natural continuation of Return of the Jedi - specifically in the wreckage of the empire, and in Luke's development - but also in the murky, downbeat tone, which mirrors that of Luke's scenes with Vader and the Emperor in that movie. There Luke discovered the darkness of the Star Wars universe, but also the darkness within himself, and the epic nature of evil. Dark Empire is his struggle to come to terms with it. As such, it really does continue the saga from the movies directly and organically in a way Star Wars spin-off fiction seldom does. I agree with all of this, although I will temper that by saying that I felt that Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy, which is set prior to Dark Empire, was by far the superior follow-up to Return of the Jedi, as far as I was concerned. In addition, both the Thrawn trilogy and Dark Empire have the same problem as the current Disney/Lucasfilm sequel trilogy, in that, if the Empire is at large again and is a credible threat to the New Republic, then it has the unintended consequence of making the events of the original trilogy look like it was all for nothing. It diminishes the sacrifices made in that trilogy and adds a bitter note to the Empire's defeat and resulting celebrations in ROTJ. I think the only way to get around this is to have a threat to the New Republic come from elsewhere, such as with the Ssi-ruuk invasion in The Truce at Bakura novel. However, alien invasions are not particularly something that I think suits Star Wars on the whole. So, I think this is just an inherent problem with trying to follow up Episode VI and still have the Empire (or First Order or whatever you wanna call them) as a credible threat. Some mopping up of Imperial forces post-ROTJ is fine (as we saw in the original Marvel comic series), but having the Empire regroup and push the Alliance back to the point where they are the underdogs again -- as they are in Dark Empire -- just invalidates or diminishes the original trilogy too much for my tastes. In terms of characterisation, these are broader versions of the characters. Slightly more poetic amidst the typical comicbook exposition. Leia says, 'I can feel the Force moving through me....guiding my hands in the terrible tasks of war..' - not something she (or anyone) would ever say in the movies, but fitting in with Dark Empire's depiction of a wrecked universe and battlefields strewn with bodies. The depiction of Luke is intriguing, and seems to have influenced the development of Anakin Skywalker in the prequel movies (George Lucas is on record as a fan of Dark Empire). The first time we see him, Luke's silhouette is similar to that of Darth Vader; and what emerges is a black clad, almost tragic hero, powerful but angry and isolated by his destiny. This Luke has acquired a momentous understanding of the universe now, but it's left him damaged. One particularly disturbing image has a pale-faced, yellow-eyed Luke gazing into the distance, awaiting his fate, whilst his friends flee the planet. Yeah, I think Tom Veitch got the main character's voices pretty spot on. You can definitely "hear" Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill speaking the dialogue as you read. It's also good to see the old cast front and centre, without a load of young, fresh faces being shoehorned into things, which is something I dislike about the sequel trilogy. I also loved Kennedy's fake out, where you think it's Darth vader coming towards the Rebels, but it turns out to be Luke. That was very cool. All in all, Dark Empire #1 is a solid start to this new adventure. One nitpicky thing that always bugged me was what happened to the other Rebels on the planet with Han, Luke, Lando and Leia, at the end of this issue? How did they get off planet and escape the deadly Dark Side energy that captured Luke and R2-D2? Dark Empire was a real treat when it came out. New Star Wars comics, at last! It had been over four years since Marvel had published their last Star Wars comic. BTW, did you know that Dark Empire was originally solicited to be published by Marvel as reactivation of their SW series? There was even an advertisement for it in the pages of Marvel Age Preview #1 in 1990 (note that it's a three-issue limited series in prestige format, not six as it was with Dark Horse)... For some reason the book never appeared as a Marvel publication and was instead published over a year later by Dark Horse Comics. I presume that's why Kennedy's depiction of the Imperial capital world looks so unlike the Coruscant that author Timothy Zahn described in "Heir to the Empire"; Heir to the Empire appeared six months before Dark Empire, but the comic had actually been written and drawn back in 1990 or even 1989, possibly. As such, I think I'm right in saying that Cam Kennedy was the first person to depict the Imperial capital planet. Six years....will do.  The Kennedy art: I agree that the colour washes sometimes make it harder to pick out characters that are similarl looking. I've read other people saying that as well. Issue #1 doesn't have much story - that's true, it's just one long scene really, maybe covering twenty minutes? However, there's a lot of backstory present, in both the text and art, clueing you in in what's happened since RotJ. Dark Empire is written to be as close to the feel of a new movie as possible, and the films always start in media res, usually on the cusp of an action sequence, so DE replicates that perfectly. Your point that all follow-ups to Return of the Jedi that resurrect the Empire diminish RotJ - I agree, but on a slightly different basis. It's inarguable that RotJ is intended to be the end of the story, with everything wrapped up. In storytelling terms, RotJ is the resolution to the Star Wars saga. So if you want to say, 'RotJ isn't the ending after all' then you have to make RotJ part of the second act and come up with a new resolution. We don't know what Disney's new resolution to the story will be in Episode IX; but they've tried to mirror the original trilogy and prequels by having a young person on a backwater desert planet rise to Jedi status over three movies, whilst having the main characters in the previous trilogy as supporting characters who mentor/guide the new ones. It's hard to say whether Disney will come up with an effective resolution, but they need something to cap off the story of nine movies, not just three. It can't simply be 'the baddies are defeated again and Rey is a Jedi'. It needs to be a proper finale to the entire saga. Jury's out on this. But there is a major issue, which I will come to. With the Thrawn saga, popular as it is (probably the most highly-regarded Star Wars spin-off ever among fans), it doesn't work effectively as a final act to the Star Wars saga. New villains turn up - Joruus C'Boath and Thrawn - and Joruus is defeated by another new character, Mara Jade. Imagine if Lord of the Rings had Sauron die in The Two Towers, and a new character - never mentioned before - turn up as the villain in Return of the King. And then another character showed up out of nowhere to defeat him. It would be like the ending to a different story, pasted onto the first two acts of the Gandalf/Frodo etc story. The same is true with the Disney movies. They resurrect the Empire as the New Order, but they come up with new baddies in what is the final act, Snoke and Kylo Ren. Now, Kylo's story may work as the end point of the Skywalker/Vader legacy, we’ll have to see, and Snoke didn't last long. He was filling the void left by the Emperor. But the point is, if you're going to provide a new ending to the Star Wars saga, Palpatine has to be the villain, because he's the villain throughout episodes I-VI. He is the main baddie of the Star Wars saga. You can't substitute him with someone else at the end. Same with the Empire - the whole saga shows the evolution of the republic into the Empire. So you can't introduce, say, alien invaders, because that's not what the story is about. Dark Empire understands this. If Return of the Jedi isn't the ending of the saga, then it needs a new ending - not a brand new story. Palpatine comes back for a bigger, final confrontation. The Empire wasn't defeated in RotJ. And let's talk about Luke - almost every continuation after RotJ has Luke become a Jedi master and set up a new Jedi order/academy etc, becoming a teacher and following in Yoda and Obi-Wan's footsteps. Dark Empire II touches on this, but Dark Empire I has Luke follow (or rather, continue in) the footsteps of Vader, and provides an ending to Luke's own personal trajectory. Rather than consider the Dark Side and reject it - as Luke does at the end of RotJ - here Luke embraces it, understands it, becomes his father - and then rejects it. He defeats it from within. Also, Luke rejects it with the help of Leia, just as Vader turned from the Dark Side on the urging of Luke. This not only mirrors the RotJ throne room scene, but strengthens the themes in that scene of the power of family and redemption. Now, to be fair, all these different post-RotJ entries have different goals. The Thrawn saga isn't supposed to provide an ending to the Star Wars saga as much as start a new one ( and I love Thrawn, Joruus & co as much as the next man). The Disney movies are following up Episodes I-VI ('the tragedy of Darth Vader' Lucas calls it), whereas the Thrawn saga and Dark Empire only follow the original trilogy (the adventures of Luke Skywalker). And so on. But as to which one is the best continuation of the story after RotJ, for me it's easily Dark Empire. I did know that Dark Empire was originally planned as a Marvel comic, I like to think it would have been in continuity with all the Archie Godwin/Jo Duffy & co stuff. Tom Veitch was a fan of it. On my shelves, I keep Dark Empire after the two Original Marvel Star Wars Epic Collections. As for how the other rebels escape from the Force Storm - you can see them in the background getting onto the the Falcon, and in the penultimate panel of the issue you can see an Ewok in the cockpit as they escape. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 25, 2018 9:47:52 GMT -5
Luke's attempts at a new Jedi order fail in both cases though... and rather spectacularly (in both the old EU, and now the new Disney continuity, he creates a new Sith Lord... first Kyp Durron (later Jacen Solo) in the EU, now Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in the Disney version... I'd actually like to see a happier verison where he succeeds, but I guess if one wants optomistic space opera, one watch Star Trek instead.
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Post by aquagoat on May 25, 2018 9:57:29 GMT -5
Luke's attempts at a new Jedi order fail in both cases though... and rather spectacularly (in both the old EU, and now the new Disney continuity, he creates a new Sith Lord... first Kyp Durron (later Jacen Solo) in the EU, now Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in the Disney version... I'd actually like to see a happier verison where he succeeds A happy version would be a good ending to the saga. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 25, 2018 10:32:41 GMT -5
Luke's attempts at a new Jedi order fail in both cases though... and rather spectacularly (in both the old EU, and now the new Disney continuity, he creates a new Sith Lord... first Kyp Durron (later Jacen Solo) in the EU, now Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in the Disney version... I'd actually like to see a happier verison where he succeeds A happy version would be a good ending to the saga. Which is exactly why we never got one.. it's an ENDING... that doesn't lend itself to an ongoing story. I wouldn't mind it as an alternate history sort of ongoing though... it could be a James-Bond-in-Space kinda set up, where Jedi are the spies of the Galactic Republic |
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Post by aquagoat on May 25, 2018 10:54:33 GMT -5
A happy version would be a good ending to the saga. Which is exactly why we never got one.. it's an ENDING... that doesn't lend itself to an ongoing story. It's ended once already in Return of the Jedi. The end of the Dark Empire trilogy is another suitable ending (even though the EU was in full swing at that point). Disney's Episode IX will hopefully be another ending. Obviously Star Wars is a huge business and business demands endless product/content, but a story needs an ending. |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,874
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Post by shaxper on May 25, 2018 11:49:27 GMT -5
Always refreshing to see a new review thread full of thoughtful commentary. Never read this series, but I will be following along!
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Post by aquagoat on May 25, 2018 12:16:20 GMT -5
Dark Empire is awesome. It takes Star Wars into some serious and heavy fantasy/sci-fi and flows more like a novel than any other Star Wars comic ever has. A spectacular start for Star Wars once Marvel gave up the rights. It showed there was still some great stories and work that could be done with the saga in the comic book world. And I for one love Cam Kennedy. His artwork has a brutal, honest and unique styling I find to be very creative and evocative. Maybe because I had seen his work before through 2000AD I may be more accustomed to his work and not find it as shocking or different as others do. Brutal and honest - that's a very effective description of Kennedy's art. Have you read The Light & Darkness War? It's sort of a bridge between Rogue Trooper and Dark Empire. It takes the gritty 'in-the-trenches' war elements from Rogue Trooper and moves it towards the mythology aspects of Star Wars. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on May 25, 2018 21:45:53 GMT -5
I loved Dark Empire, and really all the Dark Horse Star Wars stories. They really went all in and put their best talent on these books.
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 25, 2018 22:03:04 GMT -5
Which is exactly why we never got one.. it's an ENDING... that doesn't lend itself to an ongoing story. It's ended once already in Return of the Jedi. The end of the Dark Empire trilogy is another suitable ending (even though the EU was in full swing at that point). Disney's Episode IX will hopefully be another ending. Obviously Star Wars is a huge business and business demands endless product/content, but a story needs an ending. I always thought RoTJ was the start of the next chapter, even when I was a kid seeing it in the theatre. Yes, it's the end of Vader's story, but certainly not the end. Could everything been summed up with a happy ending 10 minute epilogue? Sure. But I'm glad we got the EU instead |
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