Broken Frontier

The Republic has fallen, those who were once enemies are now allies, and Darth Vader wonders what his Emperor’s true motives are.

Yes, Dark Horse has done it again. One more Star Wars book that helps make up for the prequel debacle. Though I am one of the few who actually enjoyed the movies for their popcorny goodness, I understand the complaints, the many, many complaints, and see the legitimate need for comic books to step up to the plate and fix things. Which, incidentally, is exactly what this particular one does. Dark Times takes place shortly after the fall of the Republic and focuses on the Jedi Knight Dass Jennir who has joined forces with separatists from the planet New Plympto, separatists who resemble those dinosaur humanoid things from that early nineties ABC show some of you may remember. Naturally, the stormtroopers kill most of the separatists and Dass Jennir is left with only one alley, the New Plymptonian, Bomo Greenbark. Jennir and Greenbark then meet the interesting and eclectic crew of the spaceship Uhumele, as they strive to save Greenbark’s family.

Welles Hartley wrote this story with a clear knowledge of the Star Wars universe and links it creatively and accurately to the actual films. The references to Darth Vader’s past are seamlessly worked into the story, giving the reader an indication that one of the greatest villains in the history of villainy will play a larger part in this story—something I think we all can agree is good. Furthermore, Mick Harrison, who scripted the words from Hartley’s story,incorporates the high and low drama in a style George Lucas would be proud of, giving us memorable characters, comedy, drama, melodrama, and action all in one glossy paged package.

Speaking of glossy pages . . . . What can I say of Douglas Wheatley’s art? It is, in a word, astounding. The new characters—Jennir, Greenbark, and the crew of the Uhumele are so lifelike it is as if the artist saw them in a Star Wars movie once. As to the characters who actually appeared in the movies . . . wow. The clones, Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, Padme, and the Emperor all are photorealistic. Wheatley can also tackle the various sceneries well. The horrors of the battlefield aren’t hidden one bit, as smoke rises from dead burned bodies and dirt is turned black from the blood of the victims of war. To top it all off, the spaceships are distinctly Star Wars spaceships. The planets, the images, the characters also have the obvious Star Wars label on them. In other words, these pictures make the book feel like one of the good movies.

This, in case you were wondering, is a good feeling. Thanks to the combined efforts of the writers and artists on this book, Star Wars: Dark Times is shaping up to be one more series in a long line of excellent Star Wars works coming from Dark Horse.