Broken Frontier

Dass Jennir is a Jedi in hiding. After Order 66, he has had a run of bad luck. When Imperial forces destroy his life and that of his friends, he walks away from his path. However, this dark step does not keep him from saving a friend’s family.

Jennir is now alone. His only companion a flippant droid who was "acquired" in a duel with a former enemy. The offer of a job through a holodeck message at a cantina offers Dass a chance at retribution. Of course, it also means new dangers.

Dark Horse reprints the two Star Wars chapters from their online anthology, Myspace Dark Horse Presents. The story is set up for the "Blue Harvest "storyline that begins in Dark Times #13. Evidently, a large demand for this introduction caused this #0 to see print.

It is easy to see why. Harrison’s dense script is epic and exemplary of the heights of storytelling for which this franchise is known. The scope is breathtaking here. It is almost as if there is an illustrated version of the famous vanishing scroll that introduces each of Lucas’s films and as the score of John Williams quiets down, you can almost feel the fade.

The character Dass is introduced as a mercenary for hire whose Jedi past has caused him much trouble. He plays like Han Solo, if that famous pirate had succumbed to the Force.

Wheatley’s art is the real star here. He runs the gamut of what one would expect from an accomplished comics artist. He hits the big moments of the script out of the park while underscoring the emotional nuance. The action is big, but the true achievement is the environments. From dark dank cantinas to nifty spacecrafts to aliens that resemble more earthly creatures - his art perfectly captures the Star Wars feel.

This is a feat even more astounding with minimal use of blasters and lightsabers. Even more impressive is how there is a feeling that this story is set in that time when the bright contours of the Republic are turning into the gritty futuristic antiques seen in the original trilogy of films.

The book is rounded out with sketch concepts and the entirety of the story reproduced in glorious black and white, letting Wheatley’s art speak for itself.

This is an intriguing entry in the comic version of that galaxy far, far away as Legacy or Dark Empire. This prologue makes Dark Times a player on the scene.