Veitch, Tom
AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:
3.8 out of 5
(5 books)
Star Wars: Dark Empire
(Art by Cam Kennedy)
Set six years after 'Return Of The Jedi', this is by far the best and most influencial graphic novel in the Star Wars saga. The New Republic is once again sent fleeing from the Empire when Emperor Palpatine is reborn in a clone body and decides to reclaim what he has lost.
Attempting to defeat the dark side from within, Luke finally becomes the Emperor's apprentice, but finds himself unable to resist the dark side. Meanwhile Han, Leia and their friends attempt to save Mon Calamari from the latest Imperial superweapon; the near-invincible World Devastators. And it's only fair to mention that Boba Fett makes his comeback here!
This book truly earns the 'novel' part of graphic novel, being as complete and epic a story as any book in the franchise. Kennedy's art will probably feel a bit uncomfortable at first, but once you realise he's focused on tone rather than detail, you'll appreciate it much more. For instance, his depictions of the Emperor are spot on. If you want to get into Star Wars comics, this is where you start.
Followed by 'Dark Empire II'.
5 out of 5
Star Wars: Dark Empire II
(Art by Cam Kennedy)
10 ABY. Following on directly from 'Dark Empire', the Emperor is reborn once more, unleashing his Dark Jedi and his new superweapon (the daftly named Galaxy Gun) upon the New Republic. In response, the Star Wars heroes attempt to rebuild the Jedi Order by gathering the scattered survivors of the Jedi Purge.
This book is another great read, but will always be a shadow when compared with its predecessor. Also, to actually find out how the story is resolved, you'll have to get your hands on the near-impossible-to-find-separately 'Empire's End'.
4 out of 5
Star Wars: Empire's End
(Art by Jim Baikie)
11 ABY. The conclusion to the story from 'Dark Empire II' sees the ailing Emperor Palpatine plotting to impose his spirit into the body of Han and Leia's new son, Anakin Solo. Luke and his newly gathered cadre of Jedi decide to take the fight to the Empire, storming the fortress of the Dark Jedi and then rushing to confront Palpatine himself.
This is a very enjoyable little read and Baikie's art manages to continue the tone set previously by Cam Kennedy. However, this book is very hard to find and may well cost a fair bit because of that, so bear in mind that it is only a compendium of two comics and therefore isn't much for the money.
Still, if you've read the previous two books, you've got to find out how it ends I guess.
Followed by Kevin J. Anderson's 'Jedi Search'.
4 out of 5
Star Wars: Tales Of The Jedi - The Collection + The Freedon Nadd Uprising
(Art by Chris Gossett, Mike Barreiro, Janine Johnston, David Roach, Tony Akins and Denis Rodier)
The first book of the Tales of the Jedi series (albeit not chronologically), set four millennia before Episode IV. You'll be lucky to get hold of this particular edition of the book but it's worth going to the trouble of finding because the newer edition doesn't actually contain 'The Freedon Nadd Uprising' (which is impossible to find separately too).
The three stories here are excellent Star Wars adventures, perfectly capturing the spirit of the saga. The first two stories introduce two Jedi Knights, the talented but impulsive Ulic Qel-Droma and the troubled Nomi Sunrider. The third story tells of how these two heroes fight alongside other Jedi to defeat an army of dark side servants.
This is essential reading for Expanded Universe fans and a nice bit of background for people who've played 'KOTOR II: The Sith Lords' and want to know more about Onderon and Dxun.
5 out of 5
Superman: At Earth's End
(Art by Frank Gomez)
An Elseworlds story. In the year 2102, after two apocalypses, the only person who remembers the world that was is Superman, aged and weakened. When he learns that the mysterious DNA Diktators are kidnapping survivors and subjecting them to genetic experiments, as well as stealing the bones of his long-dead friend Bruce Wayne, Superman sets out to defeat them.
In a post-apocalyptic world where most (all) other heroes are dead and the main character is older and more world-weary than we know them, this could easily have read like 'Old Man Kal-El' and been something genuinely interesting. Unfortunately, every possible opportunity to do something interesting and innovative with the setting of this book is studiously avoided and instead something unfathomably dumb is put in its place. And just when you think the book couldn't be any dumber, it introduces twin Hitler clones.
Literally everything in this book is the worst it could possibly be, from a gun-toting Superman (the gun was built by Batman, incidentally, famous for his hatred of guns), to the gang of children riding miniature motorbikes, to the aforementioned Hitler clones, to the fact that Batman's resurrected body appears for about five seconds before being written out. I've really enjoyed Tom Veitch's Star Wars comics, so I find it baffling that he also wrote this utter garbage.
1 out of 5