Star Wars

• Title: Star Wars: Jedi – The Dark Side #1
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Scott Allie
• Artist: Mahmud Asrar

Fifty-three years before the Battle of Yavin, and twenty-one years before the events of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the Jedi Council uncovers dark rumblings in the Outer Rim Territories.

Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan Xantos (a noble of Telos IV) will be sent, along with Jedi Master Tahl and her padawan Orykan, to Xantos’ home planet to stop a political assassination and a conspiracy which threatens the lives of everyone on the planet.

This new series from writer Scott Allie and artist Mahmud Asrar will focus on Qui-Gon Jinn’s years working on the Outer Rim long before he would take on a padawan named Obi-Wan Kenobi. The first issue sets up the characters and situations which will play an integral part in the first five-issue story arc, but it doesn’t do much more than that. I also found Asrar’s art a bit sloppy in places. The close-ups of each character are very detailed and you can tell why he was chosen for the project, but the larger shots seem rushed and a little blurry. Hit-and-Miss.

[Dark Horse, $2.99]

• Title: Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command #1 (of 5)
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Haden Blackman
• Artist: Rick Leonardi

Set shortly after the events of Revenge of the Sith, this new mini-series sends Darth Vader on a mission into the mysterious “Ghost Nebula” to track down a missing Star Destroyer commanded by the son of Moff Tarkin.

In this first issue writer Haden Blackman gives us a glimpse into the mind, dreams, and regrets of the man who was once Anakin Skywalker as well as his growing pains at assuming his new role as the Emperor‘s right hand. One interesting note here is the early scene suggesting Vader’s mechanical limbs take far more (painful) maintanace than has previously been suggested.

The early scenes work well and as does the last half when the comic shifts into full-on action mode as Vader’s troops attack the planet of Atoa. The feel of everything is right here, even if the Atoans themselves are a bit disappointing – although we do get a glimpse of something more in the final page. Worth a look.

[Dark Horse $3.50]