The story so far: 1000 years before the Battle of Yavin, three Force-sensitive children were brought from a fishing village to a war-torn world where the Jedi fight the last battle against the Sith.

The top-notch quality of the first two issues continues into parts 3 and 4. Macan's script takes the reader inside several of the influential characters surrounding the young boys. Even more interesting is how we watch the boys accept those appearances and change them ... because it changes each of them differently. Meanwhile the Sith are shown to be less an army and more just a loose confederation of murderers. Their only desire is to exterminate the Jedi -- except for one who sees beyond the moment and seems to understand and wield the Dark Side of the Force better than the others: Darth Bane. They fear him. He comes across as a precursor to Darth Sidious or even Emperor Palpatine. Powerful. Manipulative. My only complaint -- and it's a small one -- is that Macan appears to be following the popular path of authors past in throwing in lines or familiar scenes from the films. But not too many. Actually Macan does a nice job balancing the dialogue with the art, allowing both to tell his story equally.

Bachs and Fernandez. Fernandez and Bachs. I could look at their work all day. They found just the right tone for telling this story. As I mentioned in my first review, the look and feel of these people and their surroundings is dead-on so that you never become confused with who or where you are. Their art is like watching a well-directed film where every scene is captured perfectly by the lens, whether it be an extreme close-up or wide shot panning across a horizon. And the faces ... they capture each and every emotion. During a battle you can imagine the combatants feel a full range of them, and some of the panels with no dialogue are the most powerful, conveying everything you need to know, pushing all the right buttons to invest you in the storyline and sympathize with the characters. Even the Sith.

Matching the two artists in terms of quality is Chris Blythe, the colorist. Continuing his winning streak from the first two issues, he pushes the envelope to the Nth degree as roiling waves of Sith energy swarm across the face of a planet. He captures the beauty of a colorful starry night hanging over devastated battlefields. The Sith are cats in hues of red and purple, and sunlight breaks through clouds to light the faces of Jedi. Darkest moments seem overcast, but last minute rescues bring golden rays to dispel the darkness. Let's face it -- this guy is good.

And so is the story. Here we are at the midpoint and we've got fantastic clashes, both on the battlefields and between personalities. Character development is at an all time high, with people making choices that will determine their fates by the story's end. Put it all together and Dark Horse is putting out a first-rate Star Wars comic. I recommend it. Highly recommend it.

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See also my reviews of parts 1-2 and parts 5-6.

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(Chad Clark is an avid fan of both comics and Star Wars. He's currently trying to live through a deadly case of boredom running rampant through the state of North Carolina. Help him survive by emailing him something interesting and well written at chad@echostation.com.)