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Star
Wars Tales #4 Review by Toryn
Farr |
Dark Horse brings us another 64-page hodgepodge of stories set in the Star Wars milieu, this time with four stories, only one of which I truly enjoyed. Vader and the droids predominate (as does Tatooine), with not a Jedi in sight.
The cover is a busy conglomeration of humorous characters piled on a swoop fleeing a flying stormtrooper and a missile inside the ruins of the Mos Espa arena. I have to say, despite the nice colors and all, this picture did not inspire me to want to buy the magazine. Inside the cover is a horrendous misprint. The page listing the contributors is missing, leaving us to guess who did what for each story. Luckily I could go to Dark Horse's website and get the scoop.
First up: a cute cartoon featuring editor Dave Land standing next to Jedi apprentice K'Kruhk from the Jedi Council: Acts of War series. K'Kruhk engages artist Ramon Bachs in a very short lightsaber duel. Pointless, sick humor usually doesn't appeal to me, but this made me grin. I also liked the back page bios of Jan Duursema and Kevin Rubio (of "Troops" fame) who wrote the only story I liked out of this bunch. Now for the stories:
Moment of Doubt |
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| Script:
Pencils: Colors: Letters: |
Lovern
Kindzierski Robert Teranishi Dave McCaig Vickie Williams |
Three years after Yavin, the bounty hunter Awarru Tark shows up at the Star Destroyer Avenger to get details about the bounty on Han Solo. But Tark is really another enemy in disguise, one whose goal is to kill Darth Vader. Never has the Dark Lord faced such a determined foe, one who will cause him to question his own choices, if only for a moment.
I suppose Vader fans might enjoy seeing the DLOTS going mano-e-mano with a worthy opponent, but for me this vignette was, despite the last page of reflection, similar to the Darth Maul series -- eye candy without a whole lot of heart. The art was adequate, but not spectacular, with a blending of colors that made many of the panels look like paintings. Tark's weapons are certainly unique and cool; I especially like the multitude of little claws of blades he uses at one point, though I had a smidgen of trouble following the action of the fight. I liked the technique of using a change in color and panel shape to signal a flashback. Overall, I'll give this one a B-.
A Death Star Is Born |
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| Script:
Art: Colors: Letters: |
Kevin Rubio Lucas Marangon Dave Nestelle Vickie Williams |
Okay, how many versions of this tale does the galaxy need? At least one more, apparently, because this one is hilarious. Moff Tarkin, Bevel Lemelisk, and Tol Sivron (with an eavesdropping Ackbar as part of their entourage!) arrive to try to sell Palpatine on their design of a new battle station, but he's got a few design changes he'd like to make. Check out the multitude of 20th-century Earth references in the Coruscant depiction of the first page, including a Big Boy, the USS Enterprise, the Iron Giant, and ... is that a yellow submarine? Also keep an eye out for "hidden Mickeys."
This whole story gave me the giggles, from Vader's "telekinetic-waiter" skills to Palpatine asking for safety rails around bottomless pits because "...my balance ain't what it used to be." This one gets an
A+.Spare Parts |
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| Story:
Art: Colors: Letters: Editor: |
Mark Evanier
& Sergio Aragonés Sergio Aragonés Tom Luth Stan Sakai Scott Allie |
Threepio and Artoo are captured by Jawas on Tatooine and manage to escape by disguising themselves in the tiny creatures' robes. The last panel shows them hustling away with a horde of armed Jawas after them. Pointless.
I have never been a big fan of Aragonés as a Star Wars artist, although I have liked his work elsewhere. I think his style is too distinctive and draws too much attention to itself. In any case, his talents were wasted on this non-funny non-story for which the only saving grace is its brevity. F
.Bigg Gizz & Spiker in "Sand Blasted" |
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| Story
& Art: Colors: Letters: |
Kilian Plunkett Dave Nestelle Vickie Williams |
Vader watches as General Mohc releases a passel of "Dark Troopers" onto Mon Calamari. One Mon Cal ship escapes, only to crash onto Tatooine where it is discovered by Jawas. Unfortunately for them, a Dark Trooper was aboard. Many years later, three drifters run afoul of the trooper in the ruins of the Mos Espa arena, and a battle breaks out.
Again, I was disappointed in the pointlessness of this story. We're not told the timeframe, but the implication is that the Dark Trooper is going to be rebuilt by the Dum droids. One question: why were functional droids simply lying around after all these years? The art was good, nicely detailed and easy to follow with some truly beautiful colors, but the only things really worth looking at are a few cool panels of the Dark Trooper in action. I can't imagine why the editors thought this story was worth spending 26 pages on. This one rates a D.
***
Overall, I'll give this issue a
C, and that only because "A Death Star Is Born" is still making me smile. I hope that the change of editors will eventually lead to a different, more entertaining mix of stories in future issues.Discuss this article on the Echo Station message boards.
(Toryn Farr knew everything about Star Wars
back in 1977 thanks to Starlog Magazine. She's been trying to keep her know-it-all
reputation ever since. During the 90 minutes per day her preschooler is napping, Toryn
attempts to run an internet design business and write fantasy fiction.)