Lit Dark Times #32: A Spark Remains, part 5 (of 5) (Republic #115)

Ah, so it's carbonited, rather than dead. OK, I'll take that.

 

Leaves a chance of said carbonite being defrosted in certain upcoming TV series or movies...unlikely but still unspeakably awesome to think about.

Spoiler

As an aside, are we talking about Dass or Kai?

 

No idea, don't have the issue - have the trade prepaid for!

 

Me, personally, I'm waiting for the Omnibus. Can't come soon enough.

 

It was an abrupt end and I think most of us already knew at least part of what the twist would be (though a certain character's temporary survival surprised me). Well done, though. It's a melancholy note to go out on and maybe one day we'll see some continuation. After Crimson Empire III, nothing will surprise me anymore.

 

Hopefully I'll get the issue tomorrow. Really disappointed I couldn't get it today, cos this is pretty much my most anticipated comic issue ever

 

I was expecting this to be the final issue, but for a finale, we're left with a number of loose ends.

I was expecting Dass Jennir to die, but he and the Unuhelme crew are still alive. I can see more stories about them at some point in the future.

The "partnership" between Vader and Falco Sang hasn't ended. Is Sang still forced to work with Vader?

 

Yeah, a tad abrupt. With how things were building to what seemed to be a conclusion, with the Uhumele crew almost gladly signing up for a clear suicide mission, but its still kind of a happy ending. Just wish we had more of an "epilogue" as it were, instead of one last message and that's it. Still a pretty good issue, and a great arc overall.

The art was fantastic as always, such as all those scenes with Vader and his charred cape. Really sad that Dark Times is basically over, after the cancellations and ends of various series over the last few years, Dark Times was kind of a reassuring presence- often late, but it would arrive sooner or later. Now no more DT to look forward to. Oh well, its been a great ride, and an epic journey of Dass Jennir. Wonder how many years until they release a Dass Jennir omnibus?

 

One month.

And five months for part 2 which includes A Spark Remains. Will be weird for me, reading seven years worth of Dark Times in less than six months.

 

I have to say...I was pretty underwhelmed by this one.

Spoiler

Everything with Hudorra and Sahdett was awesome, and philosophically, I like how it all resolved, but it feels like there was supposed to be a sixth issue and they had to scrunch it into this one at the last second. If someone had told me that the "final" issue of Dark Times would only have Jennir in it for like three pages (and even less of Bomo), I don't know what I'd have thought. Same for Falco Sang--all the time we've spent on him over the years, and all he did was Bail™ Vader out at the end. Nothing was bad, but...I wanted more. Now I just have to hope against hope there'll be another arc someday.

 

Wait, wait, wait.

Spoiler

Dass lives? It's Dark Times, not Happy Ending Times, dammit. They ate the sidekick's goddamn baby in the first arc, but they couldn't kill a Jedi protagonist at the end of the story? Great Jedi Purge, you are not living up to your billing.

 

I finally got to read it!

Spoiler

There's no way this is the final issue. Falco Sang did almost nothing, and the story of Dass Jennir and the Uhumele crew must be concluded somehow. It's very open ended for a final issue. As a standalone issue, as always I have no complaints, the duel, dialogue and end of the Kai vs. Vader part was fantastic, Kai is (was) a true badass! And the surprise with Beyghor was really good too, I was sure we saw the last of him in issue 3 of this arc. The art is superb as always. What gives me hope is that in the messages section, it says this is the final DT issue for now, so fingers crossed for more DT with a real story conclusion.

 

Maybe Dark Horse is serious about the satisfying conclusion thing.

Dark Horse is opposite land!

 

I always figured Jennier actually would have the same thing happen to him as the Dark Woman, but yep, it does seem like it needs another arc.

 

That gag's never going to die!

 

Does anybody know when the Dark Horse contract is up?

 

Dang, this was an incredibly disappointing issue. If this is the end, it's a pretty piss poor end IMO.

Spoiler

Why did Dass live? I already don't like that Vader is written as obsessed with Dass' survival, but he also gets to esscape him for a THIRD time? Why? If this is the end, better he go out in a blaze of glory. A lot of build-up and anticipation just for the heroes to run away and minor characters to get killed.

Can someone explain to me why Dark Horse made the Purge so lame? Was it a directive from Lucasfilm or something? The Purge is supposed to be epic, but instead we get Palpatine actively opposing Vader hunting down the Jedi! Why? I want more stories of him hunting down escaped Jedi and dealing with them, but every time he does that, he's chastised by the Emperor, as though he's ignoring his "real purpose". And what else is he even supposed to be doing if not hunting down Jedi and putting the fear of God in Imperial citizens.

Heck, in this issue:

Spoiler

Beyghor Sahdett claims that Palpatine made HIM into a Jedi hunter so that Vader would stop being distracted by other escaped Jedi. What is Palpatine's goal in doing this? Maybe if he was neglecting other important parts of the Empire, but we don't see that happening. It's not like he's failing his school work or something, why is Vader being left out of the Purge? It makes no sense, and I find it dramatically boring.

 

I know, but why did they make that decision? The AT-AT factory is a good example, but that issue shows that the Jedi ARE a threat, so why make it so black and white that Palps wants Vader to stop hunting Jedi? I don't find it interesting, and the logic doesn't line up. The Jedi are a revolutionary band at this point. Vader SHOULD be tasked with hunting them down. Vader can learn to be more patient and less single-minded, but that shouldn't necessitate a directive to NOT hunt Jedi, should it?

 

Also I think it's important to be able to separate a philosophical disagreement with the direction Dark Times took from whether the story itself is good. It's reasonable to have wanted a different interpretation of Vader's role in this period, but bringing that up at the end of the series doesn't really get us anywhere.