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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Lit Comics: Standout individual issues

Discussion in 'Literature' started by Jeff_Ferguson, Sep 2, 2014.

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  1. Jeff_Ferguson

    Jeff_Ferguson Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2006
    As someone who usually buys monthlies rather than waiting for the trade, I always judge a comic issue on what happens within its twenty-two pages. "Nothing much happened this month, but I'm sure it'll be fine in the trade" never cuts it for me. KOTOR and Legacy always excelled at producing issues that were more than worth the $2.99 we paid for them, and not just when they did great standalone stories like Homecoming, Noob, or Ready to Die --- I can still remember standout issues that fell somewhere in a larger story arc, like Flashpoint, Part 2 or Ghosts, Part 1.

    So go ahead and share what you consider to be SW's best individual comic issues. If you're a trade waiter, you might not have much to say. Unless, like me, you always notice when a new issue begins when you're reading the trade.

    Flashpoint, Part 2 was the standard to which I held all further KOTOR issues. The entire arc had a lot of energy that stemmed from it being a mere three issues, and Part 2 in particular packed a lot of meat into its sandwich. We met Rohlan Dyre and saw the beginnings of a fascinating Mandalorian deserter storyline, we were introduced to the mad machinations of Demagol, we had Alek subjecting himself to torture in order to protect Jarael, we had excerpts from a very well-done fleet battle --- it did so much in twenty-two pages, but it never felt bloated or like it was trying to do too much.

    The Ghost arc of Legacy remains one of my favourites, and I think that both of its chapters shine in their own unique ways as highlights of the series' first year. Part 1 gave us drug-addled Cade being visited by Vader, Mara, and K'Kruhk, with gorgeous visuals as snow fell around the Whiphid and Cade slowly realized that it wasn't a dream. In Part 2, we learned the story of the Ossus project through flashbacks and were also taken back to Cade meeting Syn and signing up with Rav. Seeing Cade standing over his father's body, and also Kol's funeral --- awesome stuff. The two issues combined to tell an excellent story but also both stood out on their own.

    Two issues of Marvel's original run that I rank among my favourite EU stories altogether are Issues 58 and 96. The former is one of those rare SW stories that excels at showing us just how ragtag and beat-up of a group the rebels really are, and not in a heavy-handed "fighting against impossible odds!" kind of way. When Leia thinks that the fleet has been sucked into a sun, she experiences a near-nervous breakdown that really takes the reader by surprise. It superbly gets across how vulnerable both the fleet and its leaders are. And Threepio and Artoo save the day, which always scores points in my book.

    The latter holds up thirty years later as being one of the EU's all-time-great tales. Luke and Lumiya's wordless lightsaber duel preempts the issue's opening credits page and is a thing of beauty. Quite a lot happens throughout the rest of the issue, too --- Kiro plays a large role and gets his apprentice story furthered, we learn more about the mysterious Nagai threat, and Luke builds a shoto and duels Lumiya yet again. Jo Duffy's run on Marvel may have gotten pretty weird toward the end, but this issue is an absolute gem. I'm honored to own a copy of the original issue.

    So what do you all think? What individual comic issues are ranked among your favourites, and why?
     
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  2. darklordoftech

    darklordoftech Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 30, 2012
    Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith #3 and #4. We see Exar's fall throughout, Korriban makes its first-ever appearance in #3, and the Massassi make their first-ever appearance in #4.
     
  3. Barriss_Coffee

    Barriss_Coffee Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2003
    I'm a broken record on this one, but I gotta make up for the fact nobody else plays it:

    Tales from Mos Eisley - one of the trippiest one-shots ever produced. Like a bunch of Twilight Zone stories crammed in one issue.
    [​IMG]
     
  4. spicer

    spicer Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 14, 2012
    Hmm, there are a lot of issues that I enjoy on their own, but one that comes to mind now is KOTOR 38 "Faithful Execution" where

    Zayne and his friends find a ghost ship drifting in space with only one seemingly innocent survivor and his droid. the survivor ends up being a Sith

    The first couple of pages didn't leave much of an impression to me, and I thought this would be the first KOTOR issue I'll be disappointed by. Boy was I wrong.
     
  5. Shadow Trooper

    Shadow Trooper Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 18, 2013
    I think my favorite single issues of Star Wars comics were Legacy 20 and 21, The Indomitable Arc. Part one gives us a nice introduction to Rogue Squadron and background on Admiral Stazi and the Galactic Alliance, sets up the plan to steal the Star Destroyer, and ends on a suspenseful note when it looks like the Imperials had figured out their plan and trapped the fleet. Legacy 21 than shows how all the complications in 20 were actually all a part of Stazi's plan. There is some awesome fleet action, Jaius Yorub gets an epic sacrifice and it closes with a victorious feeling for the Galactic Alliance but it also sets up Krayt's revenge and the whole Mon Calamari sub-plot. While before these issues, I was pretty ambivalent about the series, these two issues got me hooked on Legacy, and I was always looking forward to the next story about Stazi's fleet.
     
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  6. Zorrixor

    Zorrixor Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 8, 2004
    [​IMG]

    Two words: Wooden. Battleship.
     
  7. JoinTheSchwarz

    JoinTheSchwarz Former Head Admin star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 21, 2002
    A bit of a cheat, as it's a one-shot, but Jedi: Yoda.
     
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  8. Force Smuggler

    Force Smuggler Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Star Wars Legacy: Ghosts issue 1.
    That vision. That was awesome!
     
  9. Dr. Steve Brule

    Dr. Steve Brule Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 7, 2012
    I'd agree that the Flashpoint issues were absolutely some of the best of KOTOR. I forget what issue of Legacy it was where Krayt revealed his backstory but I liked that for the glimpse of how the history of the GFFA could have such an unintended impact on someone who was essentially a bystander for much of it.

    From Republic, I'd have to say that the Enemy Lines, Striking from the Shadows, Bloodlines, Armor, and the last issue of The Hidden Enemy issues all really stood out for me.
     
  10. Mazzic

    Mazzic Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2000
    The Making of Baron Fel. Forever and always.
    [​IMG]
     
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  11. AlyxDinas

    AlyxDinas Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 12, 2010
    [​IMG]


    Possibly my favorite issue of any Star Wars comic. Self contained. Really great heroes and villains.
     
  12. EternalHero

    EternalHero Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2014
    Republic #27
    [​IMG]
     
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  13. Jeff_Ferguson

    Jeff_Ferguson Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2006
    Hooooooooooooooooon!!

    aka that guy whose art style divides the forum in half. I fall on the "love it" side. Those two covers he later did for KOTOR were fantastic, too.

    I read the last four issues of Tales as a trade, but it seems like Issue 21 would have been the standout among them --- Nomad chapter 1, Walking the Path That's Given, and Equals and Opposites. Wonderful stuff.
     
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  14. jasonfry

    jasonfry VIP star 4 VIP

    Registered:
    Nov 11, 2003
    Marvel 29: Dark Encounter.

    /drops mic
     
  15. spicer

    spicer Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 14, 2012
    Another one that I like a lot:

    [​IMG]
     
  16. Protectorate

    Protectorate Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Dec 11, 2013

    From the other side of the coin, Republic 53 is IMO the worst Republic issue. It has all the classic failings of a Star Wars comic. One-shot characters that are introduced solely to be killed off, no character development whatsoever, drawing from other franchises too much (in this case, Fay is a literal elf, from her appearance to her characteristics), and a completely unearned "emotional scene".

    When that issue came out, it drove me up the wall.

    For my money, http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090830212353/starwars/images/0/00/Swr59cover.jpg][/url]Enemy Lines, is the best Republic issue.

    I still think the best individual Star Wars comic is http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20050718220701/starwars/images/7/72/Mswc86cover.jpg][/url]Star Wars 86: The Alderaan Factor
     
  17. Nobody145

    Nobody145 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 9, 2007
    Many great standout issues have already been referenced, such as many KotOR issues and several Legacy issues. Flashpoint had some of my favorite fleet battles in Star Wars.

    KotOR 12: Reunion part 2 was right where I started picking up monthly Star Wars issues I think (and I rarely stopped until now), partially because of how awesome it was. Some of the best Gryph moments (though not like the Moomos were hard to fool), as well as Zayne meeting his father and finding out he still has his family's trust, it was such a good first impression for me.

    Legacy 21, the second half of the Indomitable arc is probably my favorite single issue of Legacy- Stazi wins a major victory, epic fleet battle, memorable dying speech, Rogue Squadron, it had it all. Though Legacy... 36, Renegade, was also another good issue, showing the Stazi-Fel alliance trying to work together. Actually most GA or IK issues of Legacy were pretty good. The only downside was that the amount of content in those issues made the main plot look all the more slow.

    Republic 53, was that the one with the zombie Gungans? Where it was Obi-wan and a bunch of supposedly elite redshirt Jedi (including Fay) who all die in about 10 seconds to Ventress? That was another reason I never liked her getting off free at the end of the Clone Wars.

    Speaking of that, I think a favorite of mine was Republic 60, which was mostly Obi-wan and Alpha being badass as they break out of Ventress' prison (they start their prison break by Obi-wan smashing the cell door down with the Force, and then a cool line when the guards protecting a starship think they're safe because there are 20 guards between them and the prisoners... then Obi-wan and Alpha show up and correct them that it was 22 guards actually). Also covered Ventress' silly backstory, at least how it was before TCW (she blames the Jedi for everything, though she did have a probably very traumatic life, and was half-trained by an unnamed Jedi, and apparently she's just good enough to take out plenty other Jedi Masters based on just that partial training and her hate). All in one issue too I think.
     
  18. The Supreme Chancellor

    The Supreme Chancellor Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2012
    I agreed with the issue of Republic. I LOVE the original Ventress backstory, it had a lot more angst and it made her a sadder, more complex character, more a tool of the Sith that Dooku manipulated, because she needed a family.

    Don't have my comic collection with me, left it back home when I moved, but I think one that hasn't been mention is the final issue of (I think it was called:confused:) Redemption featuring the duel against Sylvar and Ulic, when he gives up and finally gets Sylvar to let go of her hatred, becoming one with the Force despite losing his connection to it after the war. Awesome illustration as they were transitioning from the earlier 90's style to the modern sharpie style, and it was a story on a very small scale, not of the the "fate of the galaxy" dealies.
     
  19. AlyxDinas

    AlyxDinas Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 12, 2010
    Eh. I just enjoy how self contained it is. If I had to choose anything from Republic, I'd be something from Jabiim but I wasn't sure which to choose. Sort of like how I have a favorite Legacy issue somewhere in my mind but I can't think of it. Because I think of that so much as one big series.
     
  20. SheaHublin

    SheaHublin Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 15, 2008
    Republic #64. The reasons why are obvious to any who have read it.
     
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  21. Dr. Steve Brule

    Dr. Steve Brule Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 7, 2012
    Those are two separate stories. The zombie Gungan one is from a few issues earlier. I don't know if I'd call it a favorite episode but I really love the scene where Durge gloats about how much he loves his life. Not a great character but a great moment for sure. I really wish they had kept him to that sort of characterization, a villain who just relished being over the top evil like the bad guy in an 80's Arnie movie.

    Definitely agree. One of the things that I most liked (and was surprised by) about Plagueis was how much it built out of that single issue.
     
  22. Gorefiend

    Gorefiend Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2004
  23. spicer

    spicer Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 14, 2012
    Aaaaand some more from me :p

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  24. Obie-2-Kenobi

    Obie-2-Kenobi Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Feb 18, 2008
    I really liked Noob. At first it threw me off guard because it seemingly had nothing to do with any other Legacy story at first. I liked that is was from the new guys point of view and that it showed the everyday stuff for Stormtroopers. I liked the part where they streamline the Noob's gear too. They tell him what to get rid of that'll just slow him down and what is essential to keep in the field. Coming from a "been there, done that" standpoint, I thought that gave the Joker Squad a pretty authentic feel.
     
  25. Revanfan1

    Revanfan1 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 3, 2013
    EternalHero, I'm glad someone mentioned that issue–honestly, I would've been too embarrassed. Because in all seriousness, who remembers Yoshi Raph-Elan? But it really was a good standalone story.

    I'd have to agree that Republic 53 is one of my favorites, but also Republic 57, one of the Jabiim issues–specifically the one where Anakin leaves the other Padawans to fight alone. It gave a good look at the grittiness of the Clone Wars, showed the Jedi do some awesome feats and defeat their enemies, but still show that there are casualties on both sides–and that, given that nobody survived on either side, if Palpatine didn't pull Anakin out of there he might've been in serious trouble, too.
     
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