"Star Wars: Dark Empire" - A Review

I must admit, I'm a relative newcomer to visual Star Wars literature. Although I've been reading the books for years, it is only recently that I began to read some issues of Empire (thanks for letting me read them, Dark_Assassin!), but apart from that my experience with "graphic novels" is little to none. A few weeks ago, Dark_Assassin bought Dark Empire off ebay (comics are a little hard to come by, where we live), and he lent it to me to read. Although I have known the general story of this graphic novel for years, and it didn't impress me overmuch, I was nevertheless intrigued to see just how it plays out in its entirety.

When I finished Dark Empire for the first time, I really didn't like it. Not entirely sure why, though, I needed to read it again. Now that I have finished it twice, and am unable to find a review thread in the Literature Review forum, I feel it necessary to post a dissertation on this really quite horrible Star Wars tale.

As I sit here looking at Dark Empire sitting on the table next to me, I'm unsure how to begin. In fact, I'm wondering if my opinions on the subject are even valid, as my lack of experience with and understanding of the graphic novel format is quite obvious in its enormity. As such, I may say some things which can be easily argued against; but here goes anyway.

Dark Empire opens with an abnormally large version of a classic Star Wars opening scroll. Instead of the usual three, there are no fewer than seven paragraphs devoted to explaining the current predicament in the galaxy. Necessary? Well, perhaps, especially considering that this was released at a time when the Expanded Universe wasn't as popular, so fewer people would have read Zahn's trilogy. From what we are told, it seems like a promising beginning; Luke and Lando, stranded on a war-torn Coruscant, with Han and Leia on the way to rescue their friends. Beyond that, though, who knows what is to happen? One thing I must ask: if the Empire had only managed to consolidate control over one-fourth of the galaxy, and their forces were crippled after the defeat of Grand Admiral Thrawn, how the frell did they manage to take Coruscant from the [newly re-re-named] Rebel Alliance?

Well, certainly beats me. Looks like a case of the old "oooh, look, the Empire has experience an unexpected resurgency again!" syndrome. But forgive my ramblings, I shall move on...

First, the art is interesting. Abstract. Then, it becomes rather irritating. Then it just becomes downright annoying. By the end of the graphic novel, I was sick of it. Like I said before, my lack of understanding of the format may have something to do with how I perceived the art, but didn't anybody else get sick of 99% of frames being coloured the same? Red, green, blue, brown, purple, and the lighter variations of these colours...no matter what was used, each frame was done in virtually one colour! Where is the excitement in that? One of the things that makes the Star Wars films so exciting is their vibrant and varied use of colour. I almost got the impression that the artists for Dark Empire were trying to save time by using varied colours so scantly.

Again, as I mentioned before: my lack of experience with and understanding of graphic novels may have distorted my opinion here, but I thought that one of the main purposes of a visual format is to make your work interesting, not monotonous!

The characters were done quite poorly in Dark Empire. Maybe it's just to do with the fact that written novels allow for greater depth of characters through exploration, but all the characters seemed incredibly one-dimensional in Dark Empire. Luke was the haunted, powerful Jedi Master. Leia is the whiny, anxious Jedi sister. Han...well, I really wasn't impressed with Han at all. Sure, he had some of his usual bluster, but he spoke like a yokel half the time, and if I could count the number of times he said "old Luke/ol' Luke," I'd be here for a whi

 

Then do youself a favor and don't read Dark Empire II, and Empire's End...

 

Read Dark Empire 2, my friend, and you'll know why I rage against Golden Age and Fall of the Sith TPBs for their sheer childish idiocy.

I'll formally review them one day . . . but in a nutshell, the premise behind Dark Empire is not only plausable but expected. The guy outwitted both politicians and every feebwiz to win, so it's not inconceivable he'd have a backdoor to come back.

What ruins the comic is the two-colour art that does not make things haunting, as you Litters keep saying. It makes it look a colourist's joke. Machine illustrations are exceptional, but don't expect to see a decent character facial expression other than vague blank looks.

Dialogue is quite good, and the Emp's is very good. I'll give them that. But the comic has too many weird and wacky Force powers and hoooomungous assault weaponry that it stretches the burp too long; locations are new and exotic.

They marketed this as though new-Star Wars-consumers didn't have knowledge of the "New Republic". The dudes are still the Rebel Alliance against an evil Empire to make things easier for them.

Yes, you saw Ewoks on Coruscant's wartorn surface . . .

 

Good point, Excellence - I was wondering what those Ewoks were doing!

(And you're right, the art does make it look more whacked-out than haunting.)

 

Get on eBay and find a copy of WEG's Dark Empire Sourcebook, it addresses most of the continuity questions out there.

 

In regard to the Ewoks, take into consideration that six years pass in between RotJ and DE. It's not impossible to believe that some Ewoks found their way into the Rebel/New Republic military in the years after RotJ and before DE.

As far as the story is concerned, DE is actually a pretty good story, if you can get over the idea that it sort of negates Anakin Skywalker's actions on the Death Star II. It's action-packed and clever at several points. Beside, it brings back Boba Fett!

DE II is pretty poor as far as storyline is concerned, although there are some of the best lines of the EU in it, IMHO. I won't even go into how bad EE actually is.

And I'll play Devil's Advocate on behalf of the "Golden Age of the Sith" series. Not only did I like it, I thought it harkened back well to the type of action and banter in the SW movies. No, it's not Pulitzer Prize winning material, but it is worth taking a look.

 

How about we adress the continuity issues and fixes here instead of spending money on the sourcebook?

 

lightsaber_wielder, I liked Dark Empire more than you did, but I think yours is a pretty fair review.

To me none of the post-RotJ stories that I've read are very satisfying, but this is one of the better ones. And, while I am a huge fan of the artwork of this series, I will agree with you that it really doesn't fit with the established look of Star Wars. As far as to how it fits into EU continuity, I really couldn't care less. As long as the story is consistent with the established film canon and is internally consistent, I won't concern myself if it conflicts with a bubble-gum card from 1982--or whatever.

Oh, and I thought the Dark Empire series went downhill from this point on, so I think reading DE2 and EE wouldn't be worth your while.

 

I'm sorry but the coloring and art are horrible. Not to mention I am no fan of Kennedy's art. He did a three issue run of the Punisher and all the women look like men... ugh. It's like the meeting for DE went something like this.

Big Wig: We want to do a story that brings back the Emperor because we always felt that he didn't die at Endor.

Cam Kennedy: But ROTJ says that he did.

BW: Doesn't matter. What I say goes. Now we are going to call this series "Dark Empire!"

CK: How original. I should be able to do it somewhat justice.

BW: That reminds me. You are only allowed three colors to do the entire series in- Blue, Green and Sickly green.

CK: Doesn't sickly green count as a green?

BW: Very well. Then yellow. But three they are. No more, no less.

 

Dudes, 1991 called, they want their complaining back.

 

Honestly, I think the art is passable, it's the coloring that's atrocious. The same goes for Kennedy's Boba Fett stuff.

As far as the writing goes... How it never occurred to the people involved that they were completely destroying the end of ROTJ (even before the prequels came along) is pretty mind-boggling.

 

It's a matter of appreciating the art form.

Apparently some don't. But criticizing it isn't fair. How about someone criticizes your own art form? I liked the art form, and I do have a subtle appreciation for abstract art and the inherent chaotic imagery.

As for story, I liked the idea of Palpatine having a backup plan. And I do like carnage. The so-called Chosen One bring balence in the Force is merely a point of view.

 

Being a Palpatine fan, I never had a problem with the Dark Empire plotline, even after Lucas came out with his "Chosen One" prophecy. The way I see it, Anakin is still the one chiefly responsible for the Emperor's defeat; it's just that Palps was so cunning and powerful that he found ways to cheat the Prophecy, for a time at least. But eh, just how I look at it.

 

I love Dark Empire. I love Dark Empire II even more, because it's got Sedriss in it, who rules.

>>"why wasn't this story dealt with in a novel?"<<

Why do novels have to be the only medium in which "important" events can be told?

 

It's not the importance of the events that would necessarily make Dark Empire better in a novel, it's just that a more descriptive format would allow a better insight into the character's emotions - i.e. in a novel, we could actually get inside their heads, which is important in a story with such heavy stuff going on.

 

Dark Empire was one of the first pieces of EU I read and I hated it. Emperor brought back Fett brought back Luke going to the Darkside?!

Its probably the reason I could never accept EU as canon

 

DE was excellent. DE2 and EE were not even in the same ballpark.

 

The2ndQuest:

And, thanks to Zahn's stubborness, it got shifted further down the timeline than the original plan, which makes it work better as a story, IMO, than had it happened just after Endor.

How do you figure it makes a better story? I think it would have fit much better right after Endor than years later. There wouldn't have to be any lightning Imperial strike to take Coruscant, no need for Palpatine to spend so long recuperating, no need for Fett to go uncharacteristically low profile for so long, no need to explain why the Imperials could be fooled by Star Destroyers in New Republic hands, no need to explain how the Empire found so many forces when just months before it was such a shadow of its former self.

The story seems tailor-made to go after Endor, and feels kludged putting it so much further down the timeline.

 

Which mostly fell to Michael Allen Horne to put to rights, when he was scenarizing the Dark Empire Sourcebook.

I've always maintained that this book should be the looked at as the quintessential "fourth" DE work, seeing as how it's about the ONLY official Star Wars source to address exactly those very issues, and (IMO) has not been surpassed since. The Emperor's movement against Coruscant? Check. The whereabouts of the captured New Republic Star Destroyers during Bilbringi and beforehand? Check. Why Thrawn's fleets were far smaller than they could (and should) have been? Check. Sate Pestage's presence on Byss during that time? Uhm...half-check.

It's all in there, under one cover, and fixes MANY a problem in the original Dark Empire's narrative. (In fact, I take back part of what I posted in another thread, about not revising older works -- this is the one story that would benefit from a substantial, soup-to-nuts expository revamp.)

 

Leave it to a Michael to get things right.

 

just as his re-emergence seems to invalidate Darth Vader's sacrifice at the end of Return of the Jedi. Like it or not, Anakin was the Chosen One

in no way did it negate vaders sacrifice. he had no idea the emperor would put his spirit into a clone and live again. just because it didnt have the effects that most people think it did doesnt mean it doesnt matter. and to finish it up we dont even know the whole "Chosen One' prophecy, or what "balance to the force" means. read when luke thinks about yodas talks on dagobah in "Survivors Quest". It pretty well explains it and it doesnt mean the destruction of the sith