Into the abyss! Darth Maul has constructed a vast criminal syndicate known as the Shadow Collective, gathering the galaxy’s most feared crime lords. The Black Sun, the Pykes, and even the mighty Hutts have all fallen in line behind the dark warrior.
Building a base of operations on the corrupt planet of Mandalore, Maul plotted revenge against his many enemies. But Maul’s lust for power and conquest has drawn a great enemy upon him—his former master, Darth Sidious.
Judging Maul a threat to his own designs, Sidious defeated his former apprentice, ruthlessly murdering Maul’s brother Savage Opress and leaving Maul beaten but, curiously, still alive…
Writer Jeremy Barlow, penciller Juan Frigeri, Inker Mauro Vargas, colourist Wes Dzioba, letter Michael Heisler and cover artist Chris Scalf bring us the first issue of Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir.
The Review
Ever since Palpatine defeated the reborn Darth Maul and announced that he had “other uses” for him, fans have been feverishly wondering the fate of their favorite red-and-black tattooed Sith Lord. As this is Dark Horse’s last series, I find it ironic to be reviewing it, as it is the only Dark Horse publication that will work its way into Disney’s new “canon”. Now without further ado, I give you Son of Dathomir…
The first thing I noted about this series is the artwork. Dooku looks a little too robust and the droids in the prison look odd, but aesthetic quirks aside, the art often gets pretty sloppy, like the artist was too lazy at points to follow detail the characters. At it’s the best panels, the art is acceptable, a healthy balance of realistic and animation.
It’s fun to see Sidious worried as he plans to eliminate Mother Talzin, once and for all. We learn a nice bit of trivia, as Maul was originally a “present” to Palpatine, though her full relationship to Maul has not been revealed yet. This reviewer can think of a very obvious and cheesy connection, but I’ll let everyone else speculate in silence…
Maul marshals his forces and calls his old buddy, Prime Minister Almec, who reports that they have recovered the Dark Saber.—record scratch— Why in the galaxy would Palpatine not confiscate the Dark Saber? That seems extremely careless and short-sighted to me, and indicative of poor storytelling. (Unless of course it’s all part of Palpatine’s plan).
The battle between droids and Mandalorians rages on Zanbar, and we get a duel that every Star Wars fan has imagined for years. All in all, Son of Dathomir got off to an explosive start, and is definitely a welcome addition to the new canon.
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