Published: April 21, 1992
Writer: Tom Veitch
Artist: Cam Kennedy
Colourist: Cam Kennedy
Letterer: Todd Klein
Editor: Barbara Kesel
Cover Artist: Dave Dorman
Synopsis;
A war for the planet Calamari erupts over that planet’s surface, already threatened by the massive World Destroyers. While Lando and Wedge take on the Imperial stormtroopers, Leia is tormented by visions of Luke being sucked into the darkness. Meanwhile, it seems that Han has run into some “old friends”!
The review;
The three month wait was over, and I got issue three in my little chubby hands. Luke did, indeed, give in to the dark side and joined the reborn Emperor like his father before him. Dang! That was a bummer. My face didn’t stay crestfallen for long, as the cinematic battle for Mon Cala unfolded over several water colored pages. My hungry eyes, once starved for Star Wars content, ate it all up greedily. “A Mister Fett to see you sir,” squeaked Han Solo’s butler droid at the issue’s end. Wait, I thought. That can’t mean… can it? I’d have to wait months to find out if Boba Fett did indeed return from the grave.
The impact of the Battle for Mon Cala can’t be overstated. This was the first visual narrative of space combat since the Battle for Endor. Both battles featured land and space combat with new vehicles for both sides. While today we have hours of content of exciting space combat, including a war film in Rouge One and an entire show dedicated to the clone wars, volumes of comics, and limitless video games; the same was not true in 1992. Marvel comics from a decade earlier aside, Star Wars fans had the three films and this issue alone to sate their hunger for Star Wars style combat. This put Dark Empire on the same footing as the films as a visual narrative. A Jedi, Yoda tells us, craves not adventure and excitement; but a generation of Star Wars fans certainly do!
Cam Kennedy’s art really shines here. The cold blues and sinister reds of the Reborn Empire really pop against the earth tones and greens of the New Republic. . The panels of issue three are some of the most visually sweeping cinematic panoramas in Star Wars comics… His pen work shows a level of technical detail that fits right at home in the Star Wars universe. His original vehicle designs also have that Star Wars feel, like the designs of Joe Johnston or later Doug Chiang.
Perhaps that explains why Kennedy’s designs have endured and are still influencing Star Wars aesthetic today. The rebel E-wing, the spiritual successor to the venerable X-wing, is well known to players of Fantasy Flight Games’ tabletop game X-wing. The E-wing was also brought back into the canon timeline in Marvel’s Poe Dameron comic, and no doubt had some influence in the design of the Fireball from the animated show Resistance. I am a big fan of the ship as well, and even build and painted a model of the E-wing myself, seen here.
We also see the TIE Droid, as hundreds swarm from the rear of the World Devastator. Droid Starfighters would, of course, play a pivotal role in Episode One and here they are eight years earlier. Anyone who played the Nintendo 64 game Rogue Squadron and made it to the final mission would be familiar with the TIE Droid. The flight simulator’s last level was the Battle of Calamari from today’s issue (an early example of EU influence in video games) and the droid Starfighters were brutal to the New Republic V-wings. At least, they were with me in the cockpit (sorry Wedge). A better model builder then fighter pilot, I made my own TIE Droid as well, seen here.
Kennedy also gives us the Cloak Shape fighter; the Storm Skimmer; the TIE Tank; the I-7 Howlrunner; the A-9 Vigilance Interceptor; the Mandal Motors Pursuer; the mega star destroyer, Eclipse; the Imperial Dungeon Ship; the giant MC90 Mon Calamari dreadnought; the Hyperspace Marauder; and the Starlight Intruder. Just to name a few! These designs would continue to be featured in comics and video games and influence art design of the sequel trilogy. The Last Jedi’s Supremacy and Radius come to mind. Heck, they even showed up in Joss Wedon’s Firefly!
Availability;
Originally released by Dark Horse Comics, the Star Wars: Dark Empire series ran from 1991 to 1992, for 6 issues. Star Wars: Dark Empire #3 is currently available in digital format via the Marvel App, comiXology or by subscribing to Marvel Unlimited. A physical copy can be found in one of the many trade paperback releases from Marvel. Please check with Amazon UK and US or your local comic bookstore for availability.
