Published: Comics – May to October1996; Graphic Novel – April 1997
Writer: John Wagner
Artist: Kilian Plunkett (issues 1-4), Kilian Plunkett and John Nadeau (issues 5-6)
Inker: P. Craig Eussell
Colourist: Cary Porter
Letterer: Dave Cooper
Comic Cover Artist: Hugh Fleming
Graphic Novel Cover Artist: Christopher Moeller
The synopsis;
Darth Vader wants Luke Skywalker — alive. Prince Xizor, the largest trader in the galaxy, wants Skywalker dead. And Skywalker, along with Leia, Chewbacca, and the droids, have a goal of their own: rescue Han Solo. But Solo has been encased in carbonite and taken by the most notorious mercenary in the galaxy, Boba Fett, who intends to deliver him to Jabba the Hutt. It’s a clash of good against evil, of right against wrong, and it comes to a head in the Shadows of the Empire . . . Featuring all your favorite characters from the Star Wars motion picture trilogy and a score of new ones, Shadows of the Empire is everything a Star Wars fan could hope for.
The review;
It is strange how things in life come full circle. Here I am, reviewing the comic series Shadows of the Empire, when in fact, it was the first comic I actually ever bought. I remember my father taking me into Birmingham when I was ten years old and going past all the main street shops, down a road, which, all but a train station, didn’t seem to have too much going for it. There, my dad led me into Nostalgia and Comics (Now Worlds Apart) and my jaw dropped. Rows upon rows of comics and collectables. Talk about being in heaven. After looking around the downstairs, I found stairs leading to another, smaller floor with even more comics and vintage Star Wars figures. Picking up a complete loose Darth Vader for £9.99 (if that were only still true now), I found a comic staring at me: issue 2 of Shadows of the Empire. Hugh Fleming’s Boba Fett, amongst a horde of villainy grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let go. I walked proudly out of the shop with my vintage Darth Vader and my first ever comic. It would be a few years until I got the rest of the issues, but that one I read again and again. I remember the artwork, the cover, the writing, all of it like it was yesterday. And here I am now, twenty-five years later, reviewing the entire story that contains that very issue. The circle is definitely complete.
Shadows of the Empire was a huge undertaking that had one overarching story with other mediums telling the other pieces. The comic, written by John Wagner, follows what happens to Boba Fett. It has to be remembered here that this was long before the Prequel Trilogy. This was a Fett that we saw very little of, that was shrouded in mystery. It’s very difficult to explain to more modern fans just how cool Boba Fett was, what an impact he had on all of us. A comic like this, for us fans, was huge. The artwork was done by Kilian Plunkett, who you can now see in the documentaries for The Clone Wars. This is someone who has had a real impact on Star Wars (let alone trying to get his exclusive art prints at Celebrations) and influences canon to this day. And of course, Hugh Fleming, the artist how made me buy that first issue, do I really need to say more? So, let’s dive in…
There is a feeling that comes over reading these issues again and again. That is the feeling that this is Star Wars. From the very first panel, right through all six issues, the artwork places you in a galaxy far, far away. Does it look like a comic drawn in the nineties? Absolutely. I’m very fond of this style, although I’m sure more modern readers might consider it dated. Yet, if you look at the work the Plunkett (and further into the story Plunkett and Nadeau) do, the thing that really stands out are the angles. The angles for every panel are extremely well thought out and give it that Original Trilogy feel. You can tell that Plunkett is using what he knows of those films to aid in the angles found here. When there are space battles, the inlays of the pilots are something straight from the Battle of Hoth. A close up of lasers firing means that you can almost hear the blaster firing them. It is this, more than anything that really allows the pacing and the movement of the story to be flawless. I think you’d find it difficult to find comics even to this day that marry up quite so well with the pacing from the original movies, the way that it marries up here.
The story itself picks up right from the end of The Empire Strikes Back. Yet, the more you read into these issues, the more that you become aware that these issues don’t hold the whole story. There are parts where it jumps about a little, where characters, like Dash Render, just happen to appear or Luke has already constructed his new lightsaber. It’s a very brave move, one that I can’t even imagine being done today (I’m thinking of The High Republic), where you assume that the reader has read the other material. It feels like this story is filling the holes in the other. There are parts, namely the bounty hunters storyline, that work fine without any previous knowledge but I can sense that I’m able to fill the gaps in having read the novel and played the game. On that note, all these things sync in so beautifully, the stories over lapping. Parts of the computer game come flooding back while reading this, certain levels that I remember playing through. I would suggest that this is maybe not the best starting point for the project, that reading the novel first, will provide a far more satisfying experience when reading the comic.
Wagner really writes the perfect balance of action and character. There is a lot of action here, from battles in bar fights, to Rogue Squadron attacking TIE fighters, to swoop bike chases on Tatooine. It has all the action that makes up the very best of all the Star Wars films. However, Wagner does not forget that these characters are all going through turmoil. Even with the focus on Boba Fett, we still get insight into the heroes of the films. Luke needs rest, to recuperate after the events of The Empire Strikes Back. What comes across with the way that Wagner has written it, that although Luke needs it, he doesn’t actually get it. There is always something else that Luke needs to do, whether it is to fly his x-wing, construct a new lightsaber or fight off threat after threat, Luke hasn’t the time to process the implications of The Empire Strikes Back. Reading it now, I wanted Wagner to delve even further into it, yet this is not the place for it, as his attention needs to be on Boba.
Leia also shines throughout this story. Wagner shows us that she is always thinking of others, like Luke, she hasn’t the time to stop and reflect, that there is too much at stake. Unlike Luke though, even with so much going on, she is still able to take charge and organise everyone else effectively. It’s quite telling that the heroes are the ones who never have the time to take pause. Is that the sacrifice heroes need to make? As well as Luke and Leia, we see the droids written extremely well, their humour feeling right at home. The addition of Rogue Squadron is also very welcome, with Wedge featuring prominently.
As much as Wagner hints at a lot more depth for our heroes, it’s the villains that he really gets to play with here. The focus for the comic story was always Boba Fett and the other bounty hunters. Fett here is simply wonderful, he is deadly, ruthless and Wagner shows that he is incredibly intelligent. If something isn’t right, or as a reader we are like ‘too easy’, Fett has the same thought and changes his actions accordingly. Wagner never dumbs the character down or make him do anything that would seem to insult the character’s intelligence. He is awesome and he acts it! As if the other bounty hunters would give up after The Empire Strikes Back, Wagner makes us realise that getting Solo to Jabba the Hutt is not as simple as flying a ship to Tatooine. My younger self was always pleasantly surprised that there were diversions to other planets to be taken, that Tatooine was just too hot with enemies for Fett to simply land and deliver the cargo. To see these other hunters, to see the competition that a bounty really brings, changes the perception on the Executor when the hunters are lined up, being given the job by Vader. Wagner also introduces us to a new character, Jix. He is a character that you can’t help but love, his demeanor and swagger similar in a lot of ways to Han. The character even got his own micro machines figure in the swoop bike pack (which loving the character, I had as a child).
Although the competition between Vader and Xizor comes clearly through the novel, Wagner is able to show the different machinations of these two characters. Although the bounty hunters, Jim and Jabba all seem to have their own story, it is Vader and Xizor who are the puppet masters, who are pulling the strings behind everything. It is this that allows Xizor to shine, for us to know what sort of character he is. His time in Star Wars is very short lived, yet he makes such an impact as he is so unique. Just like Timothy Zahn realised he needed a non-force user as a villain, so did the Shadows project. Wagner shows why Xizor is so formidable, why he doesn’t need the force to still be a threat. To see him visualised as well by Plunkett is also wonderful, as this is where we really get to see Xizor in his full glory in this project.
On a final note, the ship designs here are wonderful. For players of Fantasy Flight Games’ X-Wing, you will spot many of the different craft that are now part of the game. It seems crazy to think that ship designs that were never in the movie have made it into one of the company’s most popular miniature games.
It takes me back reading these issues again and really strikes a chord with the Original Trilogy fan in me. In the dark days after that first trilogy, it was the novels and books that kept fandom alive. It was this project, that really shook us. The comic is only part of that project. To read it in isolation, while still enjoyable, will leave certain gaps that you will want to fill. But that is the beauty of this project, because those gaps can be filled with a novel and a game, that all work together as their own trilogy to create a story that still resonates with fans today. Wagner pays tribute to the heroes but really focuses on the villains and shows them the love they deserve. With artwork that could have been picked out straight from a Star Wars film, you’ll think that you missed a movie release for Episode 5.5. This is some of the very best Star Wars that has ever been. It may not be canon now, yet its influences, whether through The Clone Wars, through miniature games or even the new series from Marvel Comics can still be felt again and again. The sign of a true classic.
Availability;
Star Wars Shadows of the Empire is a six part mini-series originally released by Dark Horse Comics which is available via the Marvel App, Marvel Unlimited, comiXology and all good comic bookstores online and on the high street.
