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Star Wars Tales #8 64-page Anthology Editor: Dave Land, Designer: Mark Cox Cover Artist: Kia Asamiya Assistant Editor: Philip Simon, Publisher: Mike Richardson by Jathniel Velázquez Published 10/16/01 Five stories this time around in a better-than-average collection of short tales from the Star Wars expanded universe and beyond ... |
The Cover: Once again, Dark Horse feels the need to produce
two different covers. Let me emphasize what has been said before by Toryn Farr,
"Greed is a mortal sin, Dark Horse." The photo cover is a simple one that
features everyone's favorite protocol droid, C-3PO. The art cover, on the other hand, is a
real treat. For those of those of you that enjoyed the Episode I manga, here's a bonus for
you. Kia Asamiya, artist of the Episode I manga, lent his artistic talent to the cover of
this issue. It's a beautiful thing.
Once again we start off with a one-page "quickie" starring Dave Land and featuring Baby Darth Maul and Teenage Darth Vader. In a preview of issue #9, Baby Darth Maul and Teenage Darth Vader begin a sparring session that ends with Dave Land becoming one with the Force. Very cute and entertaining. Grade: B+
Captain Threepio |
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| Story
& Art: Letters: Editor: |
Ryan Kinnaird Jason Hvam Phil Amara |
R2-D2 and C-3PO lead off this issue with a very weak story. The bucket sidekick saves the day once again, but once again is robbed the glory of being a hero by the bumbling protocol droid. That's it, really. Grade: D
The One That Got Away |
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| Story & Art: | Andy Watson |
This is the story that sticks out from all the others in this issue. Mina, a Twi'lek singer, ends up being a slave for Jabba the Hutt. She decides to keep a diary of sorts, and in it she describes her feelings and thoughts about being a slave. She eventually gets replaced by Oola and manages to escape Jabba's lair with the help of Lando Calrissian, who is in disguise. Mina, whose real name is Nima'Tar, uses her experience as basis for her thesis, "Hygiene & Power: A Xenopological Study of a Hutt." What makes the story stand out it is the art, consisting mostly of hard lines and simple colors. While this style doesn't always work well, it does here to convey the feeling of a something simple and direct. Grade: A-
The Secret Tales of Luke's Hand |
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| Story:
Art: Colors: Letters: |
Henry Gilroy Dario Brizuela Cara L. Niece Steve Dutro |
Ever wonder what kind of bedtime stories Han and Leia told their kids? Well, wonder no more. In a humorous tale that takes place seven years after the Battle of Endor, Anakin Solo asks his dad, Han, what happened to Uncle Luke's hand. Han tells Anakin the truth, that it was cut off at in the fight at Cloud City. But that's where the truth stops. Anakin wants to know what happened to the hand and Han spins a tale that includes the Wampa's hand from Hoth, Ponda Baba's hand on Tatooine, Darth Vader's hand, the Emperor's foot and the Millennium Fist. In the end, Darth Vader's hand and Luke's hand defeat the Emperor's Foot, but Luke's hand loses a thumb in the process. Anakin asks hs dad what happened to Luke's thumb. "That is a story for another day," is the response. Can't wait to read that story. He tucks in his son and leaves the room only to face Leia with a scowl on her face as she says, "The Emperor's Foot?" Han replies, "What? No harm done." Or so he thinks. The last panel we see Anakin playing with hand and foot sock puppets. Grade: B-
Death Star Pirates |
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Art: Color Rendering: |
Henry Gilroy Glen Murakami Don Skinner |
This is the first story in the Tales series to feature the original three (Luke, Leia, Han) in the same story. Truth be told, it's not a bad story. A pirate tries to capture Han and crew as they leave Yavin 4 and attempts to leave them stranded. Han Solo turns the tables and, with Luke's help, leaves the pirate dead and stranded in space. Mr. Gilroy did an excellent job capturing the characters as they were at the end of ANH. I especially loved seeing Han Solo portrayed as the mercenary we met in the original ANH (before the whole "Greedo-shooting-first" thing). He is deceitful, ruthless and cold-blooded. The art and the coloring are also top notch, reminding me of "Batman: The Animated Series." Grade: A
Bad Business |
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| Story:
Pencils: Inks: Colors: Letters: |
John Ostrander Francis Portela Howard M. Shum Dave Nestelle Steve Dutro |
Vilmarh Grahrk -- Villie for short -- is the star of the last story in this issue. You might recognize Villie from his appearance in the ongoing Star Wars series. In winning a bet against Watto, Villie claims three pit droids that Watto says are defective. Villie believes that Watto is trying to fool him and takes the pit droids. As he leaves, Watto is overjoyed because the pit droids really are defective. As Villie prepares to leave he meets with Miaria Prrt, a princess from Felacat. She offers him a reward if he returns her home. The only catch is that she can't be hyperspace for long periods of time. As soon as they make the jump to hyperspace the pit droids start dismantling everything. On top of this, Miaria turns into something of sabertooth cat because the stress of hyperspace does strange things to her race. I won't give it away, but Villie manages to subdue Miaria, deactivate the pit droids and gain control of his ship. He returns the princess to her home but is threatened when he asks for payment. Villie leaves, but not before he leaves the three pit droids on the planet with orders to "fix planet, fix it to death." Grade: B-
Overall, I give this issue of Star Wars Tales a
B.Discuss this article on the Echo Station message boards.
(Jathniel Velázquez has been trying to build a full size AT-AT to scare the neighbors dog from coming into his yard. He is also the Baron-Administrator of Star Wars: New Horizons.)