GRAPHIC NOVEL
Star Wars
Empire - Volume 5
Allies and Adversaries

Authors: Ron Marz and Jeremy Barow
Artists: Various
Titan Books
RRP £12.99
ISBN 1 84576 272 X
Available 21 April 2006


Luke Skywalker fights side-by-side with a shipwrecked veteran from the Clone Wars, Han Solo flirts with an old flame only to land in the fire, and BoShek (the galaxy's second-coolest smuggler) attracts blaster fire from rebels and imperials alike in this collection featuring some of the most unexpected stories in the era of the Empire...

Allies and Adversaries is the fifth collection in the Star Wars: Empire range of graphic novels. This release features three tales set after Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.

The Bravery of Being out of Range sees smuggler BoShek helping a woman in distress. He'd previously managed to stay under the radar of the Empire, but this woman has ruined all of that in a heartbeat. But it soon becomes apparent that he's bitten off way more than he can chew.

Idiot's Array is a Han Solo tale that sees our hero having to outwit a pretty nasty bounty hunter - that is unless he wants to be delivered to Darth Vader.

"General" Skywalker opens with a group of rebels landing on a remote, unnamed planet. It's not supposed to be inhabited, so they are a little surprised to discover some graves. And, when they also stumble upon a crashed ship, all the signs are that someone, or thing, survived the crash and is lurking in the forest.

All three tales are linked by the fact that they contain characters who are not what they seem. Once you know this fact it soon becomes obvious what the twist in the tale will be. That's a shame, because all three stories have something to offer, but sticking them all together means that all you get are three takes on a similar theme.

While I didn't find this release as enjoyable as previous volumes, it's still well worth picking up.

Pete Boomer

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