GRAPHIC NOVEL
Star Wars
Dark Empire II

Author: Tom Veitch
Artists: Cam Kennedy and Jim Baikie
Titan Books
RRP: £14.99, US $19.95
ISBN-13: 978 1 84576 368 8
ISBN-10: 1 84576 368 8
Available 27 July 2007


Still shaken by his battle with the reborn Emperor Palpatine, Luke Skywalker embarks on a quest to rebuild the Jedi order - and himself. But even as Luke searches the Galaxy for Jedi who might have escaped Darth Vader's purge at the end of the Clone Wars, the Empire is also readying itself for another fight. And the power behind the Empire has its sights set on a new prize: Han and Leia's new-born child...

Dark Empire II is the follow up to Volume I, which was released back in 2003. While the follow up has been a long time in coming, fans may be a little disappointed to learn that the presentation isn't what it could have been.

Set six years after the events in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Dark Empire continues the story of the evil galactic Empire and the rebels who dare to oppose them. In this sequel, the Empire is in retreat, and Luke Skywalker embarks on a quest to rebuild the order of Jedi Knights. But having spent time in the thrall of the Emperor, the lure of the Dark Side grows ever stronger... Can he resist its temptation, or will he fall foul of the darkness that destroyed the Jedi Order? Find out in this addition to the Star Wars saga, which now includes the final chapter of the Dark Empire trilogy: Empire's End.

2000 AD readers may recognise the art work of Cam Kennedy and Jim Baikie (one of my all time favourite artists) although, I'm sorry to say that the reproduction on these stories is not very satisfying. I'm assuming that the original paper stock was different to that which is used here, and to be honest it would have been much better if they'd stuck with the original paper. The end result is a collection with washed out illustrations, which is a shame.

What could have been a must own collection slips considerably due to a poor repro job.

Pete Boomer

Buy this item online
We compare prices online so you get the cheapest deal! Click on the logo of the desired store below to purchase this item.


£9.89 (Amazon.co.uk)
   
£8.99 (Waterstones.com)
   
£14.99 (WHSmith.co.uk)
   
£9.35 (Forbiddenplanet.co.uk)
   
cover
£11.49 (Play.com)
   
$13.57 (Amazon.com)

All prices correct at time of going to press.