One Of The Greatest Star Wars Books, Period

books:


	• Star Wars: Dark Times: Path to Nowhere (Star Wars) Welles Hartley, Mick Harrison, ... Dark Horse, 2008 - 120 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

One Of The Greatest Star Wars Books, Period

Picking up on events in the last few issues of the "Star Wars: Republic" ongoing series, "Dark Times: The Path To Nowhere" (reprinting the first 5 issues of "Star Wars: Dark Times") takes place a short while after the conclusion of Star Wars - Episode III, Revenge of the Sith (Widescreen Edition). One of the central ingredients of the post-Ep. III Star Wars Galaxy is that the Jedi weren't all wiped out at once. The majority went down with the execution of Order 66 in the movie, but a small number either escaped or were operating at that time in a remote sector of space, or even just temporaily on their own on a given planet or city, so that they survived the Order; sometimes they didn't even immediately know what had happened in the rest of the galaxy. One of these is Dass Jennir, who was operating on the planet New Plymto at the time of the order (in Endgame (Star Wars: Clone Wars, Vol. 9). In that volume, Jennir found himself allying with the Nosaurians, short (about Ewok or Jawa height) bipedal creatures who resemble horned dinosaurs - a group that he'd been fighting against in the clone wars. One of these Nosaurians, Bomo Greenbark, is one of the main characters in this new tale. With New Plympto in the stranglehold of Palpitine's new Empire, hosts of Nosaurians are being rounded up for sale as slaves, and the quest of Bomo and Dass to locate Bomo's family - a quest they undertake with the aid of the crew of the Uhumele, a ship of eclectic misfits (in the great Star Wars tradition) who the two have ended up throwing their lot in with. Meanwhile, with such things as Imperial endorsement of the slave trade kicking into high gear, Darth Vader realizes that the new galactic order that's taking shape is very different than the one Palpitine initially outlined and promised...

Buoyed by awesome artwork by Doug Wheatley - I'd go so far as to say that the visuals in Dark Times are on par with Alex Ross's work in such books as Kingdom Come and the three "Justice" volumes - everything in this tale proceeds with vibrant life: the battles, the introspective moments, the panoramic scenes of exotic locales. The characters, places, and technology are all brilliantly rendered. The writing is some of the best in the Star Wars comics, with great plotting, characterization and dialogue. The tension provided by the protagonists often being in situations where they're clearly at a loss as to what's right and wrong given the circumstances, adds greatly to the darker flavor that was in Episode III and is continuing in the post-Episode III tales. This is one of the best Star Wars books you can get (and I'm counting the novels in that as well as the comics), and Endgame (Star Wars: Clone Wars, Vol. 9) is also extremely highly recommended for those wanting to follow the comics right from the conclusion of Episode III onward.

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Great idea, but a one-dimensional execution

The idea for this series is exceptional: chronicle the adventures of one of the last remaining Jedi during one of the darkest times in the Star Wars universe. Add in well-known personalities like Darth Vader, force the characters to make tough moral choices, and mix in a few interesting aliens - the results of this recipe, one would assume, would be spectacular.

The Path to Nowhere, however, is significantly lacking. Poor dialogue, stereotypical characters, an almost complete lack of backgrounds, and implausible decisions/outcomes turn what could have been an impressive story into a one-dimensional tale. The conversations seem like they were written by a ten year old, and include lines that could easily have been plagiarized from an old B-movie. The clichés become painful after a few pages, and the villains seem motivated only by the story's need to have antagonists rather than any sort of realistic backstory (one of the villains LITERALLY says that his motivation for his evil deeds is "Because I COULD.").

The Path to Nowhere does have its fine points - the primary one being the artwork. Artist Douglas H. Wheatley and colorist Ronda Pattison do an amazing job turning a poorly-written story into something brilliant to behold. To use a cliché, they bring the Star Wars universe to life. Numerous sections of the book have cinematic qualities worthy of the movies, and make this graphic novel worth experiencing.

In short: The Path to Nowhere is a flawed Star Wars graphic novel. I'd recommend those new to the Star Wars comic experience start with another book (such as one from the Legacy series); veterans looking for a fix, however, may be able to find it here.

Note: Dark Times - Path to Nowhere contains issues one through five of the Dark Times comic book series. The series began its run in October of 2006.

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Dark Times start here!

This graphic is way better than that book which was written about Vader "sith lord whatever." The focus is mostly on Dass and Bono, but the couple of scenes with Palpatine and Vader are very insightful. But overall you will find this book depressing and maybe in need of some lexapro afterwords.

Decent, but could have been better.

While this is a good story and all, I just felt that it could have been a lot better. I've got a lot of hope for the series, but this story arc was just a little too depressing for me. Also, I'm not the hugest fan of the art.

However, it's a decent read and worth taking a glance at. I recommend it.

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Fascinating new storyline

The Dark Horse line of Star Wars comics seems, at times, glutted with new ideas. Some are very good, and some -- for reasons of concept, execution or, in a few cases, both -- really should have been left on the reject pile.

The latest series, Dark Times, falls solidly in the "win" column. The first volume, The Path to Nowhere, sets readers up for a fascinating storyline at an era only slightly explored in existing Star Wars fiction.

Anakin Skywalker has fallen to the Dark Side and become Darth Vader -- but the Rebellion described in the original trilogy of films is still many years in his future. Now, for all his brooding menace and power, Vader is still an unsure apprentice learning the ways of his master, Emperor Palpatine. And, with fragments of Skywalker's conscience still struggling in his mind, Vader is not sure his master always acts with the best interests of the Empire at heart.

The Path to Nowhere is bold storytelling that doesn't flinch from taking a dark turn in its plot. Some of Vader's secret thoughts may surprise readers; some of Jannir's actions certainly will. With a strong story supported by Douglas Wheatley's excellent artwork, Dark Times can consider me hooked.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(net) editor

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reviews: page 1, 2

These are dark times indeed, when even the noblest of undertakings must rely on stealth, deception, and possibly the betrayal and abandonment of friends and loved ones. Jedi Dass Jennir and his companion Bomo Greenbark survived the Clone Wars, but the fate of Bomo's wife and daughter remains a mystery. The two friends are determined to find them, but their path leads them from danger to darkness - where each of them stands to lose more than they may hope to gain. Meanwhile, Darth Vader must deal with some unpleasant realities - and memories - of his own. Though he is a Dark Lord of the Sith, even he must bow before the power of the Emperor.

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