Star Wars: Dark Times - Path to Nowhere Part 1 & 2 (Issues 1 & 2)
January 8th 2008 02:08
Category: Graphic Novels/Comics
“For over a thousand generations the Jedi were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic…Before the Dark Times…Before the Empire.”
Obi Wan Kenobi to Luke Skywalker, Star Wars IV: A New Hope, 1977 Twentieth Century Fox.
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics.
Production Team: Welles Hartley – story, Mick Harrison – script, Douglas Wheatley – art/cover art, Ronda Pattison – colours, Michael David Thomas – letters.
Cost: US $2.99.
As a seven year old child watching Star Wars for the first time all those years ago I can still remember the thrill I felt at seeing this truly fantastic film, and especially hearing those words uttered by Obi Wan Kenobi as he described the Jedi Knights and their truly ancient order. Years later I managed to go see the midnight premier of Episode III Revenge of the Sith down at a cinema in Maitland NSW and there watched precisely how the fall of the Jedi Order was achieved and how the Dark Times and the beginning of Empire was ushered in. “So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause” truer words have never been spoken, and there is possibly a message in that for all of us living in the real world as much as the various character living in the Star Wars universe. Now for the first time the actual era of the Dark Times is revealed in the pages of the comics of the same name published by Dark Horse Comics.
For those of you who don’t know the Jedi Order was drawn into a costly and drawn out conflict against the Confederation of Independent Systems (CIS) during the events of the movies of Episode II and III by the machinations of Darth Sidious and his minion Darth Tyranus. The entirety of the Clone Wars, as these conflicts would later become known, were nothing but part of the Sith’s long range plan to destroy the Jedi Order, a plan that had been a thousand years in the making. This plan culminated with the issuing of the infamous Order 66, an order programmed into various commanders of the Republic’s clone army to eliminate the various Jedi fighting with clone detachments on the grounds that they had become traitors to the Republic. Those Jedi still on Coruscant, mainly teachers and younglings, were brutally suppressed by the newly anointed Sith Lord, Darth Vader, and his soldiers of the 501st Legion. As plans go it was a well coordinated strike by the Sith at their ancient enemy, but as Obi Wan Kenobi says to Luke the Jedi were all but extinct, Order 66 dealt a telling blow to the ancient order but it was as anyone who has seen the original films not a truly terminal blow. The galaxy descended into a period of darkness, the Dark Times, it is this period that the events of the comics occurs in.
Path to Nowhere is the very first tale to commence in this comic series, its events take place fairly much in the initial period after the issue of Order 66 and the consolidation of imperial power by Darth Sidious and his new apprentice, the black armour clad Darth Vader. The first few pages seem to indicate that the transformation from Republic into Empire is moving as planned, but Vader has his doubts, doubts that will continue to plague him until the final confrontation with his son aboard the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi. His master seems to feel that the agitation in his new apprentice is merely impatience, a desire to go forth and make his mark as a Sith Lord; he thinks he knows the mind of the man who was once Anakin Skywalker but he is as ignorant as the former members of the Jedi Council. This is the Emperor’s weak spot, the belief that he knows his apprentice and can anticipate his actions and it is a weakness he is too arrogant to acknowledge, and one that will cost him dearly later on down the track. So in the first three pages the audience is not only introduced into a whole new story arc set in the Star Wars universe but certain key points relevant to what will occur in the future are laid down, their impact being later revealed in stories already told in the Star Wars canon.
From the Emperor and his henchman making the plans of the disposition of their New Order the drama moves to the world of New Plympto, a system in the Core Worlds region of the galaxy and one where holdouts of the CIS are still actively fighting a campaign against their enemies, though this time it is the Empire and not the Republic that is being fought. As with the scenes with Vader and the Emperor this is also a hint of things to come, the local inhabitants the Nosaurians are no longer fighting against clone troopers but Stormtroopers. The Empire has begun to show its true face, and it is one that will not brook any dissent whatsoever. The valiant Nosaurians are not only lead by Generals of their own species but a former Jedi Master, Dass Jennir, who when Order 66 was issued managed to avoid elimination and seek aid from his former enemies.
Unfortunately for Jennir and his Nosaurian comrades their cause is doomed, all that remains now is for the last units of the Nosaurian military to fight a rearguard action at Half Axe Pass in order to enable the women, children, elderly and injured the chance to escape offworld. Somehow Jennir and his Nosaurian offsider, Bomo Greenbark are spared the fate of their fellow rebels, both of them having fallen into a deep pit in an attempt to take out approaching Imperial forces. The Stormtroopers believe them both to have been killed and don’t bother to spare any effort to verify the fact instead concentrating on eliminating the last of the Separatist soldiers. Eventually the two friends regain consciousness after their fall, its evening and when they manage to make their way out from the hole they soon discover what has happened to their fellow warriors. All that remains to them now is to try and avoid capture and make their way to the nearby spaceport and get offworld. A simple enough plan but once the spaceport is reached by the two things begin to rapidly fray apart.
Falling in with the crew of a tramp freighter captained by Schurk-Heren the two friends come to realise that their efforts to provide a safe means for the evacuees have come to nought. Almost as if by prescience the Empire has captured the evacuees, loaded them onto an Imperial transport and sent them off to be sold as slaves. Bomo is naturally in a state over this as his wife and child were meant to be taken to Sullust and instead now they are destined to be sold as slaves on Orvax IV, an infamous slave market whose reputation is feared throughout the known galaxy. Thus the two friends and their new allies aboard the tramp freighter seemed bound to finding a way to help the Nosaurians escape their bondage, though first they have to actually get offworld without being arrested by the Imperials still stationed in the system. And this is the beginning of Dark Times: Path to Nowhere, what promises to be an intriguing series by Dark Horse.
The artwork in this comic like all the other Star Wars lines of comics published is of high quality and a cinematic feel. Dass Jennir, the Jedi Master who is one of the two main protagonists looks like a cross between Legolas and Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter films, he has long flowing white hair that he often wears unbound, much like the two aforementioned characters. Strangely despite having well groomed flowing locks he does sport a bit of a five o’clock shadow, no doubt due to the fact that he has spent a lot of time out in the field. Certainly he is a character who stands out and there is the feeling that he is not just like every other Jedi, he comes across as a well thought out protagonist and not simply another member of the robes, lightsaber and force powers brigade.
Also woven in with this saga of the emergence of the Empire, the internal struggles of Darth Vader, the descent of the galaxy into a dark period of history and the quest to rescue a captive population from slavery there is one other interesting feature that should be mentioned, namely the humanisation of the Stormtroopers. Rather than solely being depicted as white armour clad minions of the Emperor, his faceless enforcers, Path to Nowhere introduces the fact that these soldiers are not sure of what is happening around them, that their loyalty and obedience is not as absolute or unquestioning as the Empire believes. In spite of them being all the same physically the Stormtroopers are men with human feelings and failings, and they are not the same in personality. The commander of a detachment of the elite 501st Legion ponders what will happen to him and his men now that the wars are over, that peace has settled across the galaxy. He even goes so far to actually raise this issue with Lord Vader, telling the Sith Lord that he and his men will not be returning to Coruscant for some time as their transport was reassigned to taking the Nosaurian captives to the slaver markets. He is baffled by what is going on and in speaking fairly earnestly to a superior he only strengthens the seeds of doubts that are starting to grow in the mind of Lord Vader.
Dark Times looks set to be another great production by Dark Horse filled with great stories; great locations and developing further the Star Wars universe. The Empire might have risen, the light of the Jedi order may have gone from the galaxy but remember…the Force will be with you always…
Obi Wan Kenobi to Luke Skywalker, Star Wars IV: A New Hope, 1977 Twentieth Century Fox.
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics.
Production Team: Welles Hartley – story, Mick Harrison – script, Douglas Wheatley – art/cover art, Ronda Pattison – colours, Michael David Thomas – letters.
Cost: US $2.99.
As a seven year old child watching Star Wars for the first time all those years ago I can still remember the thrill I felt at seeing this truly fantastic film, and especially hearing those words uttered by Obi Wan Kenobi as he described the Jedi Knights and their truly ancient order. Years later I managed to go see the midnight premier of Episode III Revenge of the Sith down at a cinema in Maitland NSW and there watched precisely how the fall of the Jedi Order was achieved and how the Dark Times and the beginning of Empire was ushered in. “So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause” truer words have never been spoken, and there is possibly a message in that for all of us living in the real world as much as the various character living in the Star Wars universe. Now for the first time the actual era of the Dark Times is revealed in the pages of the comics of the same name published by Dark Horse Comics.
From the Emperor and his henchman making the plans of the disposition of their New Order the drama moves to the world of New Plympto, a system in the Core Worlds region of the galaxy and one where holdouts of the CIS are still actively fighting a campaign against their enemies, though this time it is the Empire and not the Republic that is being fought. As with the scenes with Vader and the Emperor this is also a hint of things to come, the local inhabitants the Nosaurians are no longer fighting against clone troopers but Stormtroopers. The Empire has begun to show its true face, and it is one that will not brook any dissent whatsoever. The valiant Nosaurians are not only lead by Generals of their own species but a former Jedi Master, Dass Jennir, who when Order 66 was issued managed to avoid elimination and seek aid from his former enemies.
Unfortunately for Jennir and his Nosaurian comrades their cause is doomed, all that remains now is for the last units of the Nosaurian military to fight a rearguard action at Half Axe Pass in order to enable the women, children, elderly and injured the chance to escape offworld. Somehow Jennir and his Nosaurian offsider, Bomo Greenbark are spared the fate of their fellow rebels, both of them having fallen into a deep pit in an attempt to take out approaching Imperial forces. The Stormtroopers believe them both to have been killed and don’t bother to spare any effort to verify the fact instead concentrating on eliminating the last of the Separatist soldiers. Eventually the two friends regain consciousness after their fall, its evening and when they manage to make their way out from the hole they soon discover what has happened to their fellow warriors. All that remains to them now is to try and avoid capture and make their way to the nearby spaceport and get offworld. A simple enough plan but once the spaceport is reached by the two things begin to rapidly fray apart.
Falling in with the crew of a tramp freighter captained by Schurk-Heren the two friends come to realise that their efforts to provide a safe means for the evacuees have come to nought. Almost as if by prescience the Empire has captured the evacuees, loaded them onto an Imperial transport and sent them off to be sold as slaves. Bomo is naturally in a state over this as his wife and child were meant to be taken to Sullust and instead now they are destined to be sold as slaves on Orvax IV, an infamous slave market whose reputation is feared throughout the known galaxy. Thus the two friends and their new allies aboard the tramp freighter seemed bound to finding a way to help the Nosaurians escape their bondage, though first they have to actually get offworld without being arrested by the Imperials still stationed in the system. And this is the beginning of Dark Times: Path to Nowhere, what promises to be an intriguing series by Dark Horse.
The artwork in this comic like all the other Star Wars lines of comics published is of high quality and a cinematic feel. Dass Jennir, the Jedi Master who is one of the two main protagonists looks like a cross between Legolas and Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter films, he has long flowing white hair that he often wears unbound, much like the two aforementioned characters. Strangely despite having well groomed flowing locks he does sport a bit of a five o’clock shadow, no doubt due to the fact that he has spent a lot of time out in the field. Certainly he is a character who stands out and there is the feeling that he is not just like every other Jedi, he comes across as a well thought out protagonist and not simply another member of the robes, lightsaber and force powers brigade.
Also woven in with this saga of the emergence of the Empire, the internal struggles of Darth Vader, the descent of the galaxy into a dark period of history and the quest to rescue a captive population from slavery there is one other interesting feature that should be mentioned, namely the humanisation of the Stormtroopers. Rather than solely being depicted as white armour clad minions of the Emperor, his faceless enforcers, Path to Nowhere introduces the fact that these soldiers are not sure of what is happening around them, that their loyalty and obedience is not as absolute or unquestioning as the Empire believes. In spite of them being all the same physically the Stormtroopers are men with human feelings and failings, and they are not the same in personality. The commander of a detachment of the elite 501st Legion ponders what will happen to him and his men now that the wars are over, that peace has settled across the galaxy. He even goes so far to actually raise this issue with Lord Vader, telling the Sith Lord that he and his men will not be returning to Coruscant for some time as their transport was reassigned to taking the Nosaurian captives to the slaver markets. He is baffled by what is going on and in speaking fairly earnestly to a superior he only strengthens the seeds of doubts that are starting to grow in the mind of Lord Vader.
Dark Times looks set to be another great production by Dark Horse filled with great stories; great locations and developing further the Star Wars universe. The Empire might have risen, the light of the Jedi order may have gone from the galaxy but remember…the Force will be with you always…
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