Customer Reviews

Dark Encounters (Star Wars: A Long Time Ago..., Book 2)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read the first volume in this series, "Doomworld," and enjoyed it, but thought it was a bit corny and too cartoonish in places. I was surprised and pleased that the comics got much better with time.

A good portion of this set of 19 comics revolves around the Tagge family, who generally opposes Darth Vader, but also opposes the rebellion. Baron Tagge even hopes to supplant Darth Vader himself, though we know where such schemes end. In "Doom Mission," we find Baron Tagge has created a space station within the stormy atmosphere of the gas giant Yavin where Tie fighters launch attacks against the rebel base on the fourth moon. This story is quite creative with how Baron Tagge created the space station, how it was discovered and how it was eventually attacked.

There are quite a few creative moments in the various stories. In a series of three stories, "The Jawa Express," "Saber Clash," and "Thunder in the Stars," we see the Tagge family test and implement an interesting device that freezes anything between implanted towers. The Tagge family uses this device as a weapon against rebel forces.

In one of the most creative stories, "Riders in the Void," we find Luke and Leia have jumped into the void between galaxies. In one of the emptiest places in the universe Luke and Leia discover a unique, organic space ship with only one inhabitant, who is marginally insane. The ship and its inhabitant have an interesting and unique history, and there are moments when I wondered how Luke and Leia were going to escape.

Creature creation was similarly unique and better than in the first 20 comics of "Doomworld." In "The Long Hunt/A Duel of Eagles" we meet the winged people of Skye. In "Cavern of the Crawling Death" we learn about stone mites that destroy everything they contact as they eat it.

There are a few departures from the Star Wars universe as we know it today that are forgivable given that the second two Star Wars movies had yet to be released. We see a Jabba the Hut very different from the slug-like creature we came to know and loathe. We also see the continuing romance between Luke and Leia, though we also know that they are brother and sister. Yet, the general tone of the stories fits well within the Star Wars universe, and the astute reader can see some of the substantial creativity yet to come.

If you read "Doomworld" and liked it, you'll find that "Dark Encounters" is substantially better and more interesting. The quality of the stories is still lower than the general caliber of the Dark Horse stories, but some of them are very creative and interesting. For those readers that look back fondly on memories of comics from the 60s and 70s, these are the types of stories that you remember well. Enjoy!

I've just ordered the reprint trade paperback reprints of these Marvel books. I remember reading and re-reading all of these "beyond the movie" adventures when I was a kid. It was just such an incredible charge to see what Luke, Han, and company were doing between the movies. Water worlds, gambling satellites, Darth Vader learning the name of the Death Star's destroyer(a nice plot device), the blocky artwork and awkward poses of Carmine Infantino artwork, wondering WHY these adventurers NEVER changed their clothes as they NEVER seemed to make their way back to Yavin Base after their Flash Gordon-esque side-adventures... Oh, and we can't forget that Obi-Wan Jedi story with the droid 68RKO (which were the call letters of a radio station if I'm not mistaken)...They really DID capture the imagination. Hopefully, Dark Horse will get around to publishing a VOLUME 3 because therein lie the BEST Marvel STAR WARS tales. But these first two will take you to a Long Time Ago in a Decade Not Far Away Enough--The Seventies. You'll see the pop-cultural impact of the first wave of STAR WARS mania, in many ways as endearingly cheesy as that Thanksgiving Holiday special. If you remember these, you will LOVE them all over again...if you don't, then prepare to be mightily entertained, whether you like comics, STAR WARS, or pop-culture in general. These books definitely belong on your shelf...

Like the name of the review suggests dont let Marvels ignorance of Star Wars hinder your purchase of this item. Based on what we know now of Star Wars the stories in this volume will seem kind of strange and a tad weak. Truthfully there are a quite a few really good stories in this volume, including the Clone Wars Obi-Wan story that is included. Its pretty cool to read a story made in '78 about events that we finally saw and read about today (The Clone Wars).
Another great story but very strange is the introduction of Jabba the HuT (yes one T) For any Star Wars fan it should be interesting how Jabba the Hutt had evolved to the slug we see in ROTJ. In this one he is anyting but what we expected hes a Humanoid with tusks. Hes rich and he even has underlings that do his dirty buisness and its kind of cool to see him in such a light.

This is a must read collection for any true Star Wars fan

3.5 stars actually.

The artwork, and the plotting improves dramatically in this second collection of Marvel stories. Unlike most of the first collection, these stories mostly feel like they could take place in the Star Wars universe and are viable adventures that the heroes could have had before The Empire Strikes Back.

Still though, they are not stellar work by any means, merely solid. In retrospect, due to the authors not knowing where George Lucas was going, some of the things you see cause some cognitive dissonance. No fault of the authors, but it is still jarring to see things you know are untrue.

Decent artwork, and stories in a rather large collection make this a worthwhile collection if you'd like to read a sort of slightly altered universe of what the Star Wars characters did between the movies.

Dark Encounters is the second collection of Marvel comics that were republished by Dark Horse. It includes issues 21-38 and annual #1, which were originally published between March of 1979 and August of 1980. These comics take you right up to the time of "The Empire Strikes Back."

Most of the issues are one-shot stories. Except for issues 31-37, there is very little in terms of a continuous story arc. While there may be some recurring characters, the stories are mostly short adventures that lack much depth. I hope that the Tagge story arc is the beginning of a new style, and that subsequent stories have more substance to them. The artwork is again hit and miss, with some of it being barely tolerable to some that is actually good.

There are also some plot holes that become apparent as the Star Wars galaxy grows. Jabba the Hut(t)'s depiction is the most obvious, but the characterization of Vader as well is not in line with how he's depicted in the movies. I find it surprising that people in charge like Jabba and Vader would be so involved in the day to day activities of their operations, instead of leaving some of the more menial tasks to underlings.

Like the first volume, this collection of comics is ok, but nothing great. The comics near the end of the collection are definitely the best, and hopefully this improving trend will continue into the next collection.

All of the reviews concern Star Wars a Long Time Ago Dark Encounters, which is volume 2 in the Dark Horse reprint series and contain issues #21 - 38 of the Marvel comics series (including the Mike Golden issue).

"Resurrection of Evil" is volume 3 and contains issues #39 - 53, including Marvel's six issue adaptation of "The Empire Strikes Back."

Both are worth seeking out, but volume 2 starts in the middle of a story line concerning Luke, Leia and Han trapped on a gambling casino in space. There is no Lando Calrissian since all of these stories take place before TESB. Volume 3 begins with TESB and continues with tales of the rebels searching for a new place to use as a base (after Hoth was invaded) and searching for Boba Fett and the carbon-frozen Han Solo.

The stories in this book are not only truly great Star Wars stories, but they also have the feel that all comics from the 70s and 80s do. This book contains some of the original Star Wars comic books. The characters from the movies are captured perfectly, with their personalities just like they were in the movies. The new characters are interesting, too. Also, don't think you are getting a small book. There are hundreds of pages, which surprised me when I got this book in the mail.

When the comics were originally produced, the authors didn't see any sequels. They put Jabba the "Hut" in without knowing what he looked like. It is fun to look at the different Jabba and imagine him in slug form. In addition to Jabba, there is also a "blast from the past" with a tale about Obi-Wan Kenobi...taking place in the Clone Wars! They didn't put him in any "actual" battles, since nobody had any idea what exactly the Clone Wars were. It is fun to revisit that character. I won't give away too many facts, but I will say that Darth Vader battles a bounty hunter and there is a new superweapon. (Not to mention there are some lightsaber battles!)

If you have seen any of the original comics, you will see that the color is probably fading. This collection contains the same stories, but the color is restorad and there are no advertisements. At the beginning of each story, the original cover from the comic is included. Overall, I was extremely satisfied with this book. I would encourage anyone who enjoys Star Wars or vintage comic books to purchase this book.

I am so happy these collections exist. My SW comics are old and my collection has huge holes. My favorite is #39, the one Michael Golden drew. Such amazing art and a great story. I remember buying it and being upset it wasn't the start of ESB, which the previous issue had advertised. But in the end, it was even better.

Yes, the art in most issues was kind of goofy, and it seems like no artist involved had actually looked at a Star Destroyer before drawing one. But still, for nostalgia and intesting stories, you can't beat these fantastic collections.