Customer Reviews

Star Wars - Boba Fett: Enemy of the Empire

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

 

 

I wasn't really looking forward to reading this after the travesty that was Death, Lies, and Treachery, but I'm one of those die-hard Star Wars fans who reads everything.

Let me start off with the problems inherent in a Boba Fett centered story -- a great Star Wars story requires at least one of two things, cool space battles or cool jedi battles. Fett can provide neither. That was one (of many) of the failings of D,L,&T, as well as the main failing of the Bounty Hunter Wars book series. Another problem is that Fett is a very quiet, withdrawn individual, and that can get boring after a short time.

That all said, this was a nifty comic. While the story was a little silly, the characters were fun if not taken seriously, and the art, though kind of weird and more suited to a cartoon than a comic, was functional if not exactly inspiring.

There just wasn't much lasting value...it's fun once, but not really worth all the money. Also, this book doesn't have the cool preface by a cool author that most of the collected editions do, but it does have the cover gallery which some lack.

The real gem of this collection is Boba Fett #1/2 -- Salvage. A really good story. This and Twin Engines of Destruction really demonstrate that Fett is much better suited to one-shots than miniseries. A fun, excellently drawn, clever little gem of a comic, this book is almost worth buying for this little unrelated story alone.

Almost...

It's amazing how much of an aura of mystery the obscure Boba Fett has acquired in the Star Wars mythos. In the films, this character has about a half dozen lines tops, but the mysterious armor, demeanor and standing as one of the greatest bounty hunters in the galaxy piqued fans' interest.

In "Enemy of the Empire," we see Fett's first encounter with Darth Vader. Writer John Wagner takes a humorous look at some of the denizens of the Star Wars galaxy and we get to find out how Fett received that odd dent in his helmet that appears in both Episodes V and VI.

"Enemy" didn't win any Eisners (comics' highest award), but it had solid storytelling and art (even if the latter was somewhat cartoony). A nice, light read featuring that mysterious bounty hunter on an adventure that fits quite nicely in the Star Wars epic.

Don't get me wrong. The thought of Vader and Fett duking it out was certainly enough to attract my attention to this story. And what a story it was!

I only had 4 problems with this one. First, the art, although pretty good, took all the suspense from the story. Basically they made everyone (including Fett, Vader, Palpatine, and the Crimson Guards) appear humorous. Second, the conflict between Fett and Vader, although action-packed, was much too short. Third (this one's a spoiler), I felt that the fate of the monks was much to depressing. I mean just as they become optomistic Vader blows them all up (There's irony for you). My final complaint was that this volume should have included "Boba Fett:Twin Engines of Destruction" along with "Boba Fett 1/2".

All in all it was a good story though. However I preferred the kinder humor and suspense of "Boba Fett:Death, Lies, and Treachery"(No people getting fried there, although we do see a hutt get devoured).

This graphic novel's main story, the four comic issue series "Enemy of the Empire" was decent at best. Boba Fett himself was very good, well-drawn, intelligent (as he should be viewed), and strong (unlike in Underworld). The rest of the characters and the storyline ruined everything. The story also seemed like it'd never happen in the Star Wars universe. Why would Vader enlist a group of weak assassins to do something when his stormtroopers could easily do it? It's not possible that there's no one in the entire Empire to complete Vader's task (which also seemed comical). Vader wanted to retrieve a box that contained the living head of a person. Sound weird yet? It gets better.

The head-thingy can predict the future. It was once the queen of a tribe on some planet. And her hair was made of gold. Definitely strange.

The short story at the end saved this. It is the Wizard comic issue called "Salvage". Though short, it was much better than the Enemy of the Empire series. Much better story and dialogue. Without "Salvage" , this graphic novel would have been a 1 or 2. Buy this only for the short.

This is a review of Star Wars - Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire TPB, a collection of 4 issues ½ of a wizard magazine comic - Salvage published Oct 1999 as ISBN 156971407x, Printed in Canada.

This is one of the finest comic Dark horse has ever produced. It is beautifully produced with above average artwork, excellent inking and superior binding. I have sat and read through this comic many times and it has never fallen apart in my hands. The story is action packed, featuring a duel between Vader and Fett. Ken kellys cover art is a 5, the story is a 4, the inking is a 4. The artwork is generally a 2 and a 3 often resembling the comic strip style rather than the rich art we now see in later comics. There were 3 different illustrators with unequal results. But for 1999 this was awesome.

If you like Boba Fett, (which I do,) this is a good series. The selling part of this graphic novel would have to be the Darth Vader/Boba Fett showdown. With fairly good artwork, it's a good buy.

While working one's way through the arts of bartering for souls, a person has to be careful who they choose to align themselves with. This holds true for anyone wanting to make their way out of a deal alive, from the lowliest of traders to the mightiest of bounty hunters. In Enemy of the Empire, Boba Fett learns just that, finding out that perhaps Darth Vader isn't an individual to be bartered with and that something worthy of his attention has to be profitable as well as dangerous in order for him to thrive. He is sent to find a certain someone that has an item in their possession, one that can tell the future in ways that some species would find disturbing, and that can even bring a player like Vader himself hunting for your head.

The storyline that is presented in this TPB is really a good one, brimming with some odd species, a bit of intrigue, and the art of bounty hunting that makes people seek out Boba Fett. It touches on a little of the methods on how to track someone, how your armor can sometimes get an array of ugly reminders of why you should or shouldn't be wary of dealing with anyone, what to do if you are attacked by one of the most dangerous forces in the universe, and how truly messed up some people's abilities can be. The problem in the book is that its art doesn't hold a candle to the interesting worlds involved in the storyline and that, despite the attempts to seem somewhat humorous at times, it fails to evoke laughter from myself. Instead, it seems to take away from some of the faces involved, especially when you are dealing with Vader and his boss, not to mention the rank and file that happen to make up the universe's shady characters. It took me a long time to get past this little portion of the book and, were it not for the fact that Fett was involved, I would have perhaps skipped past it completely.

This isn't to say that the read is worthy, because it is. You simply have to be ready for something of a disappoint in the art department - which I was a little prepared for but not to the extent that it laid out here. Also included in this is "Boba Fett's Salvage (or Boba Fett 1/2), which isn't that bad of a story and that is not the most fun piece to find by itself, making it a better by and something that friends of the hunting class might want to look into. Just remember to bring an open mind to the table because, well, mixed results sometimes anger the viewing mind.

The world of 'Star Wars' comics has been able to achieve heights of drama in expeceptional works such as 'In the Empire's Service', 'Outlander', and 'Mandatory Retirement.' This is not anywhere near that list. Then again, its not supposed to be.
It's for entertainment value, plain and simple. The art and writing are somewhat silly while still having an elemnt of drama and reality to them. John Nadeau of the XWRS fame has a very different art style here, one far less dramatic and far more silly.
Then end is good, especially regarding the fight between Fett and Vader and the fate of the Pessimists. (I love irony.) Overall, while its by no means the best SW comics out there, its a fun, quick read and reccomended as such.