Star Wars: Outlander (Star Wars (Dark Horse)) [Paperback]

Tim Truman (Author), Tom Raney (Author), Rick Leonardi (Author), Al Rio (Author)

Book Description

Series: Star Wars (Dark Horse) | Publication Date: May 1, 2001

Ki-Adi-Mundi's first assignment after joining the Jedi Council will take him back to the fearsome desert wastelands of Tatooine. The Jedi Council has tracked a long wayward and powerful Jedi, Sharad Hett of the Sand People, to the backwater world, and it's up to Ki to find him and convince him to return. Only two things stand in his way: the vicious krayt dragon of Tatooine and the Jedi-slaying bounty hunter Aurra Sing! Ki has little choice but to ask for help from the slimiest crime lord of them all, Jabba the Hutt -- and Jabba's aid always comes with a price! Outlander is full-throttle, white-knuckle Episode I-era adventure!

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569715149
• ISBN-13: 978-1569715147
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #423,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Conehead Strikes Back, February 18, 2001

By 

Nathan (Wilmington, DE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Wars: Outlander (Star Wars (Dark Horse)) (Paperback)

`Outlander,' the second story of the ongoing Star Wars series, resumes Ki-Adi-Mundi's tale shortly after the events of `The Phantom Menace.' Outlander is one of the best of the ongoing stories so far, second, in my opinion, only to `Twilight.' Tim Truman's writing is outstanding, and the plot moves at a brisk clip, with an interesting backstory revealed and many interesting characters introduced. The comic isn't without flaws, but it manages to more than hold its own even with them.

On Tatooine, the Tusken Raiders have been mobilized and organized as never before under a new war chief, known to the locals as "ootman," which is Huttese for outlander, and feared by the locals as a demon. The Tuskens have been raiding settlements and killing people for no apparent reason. When news reaches the Jedi Council on Coruscant, it is found out that this mysterious new war chief is none other than the Jedi Sharad Hett, presumed dead more than fifteen years ago. Because all the other members of the Jedi Council have personal connection with Hett, Ki is chosen to return to Tatooine and determine Sharad's standing. If the Jedi still follows the light side of the Force, Ki is to convince him to return to Coruscant to help deal with the new Sith threat, but if he's fallen to the dark side, Ki is to kill him.

What follows is a fast paced adventure on Tatooine with lots of familiar faces. Returning is Aurra Sing, the bounty huntress who appeared for about three seconds in `The Phantom Menace' and has since developed a huge fan following. Tim Truman practically invented her character - he had previously written the Aurra Sing portion of the Bounty Hunters comic, and has also written the upcoming `The Hunt for Aurra Sing' comic. Besides Aurra, we get to see Jabba, Gardulla, and all of their lackeys, and on Coruscant we meet the Dark Woman again. The writing as I've noticed is terrific, but the art is another matter. In this six-issue comic series, there are at least four different art teams, each with a distinctly different style, which makes it sometimes awkward going from issue to issue. I liked the art on four of the comics, but the other two didn't thrill me. In addition, for the first two issues only, Ki is somewhat out of character. For some reason he seems very bitter, sarcastic, undiplomatic and somewhat mean. He grows back into character as the story progresses, though. On the up side, there are some good head jokes aimed at the Cerean. :) In this comic we get to see Aurra Sing in action, some good old convoluted wheels-within-wheels Hutt business ethics, lost of deception, and some cool new characters.

Overall, this is a fantastic story, two-thirds of which is well illustrated. An excellent addition to your Star Wars library. Highly Recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly the best Episode I-era work yet, August 18, 2001

By 

Handofthrawn (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Wars: Outlander (Star Wars (Dark Horse)) (Paperback)

I found the first arc of the ongoing series to be rather average, but I can say that it's picked up here. I'll also admit that I was a bit wary of this ongoing series. The previous ongoing series, 'X-wing Rogue Squadron' has always been what I've considered some of the finest examples of Star Wars ever written. I was very disappointed when the series ended, plus I liked the setting of that ongoing series more than this one.

That said, Truman gave me a pleasant surprise. 'Outlander' is a truly good read. The switching of artists is a bit annoying, but in general it tends to flow fairly well. The art styles are generally similar and most are quite good. Truman is a good writer, and he proves it here.

It also provides an interesting look at the Tuskens and their lifestyle. It presents them a truly intelligent race, with a strong foundation in honor and survival. Truly not the barbarians that most of the non-Tusken characters view them to be. The story is interesting as well, setting up the Hutt's operations on Tatooine well. The intro scene itself, I thought, was quite well-done and provides and interesting base upon which the rest of the story develops.

I'll also say that I've never been too fond of Aurra Sing. she always seemed to me like a transplanted Boba Fett made female. It always seemed like they went a bit too far just to prove how bad she was. (Like the stupid scene with the Trandoshan in the cantina.) Nonetheless, she does become a bit more interesting here. Her narration of scenes is a very nice touch, too.

Kudos to Truman. As I said, I was wary going into this series and story arc, but 'Outlander' proved me wrong. Highly reccomended, especially for its insight into the Tuskens and the background of Tatooine.

4.0 out of 5 stars a great story, but HORRIBLE binding, February 12, 2006

By 

Z. Stern (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Wars: Outlander (Star Wars (Dark Horse)) (Paperback)

I'll start with the few bad parts of Outlander. This graphic novel has such horrible binding that the first time I read it (and I take VERY good care of my TPB's) it fell apart in my hands. Darkhorse really needs to do something about this, as this is the second graphic novel that has fallen apart.

This TPB was very good in terms of its storyline, though. Ki-Adi-Mundi is sent to Tatooine to find out what happened to Sharad Hett, a Jedi who left the Order years ago. Hett was seen on Tatooine leading the Tusken Raiders in battle against the settlers. Ki-Adi-Mundi goes to find out what went wrong with Hett.

The art of Outlander was above average, as Ki-Adi-Mundi looked really weird in every picture. The story and dialogue was very good, which saved it from getting a 1 (because of the binding).
Still, Outlander was a very good read. Just make sure you have some super glue handy while reading it.