Yup! I'm at it again with the Star Wars Tales book. Here we go!
The first story "Shadows and Light" takes the cake in this issue, in my opinion. This is a really cool story taking place in the era of the Old Republic. We're introduced to an interesting group of Jedi that apparently excel at hunting beasts known as Terentateks. These beasts feast on Jedi blood. I like this story because the characters were so cool. The story is long enough that, even though I'd never heard of these characters before, I could figure out the relationships among them and what their motivations were. Weaver does an excellent job on the artistic chores in this story as well - enhanced greatly by Atiyeh's colors. This is just a really great story all around.
The second story, unfortunately, did about as much for me as it did last issue. This is chapter three of the Nomad story featuring a Jedi known as Darca Nyl. Nyl is on the trail of a Dark Jedi (or maybe it's a Sith). Unfortunately, we don't really get to see him catch up to this character here. Instead we get a story about some moisture farmers that have crossed paths first with the character Nyl is after and now Nyl. Nyl gets caught up in a local "tax" dispute with the Hutts on the planet and manages to come up with a creative solution to the problem. Once again, Badeaux does a spectacular job with the art here. Unfortunately, it far outshines the story itself.
The final story, "Lucky", is another solid one. This is the story about the personal motivations of Wedge Antilles. Wedge is a much loved character in the Star Wars Universe and I'm sure that a number of fans will dig this story. The story's name comes from the simple fact that Wedge has made it through as many close-calls as he has and still manages to come out on top. It's true that Wedge is a hero of the Rebellion, but everyone joins up with the Rebellion for a reason. "Lucky" is the story about Wedge's reason. It's a powerful and moving one.
Another solid installment of Star Wars fun! I stand by my opinion that I don't think a bi-monthly (as in every other month) book is conducive to multi-part stories. This issue's grade stands on the strength of the first and third stories.
