Product Description

Join Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie as they battle the Empire's latest super-weapons: the gigantic, planet-destorying World Devastators! Six years after the Battle of Endor, the Empire has been reborn, guided by a mysterious new leader. With a price on their heads, our heros are on the run. Han and Leia struggle to protect their unborn child from the bounty hunters and Imperial troops that dog their steps. But their greatest danger my lie in the troubled heart of a hero - as Luke succumbs to the lure of the dark side!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41854 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 152 pages

From Amazon.com
Tom Veitch's original comic strip story traces Luke Skywalker's entrance into the Dark Side in the years after the fall of Darth Vader. The Empire is fragmented, and the Rebels seem on the verge of winning their long struggle when the sinister power of World Devastators emerges from the galactic core. These Devastators chew up worlds and manufacture robotic war machines out of the resources they consume. Luke's dark journey seems the only way to halt the massacre. But despite the importance of Luke in Dark Empire, the portrayal of Leia as an emerging Jedi is really the centerpiece of this volume. Married to Han (who goes flat in Veitch's hands) and with two children, Leia is torn between her role as mother and her role as Jedi warrior. While the story sometimes jumps too quickly between major scenes, Veitch does a good job of capturing the epic feel of George Lucas's masterpiece trilogy. Cam Kennedy's artwork is mixed in quality. Some of his drawings of the Millennium Falcon, hunter-killer probes, and robotic TIE-fighters seem to leap directly from the movie screen, while his human figures (especially of Han and Luke) can appear generic. Also, his style of coloring, using washes of similar colors on each page, is good for capturing moods but tends to obscure details. Despite these occasional shortcoming, this comic is recommended for one simple reason: once you start reading it, you won't be able to put it down. The other two parts of the Dark Empire trilogy include: Dark Empire II and Empire's End.--Patrick O'Kelley

From AudioFile
Close your eyes, and Mark Hamill is again Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher is Princess Leia and Harrison Ford is Han Solo. The highly skilled casting director has chosen audio actors who sound exactly like the original movie personnel. Not only a full cast, but also a broad range of sound effects adds realism to a magnificent portrayal. The story itself is a sequel to the movies, with the evil Emperor returning again and again like a nine-lived cat. D.R.W. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Ingram
Six years after the Battle of Endor, the fight for freedom rages on! Darth Vader is dead, but a reborn Empire--under a mysterious new leader--strikes at the struggling Rebel Alliance. Full-color throughout. Graphic novel format.

Customer Reviews

OK but something's missing
I like Star Wars and I love old radio shows, but something is missing here. The sound effects and John Williams music are a must on this kind of production and are used but the voice actors just aren't up to snuff. I would reccommend the radio show dramatizations of the movies or the Dark Forces collection whole heartedly but this one is just ok.

This one satisfies your curiosity
OK, your reading the novels and you wonder why Wedge is driving a large recycler in the opening of a book. Then you read references to the Clone Emperor or resurrected emperor and that Luke once went to the dark side and came back. Dark Empire is where those things happen.

It is a pretty good story with above average art work. Some of the art is stunning! It was this comic that got me interested in the art of DAVE DORMAN. DAVE IS AMAZING!

Palpatine gets cloned and has a new super weapon. Luke goes to the dark side to stop the Emperor. Coruscant gets blasted (or is it corresaunt now). Leia, undertrained as she is goes to rescue her brother. The two are never more powerful again.

After surviving and defeating the resurrected emperor, Leia and luke go back to their old selves in future novels ie: Leia is only barely competitent, and Luke is distracted almost to the point of incompetitence at times (one of my big grips in some books).

This is the first of 3 comics on this thread. You can skip the other two, but this one is worthwhile. For an additional treat, do a search of "dave dorman art" and check out where-ever he is. You'll like what you find.

Just to clarify...
Ok, first off, I really enjoyed this book. I've been searching for the Dark Empire series for awhile now and I can't believe I finally found it.

Some people may not like this book, seeing as how I've already seen people saying that Anakin is the chosen one and it's stupid how after all he did Palpatine can just come back. Well, what you may not be aware of is that Luke is the chosen one, not Anakin. Luke is the one that destroyed the Daeth Star, redeemed his father from the Dark side, and reestablished the Jedi Order, and ultimately brought balance to the Force.

Anyway, the book has a great plot, great description, and it's awesome to see how Luke develops/ I personally loved it. If you're Star Wars fan and you're looking for some new material, Dark Empire is worth it.