Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Star Wars Dark Times: Out of the Wilderness #3 of 5
Dark Horse Comics
Harrison, Wheatley & Jackson
The middle chapter of the latest Dark Times arc provides a bit of crossroads for the lead character while the walls are closing in as the various plots are coming to a collision point. This is a good issue because it continues to show the metamorphous of the surviving Jedi post-Order 66 while evil characters continue to hunt them down for obvious and not so obvious reasons. The book has a little bit of everything in it but it continues to focus mostly on Dass Jennir and his path.
Dass Jennir continues to basically live just moment to moment. In this issue he follows after his companion that was captured. He does so knowing that there is no "next mission". His life has basically been reduced to living. Period. If he can't save one person from some pirates then what good is he to anyone? This self-doubt comes into clearer focus when he flashbacks to his days at the temple with Yoda. This is all great stuff and I am glad to see some of the ties of Dass to the prequel movies and recognizable film characters.
Dass is being tracked by not one, but two villains. One of which, a very mysterious character, is physically close to him. This character is new to the game and does not have the clearest of intentions yet. The other is Darth Vader as he tracks Dass across the galaxy using leads that his underlings are finding for him. Vader's intent is very clear.
The artwork in the book is very good. There is a sense of defeat among the characters and this comes across well in the visuals. Dass should be a beacon of hope but he looks as beaten down as the slaves in the issue. It's all a very powerful story and if this is why the book has massive gaps in shipping dates I think I can live with it.
Dark Times is a good book. It is the rare look at the times of the surviving Jedi after Order 66 but it uses strong characters as its vehicle. The Jedi can't simply all disappear as Yoda has done and this comic explores that. This arc even has another Jedi, Beyghor Sahdett, on the trail of Dass. Is there room for both Jedi to escape the pursuers alive? Based on this book's history of unpleasant endings I think one of these Jedi may meet their demise in this arc. This series only has one drawback and that is the erratic shipping schedule. This is a very good book and an excellent series.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles
