"Star Wars: The Screaming Citadel"

 

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Star Wars: The Screaming Citadel” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

            It was a time of turmoil for the galaxy. While the evil Galactic Empire remained strong, the forces of the Rebel Alliance continued to struggle for freedom from their oppressive grasp, establishing a secret outpost on Horox III, deep in the Outer Rim. Young rebel pilot Luke Skywalker, struggling to forge his destiny, was at a loss. He felt the Force, but without the proper training, he could not become the Jedi Knight he was certain he must become. Meanwhile, the rogue archaeologist and sometime scoundrel Doctor Aphra came into possession of a very valuable – and very dangerous- artifact… one containing the recorded consciousness of an ancient Force user.

            After getting into a fight in a bar, Luke found himself teaming up with Aphra and the Wookie bounty hunter Black Krrsantan. Aphra had come to deduce the Force potential in Luke from Aphra’s time under the employ of Sith Lord Darth Vader. Aphra informed Luke she had a crystal containing the archived personality of a Jedi named Rur, and that once a year, the Queen of Ktath’atn held a party where the Queen received guests and swapped favors for meeting interesting organic life, and that the Queen could activate the crystal, giving Luke a teacher, and Aphra information on the ancient past. Luke agreed to go along with Aphra, Krrsantan, and Aphra’s droids 0-0-0 and BT-8. Upon arriving at “The Screaming Citadel” of the Queen, Krrsantan was denied admittance to the party due to the Queen’s allergies to certain species. The Rebel alliance, led by Princess Leia Organa, with the aid of Sana Starros, became aware of Luke’s departure with Aphra and suspected that Aphra had kidnapped Luke. When Aphra presented Luke to the Queen, Aphra and Luke were rejected, until Luke used the Force to defend Aphra from the Queen’s guards. Aphra and Luke were informed the Queen would hear their request in the morning. The Queen secretly planned to consume Luke’s life force to sustain the Queen’s own life. Sana, having history with Aphra, deduced that Aphra had brought Luke to Ktath’atn, and Leia, Sana, smuggler Han Solo, and his Wookie companion Chewbacca headed to Ktath’atn in Han’s ship the Millenium Falcon. Krrsantan had been placed in quarantine since the party. At breakfast with the Queen, the Queen attempted to force Luke to use the Force to open the breakfast platters, but the platters were hiding Abersyn Symbiotes which the Queen intended to use to control Luke and Aphra. Luke and Aphra managed to escape the Queen’s dining hall and ran right into 0-0-0, BT-8, Leia, Han, and Sana. Sana attempted to take out Aphra, but Luke protected Aphra and revealed to the Rebels that Aphra had not kidnapped Luke, and that not only had Luke gone voluntarily with Aphra, Luke now considered Aphra a friend. The Queen’s agents chased the Rebels, Aphra and the Droids into a laboratory, which BT-8 sealed shut. The lab was full of Abersyn Symbiotes. Aphra led Luke off on the pretense that Aphra was trying to find a way out of the complex, but in actuality was leading Luke to the Queen. Aphra threatened to destroy Luke, and bargained Luke’s life for the Queen activating the crystal. The Queen used her abilities to corrupt Han. Leia, Sana, and the Droids managed to escape and found Krrsantan about to be taken out by one of the Queen’s lieutenants, Bombinax. After Leia, Sana and the droids managed to temporarily evade Bombinax, 0-0-0 surgically implanted an Abersyn Symbiote in Krrsantan’s head. The Symbiote enhanced Krrsantan was able to defeat Bombinax. The Queen unlocked the crystal for Aphra after Aphra delivered Luke to the Queen. The Queen infected Han with an Abersyn Symbiote and took control of Han, converting Han into the Queen’s army. Han attempted to convert Leia, but Sana and the Droids were able to rescue Leia from Han and the Queen’s army’s clutches. Luke escaped the Queen’s confinement. Aphra triggered an explosion to distract the Queen, and implanted Luke with an Abersyn Symbiote. Luke was able to take over control of the Symbiote hive from the Queen and became the new King of the Symbiotes. Luke began a duel with the Queen. Aphra used Rur to give Luke assistance and Luke was able to get free of the Symbiote and take down the Queen. Leia and Sana took out the remaining hive leaders, converting Han into the new King of the Symbiotes. Han’s act as King was to free all of the former Queen’s subjects from the control of the Symbiotes. Leia then had 0-0-0 sedate Han and remove Han’s symbiote. Luke rejected Aphra’s offer of access to Rur, and the Rebels and Aphra’s group parted ways.

            In an effort to find a new staging ground for a hidden rebel base, Han Solo led rebel leader Princess Leia to the planet of Odona, a remote world of Harsh extremes and secret alcoves long used by pirates and smugglers to avoid the Empire. But as their mission stretched on, Han and Leia found themselves cut off from their allies and lost in the caves of Odona as a massive ice storm approached.

            Some time beforehand, Han had double-crossed Frax. Frax teamed up with Selt and HR-PO to get revenge on Han. Frax, Selt and HR-PO followed Han to Odona. Han and Leia found themselves under fire and were separated. Han escaped into the caves, while Leia retreated to the Millenium Falcon. After getting weapons, Leia followed Han, Frax, Selt and HR-PO into the caves. After a shootout, Selt and HR-PO broke their deal with Frax, feeling they were tricked into a harder operation than they were led to believe it would be. Frax did not take this betrayal and ensured Selt and HR-PO did not walk away from the deal-break. Han and Leia escaped the caves, and Frax followed, and the three battled it out in the ice storm, and Han and Leia were rescued by the Rebellion.

            After escaping from a group of the Empire’s Tie Fighters, Luke and Leia landed on a planet made primarily of water. After spending week surviving, Luke and Leia met an aquatic race. Luke and Leia survived an assault from a squad of Stormtroopers and a Walker. Luke and Leia then used the parts from the Walker to fix their ship and escape from the planet.

            Sana teamed up with Lando Calrissian to run a moneymaking con on a group of pirates, the Empire, and Jabba the Hutt.

            The Rebellion tasked Han Solo and Chewbacca with smuggling Grakkus the Hutt across the galaxy past Imperial patrols to a prison facility.

            The Empire had abducted C-3PO and were interrogating the droid to try to get information on the Rebellion. Fellow droid R2-D2 stole an X-Wing to fly to C-3PO’s rescue.

            Sergeant Kreel and the Special Commando Advanced Recon Troopers were tasked by Darth Vader to find and destroy the Rebel base in the Horox System and bring Luke Skywalker to Darth Vader.

            As war raged on between the Galactic Empire and the Rebellion, the battle of everyday survival continued for those trying to live a normal life. Between the scorching heat of the twin suns on Tatooine and the vast deserts of the Jundland Wastes, the life of a Tusken Raider was not an easy one. But when the world had turned its back on the Tusken Raiders, they always had the sand to call their home.

            On Jedha, Luke and Leia rescued Ubin Des and Chulco Gi, two Partisans who fought with Saw Gerrera. After retreating to NaJedha, Luke learned Chulco was an Aspirant to the Disciples of the Whills, a group that worshipped the Force. Leia asked Ubin for a meeting with the Partisans’ leader. Queen Trios of Shu-Torun was working with the Empire to assist in mining Kyber crystals from Jedha. Trios was allied with Commander Kanchar in the operation. Ubin and Chulco brought Leia, Luke, and Han to the Partisans’ leader Benthic on Jedha. Benthic agreed to negotiate an alliance with the Rebellion. Chulco told Luke about the temple of the Cult of the Central Isotoper at the edge of the blast crater on Jedha. The Partisans planned to destroy the Empire’s mining Citadel on Jedha, and Luke, Han and Leia agreed to aid the Partisans in destroying it. After the Citadel was destroyed, Chulco decided he had to complete his pilgrimage. Luke decided to go with Chulco, against Leia’s wishes. Upon arriving, Luke felt a massive disturbance in the Force. The Imperials deployed their super weapon. Ubin attempted to destroy it but failed. Chewbacca was injured in a shootout in Nejedha space. Chulco was corrupted by the Dark Side of the Force, and attacked Luke, and Chulco did not survive. Luke reunited with the Partisans. Leia, Luke, C-3PO, and R2-D2 boarded the Imperial Destroyer Leviathan to disable the ship. Luke confronted Kanchan. Leia faced off with Trios. Han took command of the backup mission. The Rebellion and the Partisans worked together to end the Empire’s mining operation on Jedha.

            Okay, now we have the plot synopsis out of the way, so it’s time to move on to my individual segments of this review. As always, I’m going to start off by giving my personal opinions about the book. As far as the stories go, I found this book to be pretty entertaining. I will say that I love Doctor Aphra, so “The Screaming Citadel” crossover storyline with her was a real treat and turned out to be my favorite story in the book. I just like how she plays both sides of the field, and her relationship with Luke throughout the story was complex and I liked watching how it changed over the course of the adventure. I enjoyed the story of the Queen, and I liked how the Symbiotes were able to be controlled by the most powerful being in the hive, and the fluctuation of leadership was entertaining. I found all the one issue stories to be enjoyable, they gave fun brief looks at all the characters and offered some insight into their personalities, and it was especially enjoyable to get to see stories centered around characters like Sana Starros and Sergeant Kreel who have not had screen time in any current “Star Wars” film or show projects, so they don’t appear in any other media but the comics and there are no other places where you can view these characters, so those were actually the most interesting stories. I liked how the Empire was getting annoyed by C-3PO, they couldn’t get him to shut up about things they didn’t want to hear about and couldn’t get any of the information that they actually wanted out of him. I also enjoyed “The Ashes of Jedha” storyline, I thought it was exciting and had a lot of interesting moments, particularly the ending, which I am not going to spoil, but it did surprise me how Leia’s faceoff with Trios turned out. All that said, while I found the stories enjoyable, we cannot forget that this was a graphic novel and must be judged as such. And unfortunately, I did not enjoy the artwork at all. Some of my regular readers who have been with me before may recall my great hatred of the work of Salvador Larroca, and to my great displeasure, he was the artist on the issues of the main “Star Wars” series contained in this book. None of the other artists who illustrated for this collection appealed to me, either. Another component of a graphic novel I evaluate is the title. What I’m looking at is how best it was in representing the stories contained in this volume. There were only two ongoing storylines in this collection, “The Screaming Citadel” and “The Ashes of Jedha,” and I honestly feel like either one is good for the book, despite “The Ashes of Jedha” being one issue longer than “The Screaming Citadel,” but I won’t hold it against the editors for deciding on choosing “The Screaming Citadel” considering that it was a crossover between two different series and contained a one-shot, so I feel like it does deserve the priority title because it was an event and those are pretty big deals in Epic Collections. The final aspect I’m going to evaluate is the cover. This is to assess whether this cover represents the contents of the volume and if it actually delivers on what the cover shows, if what you see on the front of the book actually happens inside. This cover features Luke Skywalker with his Lightsaber in the foreground, with Doctor Aphra and the Queen in the midground, and the Millenium Falcon firing shots and red lightning in the background. I will say that all this does happen in this volume, so I won’t gripe about the cover being an inaccurate representation of this collection. I will also say that since “The Screaming Citadel” takes up a large portion of this volume and this cover primarily represents “The Screaming Citadel” that this cover is an appropriate choice as a cover for this particular volume. Was it the only cover that would work for this volume? Absolutely not, but it was an accurate depiction of events contained in this book, so I feel like it was a great choice as a cover.

            Next up on the agenda is accessibility. Now, I know there are some of you who are new to this blog and have never read one of my posts before and are wondering what I mean by accessibility, just as I know there are some of you who have been to this blog many times and already know what I’m about to say, having explained this over seven dozen times at this point, but for those formerly mentioned newbs to my blog, I must once again explain what I mean when I use the word “accessibility” in application to media. So, what I’m saying is basically how easy it is to get into this book. So, let’s pose the question of if this book is accessible? In other words, can a person who has no outside knowledge of “Star Wars” pick up this book, read it, and understand what they have just read based solely on what is contained in the pages of this volume, and this volume alone? I would say that this book is relatively standalone. While this book is marketed as Vol. 3, I don’t feel like the first two volumes are essential reads to understanding this book. I would say having seen the film “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope” is essential viewing for understanding this book, though, and would not recommend reading this book if you know absolutely nothing about “Star Wars.” If you’re a fan of the “Star Wars” franchise and want to enjoy more “Star Wars” media, I wouldn’t say you should start with this volume as your first choice in comic reads, but I would not say it’s uninviting if you choose to skip the first two volumes and decide to start here. There are absolutely worse places you could start reading at.

            Okay, we’ve come to one of the most important parts of my reviews: the numeric score. I know that some of my readers come to my reviews specifically for this reason, but I know every segment of my reviews is important in some way, shape, or form, so I really can’t say this segment is the most essential part of my reviews, but it does have a high amount of value in the scope of the review. There are those of you who have been with me on some of my other seven dozen or so reviews, and already know how I roll, but I also know there are some of you newbs who need me to explain how I score. My system is extremely simple: I score on a scale of exact whole numbers ranging from one through ten. One is the lowest score I will give, and that means that reading this book was one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life. Ten is my highest score, and represents sheer perfection in every way, I can find no complaints about it, and reading it was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. To get a ten, a graphic novel has to have an enjoyable story, amazing art, an accurate title, and an appropriate cover. I don’t very often give out tens. This book had an enjoyable story, but it wasn’t perfect. The artwork was consistently visually displeasing. The title and cover were both proper representations of the volume. So, putting all of those factors together and evaluating a score, what we’re looking at is… a six! While I enjoyed reading the words written, the visuals were just not appealing to look at and made the reading experience so much less enjoyable.

            Next up is my recommendation segment. This segment is meant to do two things. The first is to answer if I, Tim Cubbin, personally recommend this book to you, my readers. The second is to suggest traits that a person looks for while they read that they can find in this particular volume, things that would make it appealing to readers. In answer to my first question, yes, I do personally recommend this book. If you’re reading this review and now, based solely on the words you’ve just been reading for the past few minutes you’ve decided you want to read this book, I would tell you to check your favorite online retailer or bookstore, or your local comic book shop or library, or “Star Wars” obsessed friend, and try to get your hands on a copy of this book as soon as you can and give it a read. As for the kind of people who might enjoy this book, besides the obvious of fans of “Star Wars” or the creative team, people who like books about aliens, robots, pirates, and smugglers will find this book enjoyable.

            Well, I’d say we’re getting close to the point where I’m about ready to post. I do have a few things I have to say first. I’ve been doing this blog for nearly six years at this point. In that time, I’ve published over 190 posts. Keep checking out timcubbin.blogspot.com for more content. I’ve compiled short stories, poems, essays, articles and editorials, and reviews. I’ve reviewed prose novels, comic book events, and manga, as well as over seven dozen other Epic Collections. I purchase every Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection and Ultimate Epic Collection as soon as I can after it is released and if possible, post a review after I read it. Those are currently the main focus of this blog at the moment. If you liked this post and have some more time and want to check out more “Star Wars” content, I’d recommend reading my reviews of “Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes” “Star Wars: Yoda’s Secret War” “Star Wars: Darth Vader: Shadows and Secrets” “Star Wars: Darth Vader: Vader Down” and “Star Wars: Kanan: The Last Padawan” as more “Star Wars” Modern Era Epic Collection posts. I post on a very frequent basis My next review is going to be “Venom: Sting of the Scorpion” which should be posted within the next month after the posting of this review, so if you’re interested, keep checking back for it. That’s all I have to say for now, so until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

"Star Wars: Darth Vader: Vader Down"

 

                The following is a review of the graphic novel “Star Wars: Darth Vader: Vader Down” as collected in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

                It was a period of unrest in the galaxy. The Sith Lord Darth Vader, enforcer of the Galactic Empire, learned that it was Luke Skywalker who was the rebel pilot responsible for blowing up the Death Star. Vader was now more determined than ever to track down his son and turn him to the dark side. Luke, unaware that Vader is his father, fought against the Empire with the Rebel Alliance. New to the ways of the Force, Luke discovered the journal of Ben Kenobi and began investigating any information he could on the Force-using Jedi Knights and their ways. Through the underworld sources of his secret ally, Dr. Aphra, Vader received word of Luke’s location-the former Jedi temple of the planet Vrogas Vas…

                Vader flew to Vrogas Vas, where he encountered three squadrons of Rebel starfighters. Vader got into a firefight with them and took out two entire squadrons. Luke was with one of the Squadrons and rammed his starfighter into Vader’s Tie fighter. The two ships crashed down onto the surface of Vrogas Vas, and both Luke and Vader survived. Princess Leia of the Rebellion saw this as the perfect opportunity to take out Vader and ordered the Rebel soldiers on Vrogas Vas as well as a battalion of Rebel forces to go after them, a grouping she would be backing up herself. Smuggler and Rebel ally Han Solo, his companion Chewbacca, the droid C-3PO, and Leia boarded Han’s ship the Millenium Falcon and flew to Vrogas Vas. Doctor Aphra, along with her droids 0-0-0 and BT-1, fearful that Vader would believe Aphra had led Vader into a trap, decided to fly to Vrogas Vas to aid Vader. Luke and his droid R2-D2 discovered the Jedi temple, but as Luke was exploring it, he was discovered and rendered unconscious by Aphra and her droids. Aphra attempted to abduct Luke, but Han and Chewbacca found Aphra. Luke woke up, and he and R2-D2 were chased by BT-1, while Chewbacca was poisoned by 0-0-0. Han and Aphra were both attacked by wasp-worms. Luke managed to literally disarm 0-0-0. Luke, Han, Chewbacca, and R2-D2 managed to escape Aphra’s droids. Leia came face to face with Vader and ran. She found C-3PO and ordered him to find Luke and the others, then ordered the Rebel forces to fire on her location at her signal when Vader arrived. Luke, Han, Chewbacca and R2-D2 attempted to fly to Leia’s rescue in the Millenium Falcon but were rammed by the ship of the Wookie bounty hunter Black Krrsantan. Han told Luke to rescue Leia while he and Chewbacca handled Krrsantan. 0-0-0 and BT-1 found C-3PO and took C-3PO’s arms to replace 0-0-0’s missing pair. Vader found Leia, but the Rebel forces were taken out by Commander Karbin and his Imperial forces, who wanted to eliminate Vader and bring Luke to the Emperor. Karbin and Vader had a Lightsaber duel. R2-D2 gave Chewbacca the antidote to the poison. Luke was discovered by Karbin’s Imperial forces Chewbacca was defeated by Krrsantan. Leia had a chance to take out Vader while Vader was dueling Karbin but decided not to make the shot. C-3PO managed to stop Krrsantan. Aphra assisted Vader in ending Karbin. Vader stopped Luke from being abducted. The Rebels managed to capture Aphra and escape.

                Vader returned to the Emperor with the remains of Karbin and asked for a chance to prove himself. The Emperor informed Vader that the ore barons of Shu-Torun were rebelling against Queen Trios and that the Emperor required a full military intervention. Shu-Torun provided many rare metals and minerals and was an asset to the Empire and the Emperor required them to fight against the enemies of the Empire. Grand General Tagge insisted on the inclusion of Doctor Cylo in the mission. Cylo brought his creations Tulon Voidgazer and the twins Morit and Aiolinn with him. Vader destroyed a delving citadel, causing a conflict between himself and Queen Trios, where Vader established how their professional relationship would work. Vader placed a reward for the return of Aphra. Baron Rubix launched an assault on Queen Trios that Vader and the twins were able to fight off. Tagge and Cylo plotted against Vader. Vader went on an assault against Baron Rubix in a combat drill, but the ship went off course. Vader and his Stormtroopers and droid army fought Rubix’ elite troops and forced them into retreat, suggesting Queen Trios lead an attack. Queen Trios’ Chancellor Jooli tried to veto Trios’ order to lead an attack, and Trios had Jooli taken down as a traitor. The twins attacked Vader, and while the twins dueled Vader, Morit thinned the field, then escaped. Queen Trios breached Baron Rubix’ defenses and had him eliminated, setting up a new baronry. Vader’s adjutant Inspector Thanoth contacted Vader to inform him Aphra had been found.

                The Emperor informed Vader that Cylo had gone rogue and had to be destroyed. Vader confronted Thanoth, who revealed to Vader that Thanoth was aware of Vader’s machinations with Aphra and plans for Luke, revealing Aphra’s location on the Cosmatanic Steppes, before Vader eliminated Thanoth. Vader ordered 0-0-0, BT-1, and Black Krrsantan to return Aphra to the Executor, the Emperor’s flagship, and failing that, to silence her. Vader confronted Professor Thlu-ry to learn the location of Cylo in the Crushank Nebulae. Aphra surrendered to 0-0-0, BT-1 and Krrsantan. Vader boarded Cylo’s Whale Ship, where he was confronted by Voidgazer, who pitted Vader against Cylo’s cyberanimated Rancor. Vader defeated it, then turned Voidgazer’s own system against her, then destroyed the Whale Ship. Cylo attempted to steal the Executor. Vader disabled it, preventing Cylo’s escape. 0-0-0 and BT-1 rescued Aphra from the Executor’s holding cells. Cylo sent Morit after Vader and the two had a Lightsaber duel to the finish. Krrsantan assisted Aphra. Vader confronted Cylo, who shut down Vader’s cybernetics. Vader went through a mind trip, which enabled him to find the strength to reactivate, then he ended Cylo’s current body, but Cylo had emergency backups, ready to transfer his consciousness into should one of his bodies meet its demise. Aphra made her way to the Emperor’s chambers, where she revealed all the details of her alliance with Vader and his machinations, all save for the secret of Luke Skywalker. Vader confronted Cylo for the final time in his Whale Fleet. The Emperor had a discussion with Vader about what he thought of all of Vader’s dealings. Vader ended his alliance with Aphra. Vader then planned how to move forward.

                Okay, so we’ve got the plot synopsis out of the way, let’s go on to my input about this graphic novel. As my regular readers know, I always start with my own personal feelings about the book, and I will once again follow suit in this review. So, I will say that I found this book to be extremely enjoyable. I’ve already reviewed the “Vader Down” story arc in my review for “Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes” if you wish for a comparison piece. I highly enjoyed that story arc. The action was great, the story was exciting, the characters were used in the proper canon fashion. I love Doctor Aphra and her murder droids, I feel they add levity to the story. I like Krrsantan, I actually just recently discovered he appeared in the Disney+ series “The Book of Boba Fett” in live action, but he first appeared in the “Star Wars” comics. I enjoyed all the plot twists of who turned out to truly be allies and who turned out to be enemies. And I particularly marveled at the ending, which displayed just how dark Darth Vader could be if you crossed him. Darth Vader is a great cinematic villain, and a comic book series devoted to him solely is quite entertaining, something we never truly got to see on film, unless you want to call “The Clone Wars” about Anakin, but that series never truly displayed Anakin’s dark side the way this comic series has. In the two volumes released so far, the reader sees Vader make many machinations in his plot to first discover who destroyed the Death Star, then upon learning that this pilot was his son, he did everything he could to learn Luke’s location so he could turn his son to the dark side, and he would do absolutely anything he could to achieve this goal, no matter who he had to use or betray to do so along the way. I really loved the way Kieron Gillen depicted Vader in this series, and he highlighted this character so well. His ultimatum with Queen Trios was quite strict, and it showed exactly how in control of everything Vader was, considering how he placed Trios into the position she ascended to, and her reestablishment of the baronry was parallel to Vader’s actions, and her having Jooli out of the picture to get her way illustrated how much of Vader’s puppet she was, and I found her to be a complex character. I enjoyed watching Cylo’s descent further into villainy as the series progressed, especially his attempts at immortality and his creations. My big complaint, however, is my love/hate relationship with the artwork of Salvador Larroca. I’ve been conflicted with his art in the past, there have been times where I’ve really enjoyed it, and times where I’ve just been displeased by it. More recently, I’ve come to generally dislike it. There’s something in particular about the way he draws Darth Vader’s helmet that I dislike. There’s something about how he draws human faces that bothers me as well, they just don’t have a natural appearance to them. That said, the characters are portrayed by all the artists recognizably as their film counterparts. I would also love to see Doctor Aphra, 0-0-0, and BT-1 appear onscreen in a future “Star Wars” project. We have to also discuss the title. I’m a huge stickler on having the title of the graphic novel be appropriate to the content of the inside of the book. This book had three potential titles, “Vader Down,” “The Shu-Torun War,” “End of Games,” or they could have decided on calling it something else completely random. “Vader Down” and “End of Games” were the best of the choices in my opinion, and I do feel “End of Games” would have been a superior title, but “Vader Down” is an adequate title as well. I also mentioned in my last post that from then on, I would also be discussing the appropriateness of the cover as applied to the content of the book. This book uses the cover of “Darth Vader” #12, depicting Darth Vader with his hand outstretched superimposed over a Rebel squadron including the Millenium Falcon. This generally applies to the “Vader Down” story arc, which covers over a third of the book, so in my opinion, I feel like this cover is a decent enough choice for the cover. Going back to the inside content, as far as the story goes for this book, I really enjoyed it, but the art did fall flat throughout the majority of this graphic novel. But I will say that overall, I was able to find this a pleasurable experience to read and consume.

                Next up on our agenda of topics is accessibility. Now, I know there are some of you who are wondering what the heck I mean when I use the word “accessibility” like this, and there are some of you who have been with me for others of the seven or so dozen times I’ve done these reviews. If you’re not in the know, fret not, for I shall explain, and for those of you who already know what I’m about to say, please hang in there as I once again give my little speech. Anyway, in the case of a graphic novel, if I say “accessibility” I mean can a person who knows absolutely nothing about “Star Wars” purchase this book, read it, and fully understand everything they just consumed without having any prior outside knowledge of the source material. I will say that in this case, that is a relatively big no. This graphic novel continues directly out of both “Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes” and “Star Wars: Darth Vader: Shadows and Secrets” and not having read both is a major hindrance on understanding this graphic novel. On top of that, this graphic novel also requires knowledge of events from four of the “Star Wars” movies, “The Phantom Menace,” “Attack of the Clones,” “Revenge of the Sith,” and “A New Hope.” I don’t feel like anyone who is not a fan of “Star Wars” can read this graphic novel and truly appreciate it for all its complexities.

                Continuing on, we’re going to discuss one of the main purposes of these kinds of reviews: the numeric score. I know some of you come to my blog to know exactly how good I think a book is after I read it before they decide to spend their money on a costly investment such as a Marvel Epic Collection. I know I have at least one person (you know who you are) who comes to this blog just so they can hear about a graphic novel and not have to buy it to know the story, which is why I’ve tried to put a crackdown on spoilers compared to previous posts (granted the ending to this graphic novel really isn’t all that unexpected if you know “Star Wars” lore). Anyway, people come to this blog mostly to hear about these stories and hear my own personal opinion of the quality of these books more than any other topic in these reviews. So, let’s just get right on to it. I have a very simple system on which I score books on. My system goes from exact integers from one through ten. The lowest score I can possibly give is a one, and that means that this book is so horrible that every remaining copy in stock should immediately be removed, put in a large pile, and be ignited until all traces of it is gone from existence, and the print should be wiped from memory so this flaming pile of trash can never be reprinted. If I give a book a ten (which is highly unlikely), then this book is sheer perfection and I would not understand it if this book does not do well in sales and I’d honestly wish every copy would be bought off the shelves and reprints would be frequently necessary to get this gold mine into every home that it belongs in. I know those are extreme examples, and I’m honestly joking, I’d never condone burning a book, let alone wiping an entire piece of history from existence, and I also know my opinions are my opinions and not everyone is going to want to buy the same books that I buy. All that aside, I do not believe that this book was a flaming pile of trash. But I also don’t believe it was a gold mine, either. I will say that I feel like this book exceeded average expectations but did not live up to grand expectations. So, the score we’re looking at here instead is… drumroll please… a seven! This may come as a surprise to you and seem low, compared to how I’ve been praising this book, but in all honesty, the story was not perfect enough to get a higher score, and the artwork brought the score down a bit as well. I also preferred the title “End of Games” compared to “Vader Down.” I think the best this book could have hoped for was an eight, and I don’t think it was quite on that level, so I feel like a seven is an adequate score.

                Continuing on, we’re going to the topic of recommendation. In this segment, I will tell you two things. The first thing I will tell you is if I personally would recommend this graphic novel to you, my readers, or to anyone unfortunate enough to get caught up in conversation with me about this graphic novel. The second thing I will tell you is, regardless of if I would personally tell you to read this book or not, who do I think is the best audience for this graphic novel, moving beyond the obvious of “Star Wars” fans. So, in answer to my first question, yes, this graphic novel gets the Tim Cubbin seal of approval. If you are reading this review and even if you know nothing about “Star Wars” but want to read this book based solely on everything I’ve spent the past several hours writing, I say go for it. Or, of course, if you’re a diehard “Star Wars” fan, I’d say just go to your favorite bookstore, or comic shop, or online retailer, or local library if you’re lucky, and look for this book, I honestly think you would enjoy it. As for an audience outside of “Star Wars” fandom, if you love science fiction or action or space stories, this is a good read for you. If you like books about robots, this is a good pick for you. If you enjoy stories about villains told from the perspective of the villain that heroizes them, this book is perfect for you. And if you like stories where the villain is not actually the true villain, this book may be just right for you.

                Okay, I’ve been prattling on for a long time, I think we’re all ready to get on with our lives. There are a few things I do have to say before I click post. The first is that I have been doing this blog for five years now and have done over 170 posts. There is a lot of content on this blog. While the majority of this blog is reviews of Marvel Epic Collections, there is other content as well, such as a collection of short stories, poetry, essays, articles, and editorials, so if you have the time, feel free to keep browsing on timcubbin.blogspot.com for more content. I’ve done over seven dozen reviews of Marvel Epic Collections. I have also done reviews of prose novels, manga, and comic book events as well. My current main focus is on Marvel Modern Era Epic Collections and Ultimate Epic Collections. I purchase each one as soon as I can after their release and if possible, throw up a review at my earliest convenience after finishing reading it. I currently have in my possession “All-New Wolverine: The Four Sisters,” you can expect a review of that book by next week. If you enjoyed this review, there are plenty of other “Star Wars” reviews, so feel free to check out my reviews of “Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes,” “Star Wars: Darth Vader: Shadows and Secrets,” “Star Wars: Yoda’s Secret War,” and “Star Wars: Kanan: The Last Padawan” for more “Star Wars” content. I post on a very frequent basis, usually at least once a month, so check back often for more of my work. I don’t plan on stopping doing this anytime soon, I’m going to keep doing this until either my eyes, hands, or body fails and I’m incapable of typing any longer, so you can probably expect that won’t be for a long time. Until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

"Star Wars: Kanan: The Last Padawan"

 

                The following is a review of the graphic novel “Star Wars: Kanan: The Last Padawan” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

                Caleb Dume was a young boy when he was taken by the Jedi Order to prepare for his Initiate Trials on Coruscant. Jedi Master General Depa Billaba was injured in a fight with the Separatist Droid General Grievous and spent six months in a coma. She also lost ninety percent of the squad she was leading during that fight. She had just awoken and was welcomed back on the Jedi High Council. Caleb passed his Initiate Trials. He was eager to be chosen as a Padawan and fight in the Clone Wars, despite being extremely young. He was often called “kid,” a word that angered him. Gossip spread among the Jedi younglings about Billaba’s capabilities as a Jedi General. Caleb went to Billaba to discuss this with her. While they were talking, Rackham Sear, under the orders of Grievous, attacked the Jedi Temple of Coruscant. Caleb confronted Sear, and though Caleb survived the battle, Sear did not. After seeing Caleb in action, Billaba asked Caleb to be her Padawan. Caleb accepted Billaba’s offer. Caleb and Billaba, along with the Clones Commander Grey, Captain Styles, Sergeant Soot, Corporal Big-Mouth, Lieutenant Remo, Corporal Mixx, Corporal Kaylon, and several green Clone Troopers were shipped out to the planet Kardoa to fight in the Clone Wars. During Caleb’s first fight, he was shot by Droids and was rescued by a Clone Trooper who earned the name Stance. After his recovery, Caleb, Billaba and their unit were sent to the planet Mygeeto. They were attacked by Droids and were assisted by a Mandalorian named Fenn Rau. Stance was killed by Coburn Sear, Rackham Sear’s brother, and Caleb fought to avenge his friend. Billaba also had another showdown with General Grievous, but the Droid General managed to escape. Caleb, Billaba and their unit received their next orders to head to the planet Kaller.

                The planet Kaller was being disputed over by the Republic and the Separatists. After a battle between Billaba’s Unit and a unit of Droids, Separatist General Kleeve had his forces withdraw from Kaller. Caleb with displeased with the disrespect that Kaller’s Governor Gamut Key showed towards Billaba. The night after the battle, Commander Grey and the rest of the Clone Troopers received Order Sixty-Six from Emperor Palpatine, instructing the Clone Troopers to eliminate the Jedi. Billaba was able to help Caleb escape, but she herself was unable to. Caleb went into hiding in Plateau City and struggled to survive. He was discovered by a Kalleran named Janus Kasmir who provided him with food, clothes, and shelter for a night on his ship the Kasmiri. Caleb received a ping on the Jedi Emergency Signal. Believing it to be a summons to Coruscant, Caleb asked Kasmir to fly him there, but Kasmir refused. As Clone Troopers were about to search the Kasmiri for Caleb, Caleb stole the ship to fly to Coruscant himself. Along the way, he received a message from Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi warning any surviving Jedi to avoid Coruscant and avoid detection. Caleb returned in the Kasmiri to Kaller and went back to Kasmir, who turned Caleb away. Caleb remained in hiding on Kaller until one night he saw Kasmir being on the bad side of a negotiation with a thug named Tapusk and jumped in to help. Though initially angered, Kasmir recruited Caleb to help Kasmir steal a valuable shipment of IG-RM Droids. During their heist, they were caught by Gamut Key. Kasmir then turned on Caleb and sold Caleb out as a Jedi and allowed Caleb to be arrested so Kasmir could avoid arrest. Gamut Key contacted Commander Grey, who then planned to return to Kaller to execute Caleb. Before the Clones could arrive, Kasmir busted Caleb out of jail. Caleb and Kasmir then formed a partnership and Caleb became a smuggler. Caleb and Kasmir ran heists from planet to planet with the Clones always just a step behind. Kasmir arranged a trade for a ship. The contact was supposedly named “Jondo,” but it turned out to be a cover for General Kleeve. Kasmir was caught by Commander Grey. Caleb talked Kleeve into giving Caleb the ship, but before Caleb could escape, Caleb was caught by the Clones. Caleb managed to escape with the help of Kasmir and Kleeve, but Caleb ended their partnership, took the ship which he named the Escape, flew off on his own, and renamed himself Kanan Jarrus.

                Fourteen years later, Kanan and the crew of the Ghost, Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, Zeb Orrelios, Ezra Bridger, and Chopper went on a supply run to Kaller. Kanan claimed to have never been to Kaller. When the crew arrived, the contents of the crates they were supposed to be picking up were empty. They were caught by Gamut Key, who did not recognize Kanan. Gamut Key’s droids inspected the Ghost, then allowed them to go. The Ghost Crew split up to try to find the supplies, and Kanan went out on his own, hoping to avoid recognition. Kanan interrogated the locals and expected the theft of the supplies to be Janus Kasmir. Kanan found the thief, but to his surprise, it was not Kasmir. Though Kanan was able to take down the thief and his crew, Kanan was stabbed in the back.

                Kanan was put in a Bacta Tank in a Medcenter on Kaller to recover from his wound. The thief was able to lead the Imperial Stormtroopers to the Rebels’ location in the Medcenter. Though they fought, they were captured. All looked hopeless until Kanan woke up, busted out of the tank, and took down the Stormtroopers. Upon recovery, Kanan received a message from his old friend Morfizo of Moraga. Kanan, Ezra, and Gamut Key flew to Moraga to answer it, only to find from his wife Morfizia that Morfizo had been taken by the Empire to Lahn after joining a Rebel Cell. Kanan told Morfizia he would rescue Morfizo and that Gamut Key could set up Morfizo and his family on Kaller under new identities. Kanan and Ezra flew to Moraga in the Escape to rescue Morfizo. Kanan and Ezra separated, and Kanan was confronted by Vice Admiral Sloane, an old enemy of Kanan’s who was obsessed with learning Kanan’s history and could find nothing past Kanan arriving on Moraga. The two had a showdown, and Kanan escaped. Ezra returned to Kanan after being assisted by a random guy off the street.

                Okay, we’ve got the synopsis out of the way, now it’s time for my own personal input about this graphic novel. We’re going to start with my own personal feelings about this book. First off, I’m going to say that “Star Wars: Rebels” is actually my favorite “Star Wars” animated series, and Kanan Jarrus was my favorite character in this series, so when I first read the announcement that Marvel was releasing the “Kanan” series in a Modern Era Epic Collection, I was super excited. Reading the origin story of my favorite character from the show was something I was really looking forward to. And I will tell you, I was not disappointed. I thought this book was fantastic. I thought the stories were brilliantly written. The depiction of Caleb going from a child who romanticized the Clone Wars to actually fighting in them and realizing exactly what war was firsthand was written spot on. His cockiness getting himself shot on his first mission showed how immature he was, but over the course of the book, watching him struggling to survive on Kaller after Order Sixty-Six and falling in with Janus Kasmir, the reader can see his maturation from an idealistic child into someone practical. Viewing his partnership becoming a friendship with Kasmir was fascinating, just watching the rollercoaster ride they took together, and the payoff at the end of the book was perfect. I was also a huge fan of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” so this felt like I was kind of consuming a little bit of that while I was perusing through this book. General Grievous was one of my favorite adversaries from “The Clone Wars,” so I enjoyed reading a story with him. I enjoyed viewing all the bonds Caleb Dume made on his journey. I loved his hatred of being called “kid,” I actually know what that’s like, I hate when people call me “Timmy,” a nickname that comes up way too often in my life, so I identified with that. I enjoyed watching Caleb becoming Kanan Jarrus, I found his evolution to be interesting. And I loved the “Rebels” segments, they were enjoyable bits thrown in that made the story a little more entertaining. I will say that “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” deviated from Caleb’s escape scene slightly when they released the show on Disney+ several years later, so there was a little bit of a contradiction there, having already seen one version of this, but I actually found this version to be the superior one. I liked the structure of the book. I wrote this review chronologically, but in actuality, this book was written with the story of Caleb’s survival story after Order Sixty-Six being first and the story of Caleb’s first mission being second, with the “Rebels” stories being interspersed throughout the graphic novel. I thought this arrangement was actually perfect storytelling and worked better than if they had published it the way I narrated it, as it made the revelations more surprising. And since we’re talking about a graphic novel, of course we have to address the art. I found the artwork in this book to be excellent. It was consistently pleasing to me, and this book had three artists. Often a graphic novel having multiple artists runs a risk of displeasing me, there’s a chance one or more of the artists just might not appeal to me, sometimes even having just one artist can be a visual nightmare to me, but the three artists in this book had amazing art styles and I loved all of their work throughout the entire graphic novel. And as for the title, I absolutely loved it. I thought it was a prefect representation of the character and the book as a whole and completely adequate. All-in-all, I thought this book was spectacular and I enjoyed every second of reading it.

                Next up we’re going to talk about accessibility. To my regular readers who have been to this blog before, I know, I know, I’ve been over this at least six dozen times at this point, but I’m afraid that some people just went on X and searched for #StarWars or one of my other hashtags and found this review and my blog for the first time and have no idea what I mean when I say the word “accessibility,” so once again, I am compelled to explain myself. So my usage of the word “accessibility” is to explain if someone who knows nothing about “Star Wars” can pick up this book off the shelf of their local bookstore or library or friend or family member’s house and read this book and understand everything in this book despite having no prior knowledge on the subject. So, to answer the question on if this book is accessible, my answer is yes. I feel like a person who knows nothing about “Star Wars” can read this book without any problems understanding it. This felt perfectly standalone to me, and it didn’t feel like it required outside knowledge to understand this book. Of course, if you know “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels,” then you’ll have no problem understanding this book at all as this is a story inspired by both series, but I don’t feel like this is essential to reading this book. It felt completely self-explanatory in my opinion.

                Okay, now that I’ve been going on for a while, I feel like it’s finally time to get to the reason we’re extremely interested in: my numeric score. I’d say it’s the main reason we’re here, but some of you may just be here to know about the story itself rather than hear my opinion, but my opinion is very essential to this post as well, and I’m sure you’re interested in knowing exactly how good I thought this book was. So, when I do reviews, I score on a scale of one to ten, on exact integers. One is my lowest score, and that means that this is one of the worst things I have ever read in my entire life and that every copy of this book should be taken off the shelves and destroyed, then never reprinted. If, however, I give the book a ten, that’s obviously my best score, and that means that this is one of the best things I have ever read in my entire life and every copy should be bought off the shelves and be in the possession of anyone with an interest in “Star Wars.” Now a ten is reserved for a book that is perfection, and that is a score I very rarely give out since I have a very strict definition of perfection. So, at this point, you’re probably now very piqued in knowing if I considered this particular book to be perfection. So, let’s take a quick tally of what this book has going for it: I loved the stories; I thought the artwork was spectacular; I thought the structure was brilliant; I thought the title was spot on. So yes, these are all very promising factors. And yet, somehow, I don’t think this book is perfection. I can’t quite put my finger exactly on what it is, but for some reason, I just can’t bring myself to give this book a ten. However, I do feel that this book was still excellent, and it was very close to perfection, so I think that scoring this book at a nine is appropriate. I really would love to give this book a ten, but there’s just something holding me back from doing that, and as much as I hate that, when I score a book, I have to go with what my heart says, and my heart says that this book isn’t perfect, so therefore I am compelled to give this book a score of a ten.

                Next up on our to-do list is my recommendation. Now this comes in two parts. The first part is if I give this book the Tim Cubbin seal of approval and would tell you, my readers, or anyone I feel like talking to about this book, if it’s worth reading. The second part is, regardless of if it gets my personal recommendation or not, to whom do I think this book should be read by? Now, I’m sure the first part is pretty obvious, but I still have to say it anyway. Yes, I do personally recommend this book. If you are reading this review and are interested in reading this book based solely on what I’ve been typing for the past four hours and you’ve been reading for the past however many minutes it’s taking you to read this, I say you should go to your local bookstore, library, favorite retailer, online store, or find a friend or family member with this book and get your hands on it and read it as soon as you possibly can. I thought this book was incredible and I feel like you should be reading it. To be more precise on who should be reading this, I think that anyone who is a fan of “Star Wars: Rebels” should make every effort to obtain a copy of this book, this is the perfect companion to the series. If you’re just a “Star Wars” fan in general, this is still an excellent read for you and would be a great way to interest you in “Rebels.” If you’ve never seen “Rebels” but have seen “The Clone Wars,” this is a great addition to the storyline. And, of course, if you like the character Kanan Jarrus, you have no reason not to read this, this is an intriguing origin story and should be totally welcome to your collection.

                Okay, I think we’re getting close to being done. I do have a few things to say before I go. First of all, I’ve been doing this blog for almost five years now and have now done 170 posts. There is plenty of content on this blog, including short stories, poetry, essays, articles, and editorials, as well as over six dozen other reviews like this one, so keep checking timcubbin.blogspot.com for more posts, I’m sure you’ll find something else you’ll like. If you want more “Star Wars” reviews, you can search for “Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes,” “Star Wars: Darth Vader: Shadows and Secrets,” and “Star Wars: Yoda’s Secret War,” I think you might find those interesting if you have the time. My next “Star Wars” post will be “Star Wars: Darth Vader: Vader Down,” that should be uploaded by December 2025, so keep an eye out for that if you are reading this review before that date, and if that date has already passed, feel free to search for that one as well. I can tell you that I post on a very frequent basis. I am a die-hard Marvel fan and every Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection and Ultimate Epic Collection that is published finds its way into my possession shortly after its release, and I try to post a review of it as soon as I possibly can after reading it. I have written a review of almost every Modern Era Epic Collection with the exception of four volumes, three of which I obtained when I was settling into my new life and didn’t have a laptop and one that I read but didn’t get the chance to review right away and by the time I could sit down and write a review, my knowledge of the book was too inadequate to write a proper review, so I skipped it at the time, but there’s a good chance that one will come up again, but the first three are discontinued series and the chance of me rereading them is not as likely as that, but never say never. I will keep doing this blog for as long as I can, so there’s a good prospect of that being a long time from today’s date. I have another Modern Era Epic Collection already in my possession, “Miles Morales: Spider-Man: Spider-Man No More,” you can expect a review of that coming up in the next eight days, so if you’re interested in that, keep checking for it. I guess that’s really all that needs to be said for now, so I’m going to log off with just a few more words: Tim Cubbin… out!

"Star Wars: Yoda's Secret War"

 

                The following is a review of the graphic novel “Star Wars: Yoda’s Secret War” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

                It was a time before the Clone Wars, during the twilight of the Old Republic. Jedi Master Yoda had just rescued a young boy strong in the Force when he heard a calling. It led him to a planet that didn’t appear on any of his star maps. Upon landing and disembarking from his ship, he found himself surrounded by a group of children warriors called the Muckwhackers. They accused him of being a monster sent by their adversaries the Rockhawkers and attacked him. Yoda protected himself using the Force, and the children believed him to have strong Stonepower and to be the Deliverer. The Muckwhackers took Yoda to their home of Mucktown and showed him their Skyscreamers, who had used their Stonepower and their minds to scream for help. The Muckwhackers explained that the blue mountains granted the people of that world their Stonepower, but greed caused division and a war started, and all of their parents had lost the war and been cast into the mud. Two Muckwhackers got into a fight, and when the blue stones of their spears touched, Yoda felt a disturbance, as if the planet wanted to tear itself apart. The Muckwhackers had captured a Rockhawker scout. The Muckwhackers let him go with Yoda to return to the other Rockhawkers. Yoda was surprised to find that they were also all children. The Rockhawkers attacked Yoda and abducted him, then ordered him to go into a cave to find the Heart of the Mountain. While in the cave, Yoda found the missing parents, who had abandoned their children. Deeper in the cave, Yoda found a young Rockhawker named Garro, who had been exiled for his perceived weakness for not killing in battle. Yoda asked Garro to teach him the ways of Stonepower and for Garro to become Yoda’s Master. Garro agreed to train Yoda. During their training, Yoda and Garro discovered that the mountain wasn’t really a mountain but actually a barely living creature, and the Heart of the Mountain was the creature’s actual beating heart. Yoda awakened the creature, and he and Garro departed. The Rockhawkers asked Yoda what the secret of the mountain was, but Yoda refused to tell. Garro, however, revealed that the mountain was not really a mountain but a living thing and told Yoda that Yoda was no longer Garro’s student. Yoda returned to the Muckwhackers to ask them to help them wake the sleeping world, and together, they battled the creature. He then left this world and told no one of this adventure except for fellow Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi so he could pass on the lesson he learned, and Kenobi recorded it in his journal.

While searching for answers in his quest to become a Jedi, Luke Skywalker uncovered a journal written by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The journal detailed Kenobi’s adventures during the time he was in hiding on Tatooine—including when Obi-Wan rescued a young Luke from Jabba the Hutt’s thugs during the Great Drought. Luke’s Uncle Owen Lars ordered Obi-Wan to stay away from Luke. A year after the Great Drought, Luke crashed Owen’s speeder, and Owen vowed Luke would never fly again. Obi-Wan, who was watching over Luke from afar,  believed Luke would have to fly one day and tried to sneak the parts to Luke through a group of Jawas that he assisted against Tuskan Raiders, but only succeeded in angering Owen, who returned the parts. Jabba hired Wookie bounty hunter Black Krrsantan to find the person responsible for defeating his water tax collectors during the Great Drought. Owen decided to renege on his vow and bought the parts to repair the speeder. As Owen was returning home, Luke was running away. Owen was abducted by Black Krrsantan. Luke sensed his uncle was in trouble and returned home. Obi-Wan came to try to rescue Owen from Black Krrsantan, and while Obi-Wan was the one who defeated the Wookie, it was Luke who saved Owen.

It was an era of renewed hope for the Rebellion. The evil Galactic Empire’s greatest weapon, the Death Star, had been destroyed by the young rebel pilot, Luke Skywalker. But Imperial forces still stood strong. Rebel spy Eneb Ray had infiltrated Coruscant, working under an Imperial guise and the name Tharius Demo. He quickly learned that some missions prove to be much more complicated than others. Princess Leia Organa informed Ray that Senator Nadea Tural and the Anti-Imperial Senators were about to be executed and instructed him to extract them from Arrth-Eno Prison Complex. During the breakout attempt, Ray learned that the Emperor was coming to witness the executions. He asked Leia to quickly assemble a team of Rebel agents to eliminate the Emperor. The assassination attempt failed, and in retaliation, the Emperor blew up Arrth-Eno, then broadcast a propaganda video, blaming the Rebels for the destruction of the prison.

After narrowly escaping another frightening encounter with Darth Vader, rebel heroes Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo took the evil Sith Lord’s secret ally, droid and weapon specialist Dr. Aphra, captive aboard the Millenium Falcon. Their mission to free the galaxy from the grasp of the Emperor continued as the Princess teamed with smuggler Sana Starros, while Luke and Han paired together on a secret mission for the Rebellion. Dr. Aphra was transported to secret Rebel jail Sunspot Prison and placed in Cell Block Nine. Sana was trying to hide her secret past with Aphra from Leia. Han got caught cheating at Sabacc and lost the Rebellion’s money, and he and Luke had to run away. A group of raiders infiltrated Sunspot Prison to kill the prisoners and to force Leia into killing some of the prisoners herself. Luke and Han tried to make money back for the Rebellion by transporting Nerfs. Leia released Aphra to help her and Sana survive and retake control of the prison. Sana and Aphra butted heads every step of the way, with Sana unable to trust Aphra given their shared history. Han and Luke arrived at Sunspot Prison but were knocked out. Leia confronted the mastermind behind the infiltration and stopped him. Leia and Sana then had to decide what to do with Aphra.

Kreel was assigned as Sergeant to the Imperial Scar Squadron. The planet Tureen VII, which had been providing aid to the Rebellion, was under siege by the Empire. The Rebellion wanted to destroy the Imperial bases set up on the planet’s twin moons, but they couldn’t risk sending their fleet to assist, so they needed something big, such as a Star Destroyer. The Millenium Falcon and Red Squadron battled Imperial Star Destroyer Harbinger. The Rebellion won and the Imperials abandoned the Star Destroyer, and the Rebellion took over the Harbinger. Leia and Han argued over who should be Captain. Ultimately, Leia won the argument. Luke and Sana investigated a shuttle that appeared near the Harbinger, and Sana blew it up. Scar Squadron snuck aboard the Harbinger. Luke and Sana went to investigate the break-in, and Luke was attacked by Kreel. Luke and Kreel had a Lightsaber duel. Darth Vader personally came to attack the Harbinger. The Harbinger was destroyed, but the Rebels were able to escape, except Rebel droid C-3PO was captured by Imperial forces.

Luke and R2-D2, who had a strong attachment to C-3PO, decided to recue him from the Imperials. While Luke was on the way, he started to read the journal of Ben Kenobi, which Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi had left for Luke, as Luke hoped it would make him a better Jedi. Luke read about Yoda’s secret war. Luke figured out which planet Yoda had been to and decided to see it for himself but arrived on the planet before he finished reading the story. Luke was confronted by Garro, and the two fought. The fight ended when Garro realized he had learned his final lesson from Yoda.

It was a pivotal moment in the galaxy. As the Empire continued to exert its oppressive force, the Rebel Alliance stood strong against their tyranny for the good of all. While heroic Rebellion agents like Princess Leia of Alderaan strove to undermine Imperial strongholds, the Galactic Empire continued to dominate and had doubled it efforts to eliminate anyone who would stand against its rule. Some chose to fight against waves of Imperial stormtroopers, while others chose the relative safety and security of obedience-and then there were those who refused to take a side at all. On the planet Skorii-Lei, Pash Davane, who had once been an underwater engineer, had been forced to become a janitor. She discovered an injured Princess Leia, and against her better judgement, chose to nurse her back to health. However, when Leia woke up, the two did not get along, but still Pash chose to help Leia to escape. They had to face several perils along the way, such as stormtroopers, before Leia could rejoin the Rebellion, and Pash had to rethink her life.

Phew, that was a lengthy synopsis. Now we can get on to my own personal part of a Tim Cubbin review. First off, we’re going to start with my reflections on this book. I’ll start by saying that I found the stories in this book to be highly entertaining. I will also say that this felt very “Star Wars,” which is what I was hoping for when I purchased this book. I would hate to have bought a book branded “Star Wars” that didn’t feel like it fit in with the source material, but I feel like Jason Aaron, Kieron Gillen, and Kelly Thompson really respected the “Star Wars” canon. I can actually say that I feel like the writers of the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” Disney+ series disrespect Aaron by contradicting the “From the Journals of Old Ben Kenobi” issues, as these issues actually came out several years before the show. But that’s just my opinion. Anyway, I constructed this review chronologically rather than by the way it was printed in the book to avoid storyline confusion, so what you read in my review was not actually the way the book was published, I just structured it this way as a courtesy to you. I grew up loving “Star Wars,” I watched the original trilogy with my Grandpa when I was a kid, and I’m actually currently watching “Star Wars” in timeline order on Disney+ (I’m currently on Season Three of “The Mandalorian” if you really want to know). So, I liked all the stories. Let’s go over them in the order I’ve discussed them. So, we’ll start with “Yoda’s Secret War” earlier past. I found it clever that Aaron wrote the children as not knowing about the Force and calling it “Stonepower.” It was interesting to me how the children had taken up the parents’ war and exiled their parents. I loved how the mountain was actually a living creature. I liked Yoda choosing to become Garro’s student. Next, we’ll talk about “From the Journal of Old Ben Kenobi.” I felt like the first part was a little slow and uneventful, but I did find the second part to be a lot more enjoyable and action-packed, and it really picked up the story. Annual #1 was particularly interesting because it introduced a new character to the “Star Wars” universe, and he actually turned out to be more important that I originally would have thought him to be. I enjoyed the ending of the Emperor using the spin on the Empire’s evil deed with their propaganda video, I thought that was a brilliant stab in the heart ending, and the bitterness really hit. “Rebel Jail” was actually my favorite story in the book. I enjoy the character of Dr. Aphra and always love seeing her on the pages. The story had a lot of action and was very intense, and the villain was a great surprise, but I refuse to give the spoiler, I want you to actually need to read this book to find out the ending so you can be surprised, too, but I thought it was a great twist. “The Last Flight of the Harbinger” was also enjoyable, but I felt like there were a few periods where there were dull moments, but there were a lot of good moments to enjoy that made up for the slight periods of boredom. As for “Yoda’s Secret War” later past, I liked how the two periods connected and the importance of Yoda’s story was felt in Luke’s story, and I felt like it really worked. Next up, we’re going to talk about the art. I was highly disappointed by the artwork in this graphic novel. I found it to be extremely unenjoyable. It was exceptionally visually displeasing, and I hated looking at the art as I read this book. Ironically, one of the artists was Salvador Larroca, who I complained about in my last review, “Iron Man: The New Iron Age,” for those of you keeping score, and once again, I will gripe about his artwork in this book as being unlikeable, although I will say that I feel like he was better suited for “Star Wars” than “Iron Man” based on his art style and I actually feel like he was my favorite artist is this Collection, which is extremely unfortunate, and I’m not trying to be hostile to the other artists, I just really disliked their styles, I’d never mean to be truly disrespectful while posting a book review. I think the final thing I need to reflect on is the title. The title of an Epic Collection can be a make-or-break factor with me. If I feel like the title is inappropriate for the volume, I will deduct from the score. When I heard about the title, I thought for sure this would be a break. After all, I knew this to take place after “A New Hope” but before “The Empire Strikes Back” and at that point, Yoda was not part of the story. Fortunately, there was the extensive series of backstory, and his backstory tied into Luke’s story in a later point in the timeline, and this was one of the two longest stories in this Collection, so I will not fault this book for the title, I find it to be absolutely appropriate for this book.

Moving on from this point, the next topic on our agenda is accessibility. Now, I know I’ve said this over six dozen times, but I have to say it once again for anyone who has never read one of my reviews before: what the heck do I mean by “accessibility?” To put it quite simply, accessibility means how easy it is to pick up this book and read it and understand everything you’ve read in this book, even if you have no prior knowledge of the source material. So, I feel like if you want to read this book and basically understand it, all you need to have seen is “Star Wars: A New Hope” and you must have read the content in the previous collected volume of the series. Having seen “The Phantom Menace,” “Attack of the Clones,” and “Revenge of the Sith” will help with more of the background knowledge, but not having seen them shouldn’t be too much of an inhibition. However, “A New Hope” and first fourteen issues of “Star Wars (2015)” and the “Star Wars: Vader Down” event are all you truly need to have consumed before embarking on partaking in this book.

Next up, we’re going to the bread-and-butter section of my review: the numeric score. Once again, I’ve explained my system over six dozen times now, but I am compelled to do it once again, so here I go. So really, it’s quite simple; I score on a scale from one to ten. One is the lowest score I can give, and that means that this book is complete, unreadable trash that should all be collected in one pile and burned from existence. Ten is the best possible score I can give, and that means that this book is sheer perfection and one of the best reading experiences I’ve ever had. I don’t give tens very often because I very rarely find a book to fit my definition of perfection. And as you can tell from my description of this book from the past several paragraphs, it is not perfection. So, let’s talk about what it actually is. So, we have stories that, while entertaining, had several moments of dullness and were, at best, mediocre. And we have artwork that was substandard and a visual nightmare. Those two factors do not look promising. But we have a few other things we can add. We have a title that is appropriate. And we have a book that is from a film franchise source that was truly respectful to its source material and felt like it fit in perfectly with that created universe. So those are a few other things I’m taking into account while giving a score to this book. So, all said and done, all cards on the table, everything thrown into the blender, turned on, mixed until completely liquified, we’re taking the score out and what we’re looking at is… a seven. There’s a good chance I could have gone lower, but I feel like a seven is actually very appropriate for this book and stand by my decision when doling out this score and that it is actually a very good score.

Finally, we’re going to talk about if I personally recommend this book and who I feel should be reading this book. So, in answer to if this book gets the personal Tim Cubbin seal of approval and recommendation, yes, it does. As for who should be reading it, I feel like if you are a fan of “Star Wars,” you should definitely make every effort to read this book, I think it will be an interesting read for you and hope you will find enjoyment in the story like I did, and if you actually like the art unlike me, I think that would be great for you.

Anyway, it’s been a long while that I’ve been going on for, we’re all ready to be getting on with our lives, but there are a few things I do need to say first before I begin the process of posting this on my blog site and then promoting it. I’ve been doing this blog for five years now and have done over 160 posts. If you liked this book review, there are tons of other reviews of Marvel Epic Collections, Modern Era Epic Collections, Ultimate Epic Collections, Marvel Comics Events, Marvel prose novels, and several other book reviews that are not Marvel, but the majority of this website is reviews of Marvel works. I’ve also done other content, such as short stories, poetry, articles, essays, and editorials. If this review seems extremely professional to you, it’s because I have a bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in journalism, so I am qualified to be doing this professionally, but due to circumstances in my life, I’m relegated to working in a grocery store, but I honestly don’t mind that that’s what my life is. Anyway, I post on this blog on a very frequent basis, as I collect every single Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection and Ultimate Epic Collection when they are released. Right now, we won’t have another Ultimate Epic Collection until March 2026, but there are plenty of upcoming Modern Era Epic Collections. I usually try to review every one of these books after I read them, I pretty much have succeeded in doing that, there are a few I’ve missed due to circumstances such as not having a laptop or just having an inconvenience, but I’ve reviewed almost every Modern Era Epic Collection except for four of them, hopefully that can be remedied someday, but I’ve reviewed all four Ultimate Epic Collections released at this point in time. There’s another Modern Era Epic Collection being released two weeks after the day after I am posting this review, so you can expect to see a review of that coming up sometime in the next six weeks. I just have to procure it and read it and then I can post a review of it. For those of you “Star Wars” fans, there are two other “Star Wars” Modern Era Epic Collection reviews on this site, “Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes” and “Star Wars: Darth Vader: Shadows and Secrets,” so if you are interested, feel free to check those out, too, I think you will find those entertaining, and there will be another “Star Wars” Modern Era Epic Collection review coming up sometime in the next two months, so be ready for that, and feel free to keep exploring timcubbin.blogspot.com for more content. That’s all for now, so until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

"Star Wars: Darth Vader: Shadows and Secrets"

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Star Wars: Darth Vader: Shadows and Secrets” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format. It is NOT a review of any of the films, television series, or video games.

            It is a period of insurgence. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base on s moon of Yavin, have won a shocking surprise victory against the rightful reign of the Galactic Empire. The Empire’s ultimate peacekeeping force, the Death Star, was destroyed due to an unforeseen design flaw. Without this deterrent, the rule of law is in danger. Chaos looms. For the nineteen years after the vanquishing of the Jedi and his painful rebirth of volcanic Mustafar, Sith Lord Darth Vader has faithfully served his master. But now, he has failed the Emperor and must pay the price.

            Darth Vader, on a mission from Emperor Palpatine, traveled to the planet Tatooine to make a deal with crime lord Jabba the Hutt. In the process, Vader hired Jabba’s best bounty hunters Boba Fett and Black Krrsantan. Fett was to the pilot who was responsible for the destruction of the Death Star and Krrsantan was to find the agent engaged in secret work for the Emperor. Grand General Tagge assigned Vader an adjutant, Lieutenant Oon-Ai, and sent him on a mission to learn the source of pirates who had been raiding the Empire. Vader was able to learn that the leak actually was Oon-Ai. Darth Vader turned to rogue archeologist Doctor Aphra in search of private resources and troops on unquestioning loyalty. Aphra had just stolen the Triple-Zero personality matrix and used it to create 0-0-0-, a protocol droid specialized in torture, and to animate a Blastomech BT-1assassin droid. Aphra had heard from the Droid Gotra of a Droid Factory on the planet Geonosis, a planet that had been sterilized. Vader and Aphra traveled to Geonosis, where they found a surviving Queen and who thought of the droid producer as a womb and the droids as her children. Vader and Aphra were able to defeat the Queen and obtain the producer. Krrsantan found the Emperor’s agent Doctor Cylo-IV, and 0-0-0 was able to torture the information that the Emperor was planning to replace Vader before Cylo-IV expired. Vader found Cylo-IV’s base and discovered Cylo-V and his creations. Vader battled the cyborgs to the Emperor’s pleasure. After the fight, Fett returned to Vader with the name of the pilot who destroyed the Death Star: Skywalker, Vader’s own son, whom he believed had not survived childbirth.

            Vader and Aphra returned to Tatooine to search the house of Luke Skywalker but found nothing. They then went to Son-tuul to steal the Son-tuul fortune for the Empire. Aphra then hired a crew to steal the fortune while it was in transit to its new home in order to secure some money for Vader’s needs. Vader was assigned a new adjutant, Inspector Thanoth, and was tasked with taking down the Plasma Devils, a criminal organization that was considered an opposition to the Empire. Aphra went to an informant called the Ante and learned the location of Commodex Tahn, the mortician that dressed Padme Amidala, wife of Anakin Skywalker, the man Darth Vader used to be. 0-0-0 tortured Tahn into revealing that Padme had in fact given birth to a son before she died and that this son had in fact survived childbirth. Vader and his Stormtrooper army were tasked with finding the person responsible for stealing the Son-tuul fortune, and the trail led right to Aphra. Aphra had made a deal with the Ante in order to ensure her survival: she learned the location of Luke Skywalker before the Ante was slain. Sure enough, Vader allowed Aphra to escape. Vader later tracked Aphra down and extracted the location of Luke Skywalker to Vrogas Vas, but as it turned out, one of Vader’s competitors was listening in on this conversation.

            Vader traveled to the planet Shu-torun to bring an item from the Empire to its King. However, the King was planning to have Vader assassinated during this meeting. Vader was trapped in the bowels of Shu-torun with the King’s daughter Trios and forced to fight for his survival.

            Okay, so now that we’ve got the synopsis out of the way, let’s talk about my own personal opinions about this book. First off, I will say that I found this to be a highly entertaining book. In my opinion, Darth Vader is one of the greatest cinematic villains of all time, and him getting his own ongoing comic series was just fantastic, especially since I feel it was written so well. I thought Kieron Gillen did an exceptional job scripting these stories. I’ve read some of the “Star Wars” comics from recent years, and Doctor Aphra has actually been my favorite “Star Wars” comics created character, and I would love to see her appear in an upcoming television series or movie, so seeing her first appearance was an enjoyable experience for me. I loved the dynamic between her and Vader. That was actually my favorite thing about this book. The whole “I’ll let her live as long as she’s useful to me” deal was just brilliant. And I love her murder droids. As far as the art goes, I thought it was excellent. Salvador Larroca did an exemplary job illustrating this graphic novel. I’m usually a fan of his work, and in this book, he did not fail to impress me. I have to say, all around, I was greatly satisfied with this book and thought it was an entertaining read.

            Next, we’re going to talk about accessibility. I’ve literally typed this at least thirty times, but I know for some of you newbs I have to do it again, so I have to explain what I mean when I say “accessibility.” What that means is how easy this is to just pick up, read, completely understand, and enjoy, even if you know nothing about Star Wars or Darth Vader. So, I will say that this book does require knowledge of “Star Wars” to actually understand. Mostly you’d need to have seen “Episode IV: A New Hope,” but seeing “Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” “Episode II: Attack of the Clones,” and “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” would really help, too, but I feel like you could get away with having only seen “Episode IV: A New Hope,” but that is a prerequisite to actually get anything out of this book, or you will have no idea who these characters are or what’s going on in the story, it’s just essential. “Episodes I-III” are referenced in it, talking about Darth Vader’s history, particularly Padme, but I don’t feel like you absolutely have to have seen them in order to understand this book. However, “Episode IV” is a must see.

            Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty: my numeric score. Now, I score on a pretty simple scale: one to ten. One is the worst, ten is the best. If I give this book a one, it means that every copy of this book should be taken off the shelves, burned, and never reprinted. If I give it a ten, the only reason it shouldn’t be on the shelves is because every copy was sold out by the influx of readers who want to read this exemplary graphic novel. Now, I’m going to explain what a ten means. A ten means perfection. That means this book was written perfectly and the artwork was consistently pleasing to the visual palate. Now the question is, was this book a ten? So, I have to say… it just is not. Yes, the artwork was perfect. It’s exceedingly rare for me to say that a Modern Era Epic Collection had consistently pleasing art. I often find fault in one or more of the artists. Larroca and Yu did not disappoint me with their work. And Gillen did an excellent job with the stories. And yet it just wasn’t perfect, I’m sorry to say. Yes, the stories were all above par, but they just weren’t at the top shelf. I just can’t quite give this book a ten. I can, however, give it a solid nine gladly. This book was excellent, no doubt, but there’s just something holding me back from giving it a ten. I don’t quite know exactly what it is, but I just can’t, in good faith, just hand this book a ten if I don’t feel it deserves it. It does deserve the nine I gave it for sure, and that’s still really good. And to be honest, I’m really not often in the business of handing out tens. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve given out a ten on this blog before, without using a thumb, and this book just doesn’t belong on that hand, sadly to say.

            Next, we’re going to talk about if I give this book the Tim Cubbin personal recommendation and regardless of that, to whom do I recommend this book to? You would probably think that the answer to the first question is “yes,” and if that is your guess, you would be absolutely correct. I do give this book my personal recommendation. As to whom do I recommend this book to, that answer is to any “Star Wars” fan. If you like, enjoy, or love “Star Wars” in any capacity, this book is for you. I just say go get your hands on a copy of this book as soon as you can and read it, I think you will enjoy it.

            So now, we have reached the parting of ways. I can tell you that there are over one hundred posts on this blog, so if you liked this post, please do consider reading more from timcubbin.blogspot.com. You can look for my review of “Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes” if you want another “Star Wars” Modern Era Epic Collection review, and I’ve reviewed over ten other Modern Era Epic Collections at this point, so there are plenty more to read if you liked this. I post on a very frequent basis, so keep checking back frequently for more content. I should have another post coming up sometime in the next two weeks, so keep an eye out for that one. I’ve also written short stories, poetry, essays, articles, and editorials, so there’s all kinds of posts you can read, you’ll probably find something else you’ll enjoy. If you like my book reviews, there are dozens of them on this blog, and there’s a new one coming up soon. I think we’ve come to the point where I have nothing more to say, so I’ll let you get back to your life and do something that’s actually important. I’ve wasted a few minutes of your life, this has been four hours of mine, but I honestly don’t mind doing it for you folks. Feel free to drop a comment, like, share, retweet, whatever you want to do on this site. If you read all the way up to this point, you are THE BEST! And now, all I can say to you is, Tim Cubbin… out!