Star Wars holds a special place with many of us. When something new and special related to Star Wars comes along, it gets attention. This latest Star Wars comic from Dark Horse is a high priority for fans and a great place to jump in for new readers. “STAR WARS: CRIMSON EMPIRE III – LOST EMPIRE” is a pretty big deal. After a decade of anticipation, it brings back the original Dark Horse talent behind this particular title. It’s an interesting take on what happens when the last guard standing from the old evil Empire comes back to wreak havoc on the new Republic led by Princess Leia and her husband Han Solo.
This reminds me of a recent challenge that DC Comics chief Dan DiDio brought up. He said that he asks all his new writers to write a Batman story because if you can’t write Batman, then you can’t write comics. That’s fair. Think of it what you will but the whole Batman thing is a huge part of comics and pop culture. That is definitely going to hold true, even more so, for Star Wars. You want to write comics but you can’t come up with anything for a Star Wars story? Come on, it’s Star Wars!
The golden rule for me in creating a story is to include something of the down-to-earth aspects of your characters. Even story-driven comics are well served if they contain some character details. And, of course, we see that in “Crimson Empire III.” One key moment that will grab the reader and will help to sustain much of what follows is a scene involving Princess Leia and her two children. We see the two little tikes running through the command center. Princess Leia is listening to a dire, yet tedious, warning from one of her lieutenants. At that moment, her two children are looking down from a galley and making funny faces. We suddenly see a rare smile from Her Highness. The lecture is over and the speaker leaves in a huff. It’s a precious moment and speaks volumes to what’s a stake.
This first issue is part of a six part story arc. It brings together the talents of Randy Stradley, who initiated the story, artist Paul Gulacy and none other that Dark Horse president, Mike Richardson, who wrote the script. It’s all systems go. This is a Star Wars story you won’t want to miss.
