Jedi Dass Jennir needs to rope another Jedi into a scheme to take out Vader, but can he force someone into a decision that he himself didn’t want to have to face?
The second issue of Star Wars: Dark Times – A Spark Remains (DarkHorse.com profile) brings Dass Jennir into greater conflict with himself, his friends aboard the Uhumele, and even his best friend, Bomo Greenbark. It issue came out on August 21, so you can go get it now – and get it you should! Spoilers ahead!
Summary: Dass Jennir and the Uhumele crew have been scouring planets, looking for a third Jedi to help tip the balance in the insectoid Jedi Sahdett’s plan to kill Darth Vader. After failing to turn up leads but restocking on supplies at Rion, the crew has a feast. Dass is distracted by Ratty’s success at clandestinely getting some supplies for him, and misses some romantic cues from Ember, and draws suspicion from Bomo. Meanwhile, on Coruscant, the Emperor snoops on Lt. Gregg’s task of tracking Jedi leads for Vader, and Gregg has a new strategy for dealing with Falco Sang: trying to show that they have a common goal: getting Dass Jennir. Gregg returns Sang’s ship, and Sang tries to impress Vader by rushing him in the hangar. Vader is impressed, and has Sang work on maintaining his ship.
Aboard the Uhumele, Dass picks up the item that Ratty has secretly built for him, but Bomo catches Dass in the corridor, and demands to be let in on the secret. Unable to convince Bomo without telling him what is going on, Dass uses a Jedi mind trick to make his friend forget the conversation. The ship arrives at Kestaval, where the crew wears Ember’s elaborate tailorings, and makes their way to the Lucky Twi’lek, a lavish casino reachable only via a long cliffside road. The casino’s owner (and Jedi-in-hiding), Master Hudorra, grudgingly agrees to meet with Sahdeet and Jennir, but Greenback pushes himself into their private discussion, while the rest of the crew is given free run of the casino’s hospitality. Sahdeet explains the plan to trap Vader, but Hudorra finds that something is not right…
Review: And I’m not going to spoil what Hudorra senses, except to say that Bomo is also surprised by this. Besides the revelation at the end, we get a lot of good story in this comic, and a little bit of action: Falco Sang jumps Vader aboard his ship, and manages to knock the Dark Lord down and strike him with a tool or part before Vader decides the fight is over. But mostly, we get Dass Jennir, former Jedi, trying to figure out how to be a boyfriend, and how to keep his own plan on a ship where plans are made jointly – and Bomo, burned in the past by Dass making decisions for him, is righteously nosy. Also, tying up some loose ends from the previous arc, H2 is repaired… and is now pink. Is Bomo’s desire to be part of the loop going to cause problems with Dass? Like Willow erasing parts of Tara’s memory on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dass has crossed a line of trust with his friend – and I’m sure this will be a bad thing in the end. Randy Stradley has built up these characters well – I liked how Gregg, working late, assumes a comm call is one of his subordinates, but has to backtrack when it is actually the Emperor on the holo.
Douglas Wheatley does some fantastic art in this issue – I really liked seeing the crew of the Uhumele in their finery as they visit the Lucky Twi’lek in style, and Master Hudorra and his entourage are likewise well presented. There’s a small panel of Bomo gawking at an ornate but massive set of armor as they enter Hudorra’s office, emphasizing that Bomo is both figuratively and literally just a little guy in the bigger picture. Dan Jackson adds great colors to all the scenes, with Captain Heren and the crew nice and vivid on the tropical world Rion (the planet won’t always be so lush). Bomo has some great facial expressions throughout – looking pensive, pained, enraged (with teeth out), and more. Plus the return of the Nosaurian mouth flash, although perhaps a recap explanation of that might have been nice.
The cover by Benjamin Carré catches that scene as well – Dass on alert, being blinded by the inside of Bomo’s mouth. A good way to pull some mystery and suspense into the same shot, while focusing on Dass Jennir, and giving more light that just the spark that remains.
Overall, a good issue that brings us closer to what we saw in forecast in the first issue: we’re at the place where the ambush against Vader happens, and learn how it would be a great trap point. But first, there’s something else that our heroes need to take care of!