Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith
The descent of two noble Jedi into evil

Writers: Tom Veitch, Kevin J. Anderson
Artists: Chris Gossett, Art Wetherell, Mike Barreito, Jordi Ensign
Letterer: Willie Schubert
Trade paperback
Published by Dark Horse Comics/Titan Books 1996
Price: $17.95/£12.99

Reviewed by Christian Adams

Initially a six part series, TALES OF THE JEDI: DARK LORDS OF THE SITH is something of a mini epic.

As the introduction by Tom Veitch explains, the story is about the fall of two jedi apprentices to the Dark Side. Both become Dark Lords, as established in the Star Wars novels. One of them, Exar Kun, is probably Luke Skywalker's greatest foe. However, this story is set 4000 years before the birth of Skywalker. This enormous time gap allows for great creative freedom in introducing the reader to new concepts, technologies, and politics within the Star Wars mythos. More importantly, gives the creators free rein in designing the Sith.

"Whether or not the reader is a Star Wars fan, this is fascinating."

Interestingly, the first penciller, Chris Gossett, only completed about half the book. I can only imagine trying to find a replacement for his unique visual style and vision of the early Star Wars universe. Prepared with this knowledge, I unsuccessfully tried to spot the moment where the penciller changes. The flow is pretty much seamless, though the reader does start to notice slight changes in the lines later on. To be honest, I was so caught up in the story, I didn't really notice until my third reading.

The story centers around a group of apprentice Jedi investigating a political coup that involves the Dark Side. This eventually brings them into contact with Sith artifacts and history. We see Exar Kun unearth fantastic archeological evidence of how the Sith lived and practiced Sith Magic. Whether or not the reader is a Star Wars fan, this is fascinating.

"In a genre where "action" has come to mean "fight scene", there is the possibility of a true dynamic within the page panels."

Because of the chronological distance from "current" Star Wars continuity (i.e. the original trilogy and beyond), this universe is a new one. We have Jedi and we have the Dark Side, but that's it; they are the only things that hearken back to the original stories. The reader can join in without previous knowledge of the Star Wars mythos. For this reason alone, I give it a thumbs up.

This book is a nice reminder that, in a genre where "action" has come to mean "fight scene", there is the possibility of a true dynamic within the page panels. The plot flows beautifully and as smoothly, and the artwork makes dynamic transition from panel to panel; both are perfectly in synch. With either penciller.

A lot of great talent worked on this book and it shows.

Recommended

Christian Adams is a regular contributor to PopImage.

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