Star Wars: Tales From The Death Star Review

Star Wars: Tales From The Death Star Review

Holy spaceballs, girls and boys! ‘Are we having fun yet?’ as I once heard spoken iconically by a mostly likable or unlikable character used to say before moving on to his dissertation of daily events and compassionate conviction to camaraderie. Niegen himself would accept this new Star Wars anthology as a tribute, mainly because he’d probably see himself better than Darth Vader, but similar in some ways. Of course, while Bat in the Sun on YouTube never gave us Darth Vader versus Niegen.

Dark Horse, Disney, and the Lucasfilm story group has given us Star Wars: Tales from the Death Star. This action-packed serial anthology is written by Cavan Scott, who lucked out playing career bingo, adding a plethora of depth and intrigue to the annals of the ever-growing Star Wars archives. I’m sure he worked hard to get there, and we congratulate him and the whole team who put this together.

What I love most about this collection of tales is that it feels like it’s very grassroots, like a Star Wars-themed special of Are You Afraid of the Dark? Does anyone remember that show? The anthology is a whopping 96 pages, featuring five distinct and entertaining tales: Nightmares Long Remembered, The Creature From The Trash Compactor, The Wild Squadron, “We Shall Double Our Efforts”, and The Haunting of Grand. Normally anthologies are collections from different writers, but they don’t have to be, so it was a surprise to find that each story felt different from the next.

This speaks to the talent and discipline of the editors, who work closely with the writer, illustrators, colorists, and letters to set what is known as a tone. If you’re going to operate in the Deep Core regions of Star Wars, then you know a good Star Wars story is known for its tone. Because the serial anthology is so huge, I couldn’t possibly fit all these awesome things in this tiny data card, so we’re going to go with the traditional ranking format with a twist at the end. Strap in, holster your blasters, and prepare to punch it, kids.

“But that’s all they are. Stories can’t hurt you.” ~ Fry

1. “We Shall Double Our Efforts”

“Kid, you are so wrong!” Isn’t he? Well, when you think you need to do something, then it’s probably that whole ‘pride is a sin’ thing, as our mysterious hooded friend tells Fry while recalling a peculiar story about Lieutenant Commander Jindrax, who uses an ancient relic from the Emperor’s historic archive to reanimate the workers in the morgue who died building the Death Star. If you thought the Night Sisters of Dathomir raising a battalion of undead stormtroopers in Ahsoka on Disney Plus was cool, then you’ll love why this tale ranks first place.

Honestly, I don’t know why I haven’t considered that there is a moment where I wouldn’t enjoy watching Darth Vader slash through zombies, but I’m so glad this rock star team of creatives did. The story itself is funny, taking satirical jabs at work-related topics such as efficiency. It was all-around laughter and world-building through and through, with some context on the day-to-day from inside the Death Star. Why are all these tyrant types so enthralled with collecting ancient relics?

2. Wild Squadron

“Join the hunt!”

Put away the Solo movie, kids, because the Kessel run is over and the coolest thing in space is now the hard runner-up for first. Wild Squadron is my kind of ghost story. What seems like an innocent patrol turns into a nightmare as the ghosts of Wild Squadron, a supposed company composed of corrupt former Jedi, travel the depths of space and time, collecting the living for some great hunt in the afterlife. Unfortunately for the Tie Fighter pilot, ghost stories are real, but not everyone can see them. This story boasts a really interesting fate that might be connected to the Jedi Temple’s Order 66 tragedy.

It begs the question: did any Jedi escape, and if they did, might they have found a different part of the galaxy we’ve never seen? Or maybe there are some dark areas of force we haven’t seen yet. Either way, this was a thrilling ghost tale with intriguing and thought-provoking content. Let’s just say I think it is best you not listen to any tales from an Old Rendellian.

“Join the hunt!”

3. The Haunting Of Grand

Grand Moth Tarkin, one of the Emperor’s most loyal idealist imperials, is not known for his sense of humor and even less for his empathy. It may not be number one, but, damn! It came really close because not many people in the Star Wars fandom think about the lost souls of all those people who died at the helm of his order behind the death ray from Death Star One. That’s right, kiddos! Pack your shiitake mushrooms, because we’re going back to the beginning.

Kudos to the Lucasfilm team and Mr. Scott for giving us some flavor to the end of Admiral Tarkin’s death with a dash of meaningful exposition. Who knew Tarkin had a brother? You think of the beginning as the end, so what is this story trying to say? Maybe it’s a dire warning about how you treat others, but perhaps it’s more about the caution of the choices you make or don’t make in life. It was a gratifying blast from the past and definitely takes the cake as the most memorable.

“Where’s Gideon, Wilhuff?”

4. The Creature From The Trash Compactor

Well, if you thought the future of being in pest control looked something like Men in Black, you’d be sorely surprised because even in a fictional future, the pests just get bigger and more dangerous. In this story, I was actually rooting for the Dianoga, the trash monster that escaped, but what they all didn’t know was that there was something else in the lower levels. I wonder why we never saw these level-seven shock collars before. It is possible I haven’t explored the entire canon in Star Wars history, but I have to say the addition of bio-mechanical or android-like criminals is pretty cool.

This tale of caution was about survival, but more importantly, about how things can go seriously wrong. All these tales are so that a stranger can warn Fry, a young man, to stay away from the dangers of the crashed Death Star, and even this tale doesn’t sway his will. What I really would have liked to see in this story was someone reference the species of all the criminals, because one of the criminals looked like he could have given a Wookie a run for his credit in some pit fights.

“Hm, as dead as a Dradan.”

5. Nightmares Long Remembered

And coming in at number five is what I can only describe as a mystery, because what kind of review would this be without a little mystique? What can I say other than phenomenal and very well illustrated? The visual storytelling in this serial anthology is spot-on and complimentary. If this were a scoreboard-type thing, I’d raise my board to a 9.25 proudly. All I have left to say is that the next time you decide to take a tour of an abandoned Death Star, make sure you bring an Espirion with you on your journey.

Stay frosty when it comes to Star Wars and all things Dark Horse, because great things are on the way. If you haven’t checked out Ahsoka season one, you ought to give it a run-through. It’s a wild ride, especially for fans of the animated series Star Wars Rebels. This is definitely your cup of tea. Don’t forget to support your local comic store or visit your favorite artists and creators at cons. As always, stay geeky, share the network, and don’t forget to catch me on the latest episode of Comics’N’Poptarts.