Return of the New Jedi Order, Episode XXVI: "Equals & Opposites" by Nathan P. Butler and James Raiz

Digital comic issue, 58 pages
Published 2004
Acquired December 2014
Read June 2015

Star Wars Tales #21: "Equals & Opposites"

Script: Nathan P. Butler

Art: James Raiz

Colors: Michael Atiyeh
Letters: Michael Heisler

Year Four of the Invasion (Month 8)
This issue of the Star Wars Tales comic contains another New Jedi Order-era tale, specifically, "Equals & Opposites," which takes place between volumes I and II of "Force Heretic." This story is about Kyle Katarn and Jan Ors, stars of the Dark Forces/Jedi Knight computer games, which I've never played-- but I have read the novellas and heard the audio dramas based on them. They're en route to an intelligence conference in the Empire, following the alliance forged by Luke and company in Remnant, when they divert to help an Imperial platoon save an insignificant planet from the Yuuzhan Vong and the Peace Brigade.

This story is, as far as I know, Nathan P. Butler's first and only professional fiction work; he and I used to be members of the "fan audio" community together, where Butler wrote a timeline, was a prolific podcaster, and wrote/directed/edited a number of fan audio dramas. Unfortunately, "Equals & Opposites" is a bit on the clunky side. Like this:

KYLE KATARN FACT: Kyle Katarn doesn't feel pain, pain feels Kyle Katarn.

Like, maybe the reason he mentioned the first kid is because she was standing right in front of you. It's an attempt at subtlety in characterization that sledgehammers in its actual consequences. Aside from that moment, there's not much to this 14-page story, which features two multi-page fight sequences and a number of banal aphorisms from Kyle to a green Imperial lieutenant. Of course, this might not be Butler's fault entirely: he is trying to make use of a character primarily designed as a blank for videogames, not as someone with a lived interior life. James Raiz's artwork is often equally clunky, as you can see from Kyle's extremely wonky proportions in the second panel above.

Next Week: Back to Luke and Mara, Leia and Han, Nom Anor, and companies in Force Heretic II: Refugee!

Return of the New Jedi Order, Episode IX: "Revenants" by W. Haden Blackman, et al.

Digital comic issue, 60 pages
Published 2003
Acquired and read April 2014

Star Wars Tales #18: "Revenants"

Story: W. Haden Blackman

Pencils: Dub with Niko Henrichon
Inks: Pierre-André Déry

Colors: Phiz
Letters: Steve Dutro

Year One of the Invasion (Month 6)
This issue of the late, lamented Star Wars Tales contains five stories of Boba Fett, ranging from his childhood on Kamino to his time as Mandalore, and I'm here for the last one, set during the early days of the Yuuzhan Vong War (it fits seamlessly between Ruin and Hero's Trial). Han is scouting the Far Rim to see if the Yuuzhan Vong have invaded there when he's shot down on the junkyard world of Raxus Prime and has to fight Boba Fett to stay alive. Only he seems to be killing him again and again...

The art is decent; I like the foreboding backgrounds more than I do the cartoony foregrounds, and the colors done by the so-called "Phiz" are excellent. It was unclear to me that Han was actually killing Fett over and over (until the end, when it was stated outright), not just knocking him out and escaping.

Continuing the thread of the Mandalorians working for the Yuuzhan Vong begun in A Practical Man, "Revenants" is a nice a little tale, a good showcase for Han Solo, who is still awesome even as an old man on his own. It's narrated by a series of letters from "Scoundrel" to "Princess," and it's a strong turning point, well-depicted-- this is the moment where Han goes from moping to fighting back. Which isn't to say that his demons are gone, as we find out in Hero's Trial...