Dark Horse Returns Strong With 'Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #1'
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Dark Horse Comics has officially returned to the galaxy far, far away. Throughout the 90s and 2000s, the renowned publisher was responsible for putting out many of the most iconic stories in Star Wars comics. From Dark Empire to Tales of the Jedi, the Legends continuity and the Star Wars franchise as a whole simply wouldn’t be the same without Dark Horse. So it only makes sense that the publisher would find its way back to George Lucas’s ever-expanding universe. To kick off their new wave of canon Star Wars comics, Dark Horse released the first issue of their latest series on August 24. Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories is a series of comics following different sets of characters at various points in the Star Wars timeline. The first of these comics follows Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Padmé Amidala on a rescue mission.
Set shortly after Attack of the Clones, the issue begins with Yarua, a Wookiee senator in the Galactic Republic, arriving on the moon of Staggec with Padmé. Before they can begin negotiations, however, a fleet of Separatist ships appears in the sky overhead. As the droid army approaches, Yarua gives his daughter, Viiveenn, a stuffed Wookiee doll before she runs off into the forest to hide. Before being captured, Padmé contacts the Jedi Council for assistance and they send Anakin and Obi-Wan to rescue Padmé and Yarua from the Separatists. Upon arriving at Staggec, Anakin finds footprints leading into the forest and quickly follows them despite Obi-Wan’s warnings about being careful. Once he catches up with Anakin, they find Viiveenn, who gives Anakin a flower and leads the Jedi to the ship where her father and Padmé are being held hostage. Viiveenn then runs at the ship to rescue her father, which leads Obi-Wan to try and stop her and results in them being captured.
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Anakin tries to stop the ship from taking off with Obi-Wan and Viiveenn but gets distracted by the surrounding battle droids. Remembering Obi-Wan’s earlier advice, he takes a moment to meditate and find the hostages through the Force. As Obi-Wan fights his way through the ship, he discovers that Anakin managed to board the ship with a Republic shuttle. Anakin then leaves to find Padmé while Obi-Wan locates the one leading the operation. Soon, Anakin finds Padmé and her political aides, who had managed to free themselves. Anakin and Padmé then take out a couple more battle droids and lead the aides to the Republic shuttle. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan discovers General Grievous threatening Yarua and Viiveenn into giving hiding something of value. Obi-Wan then leaps down from high up and orders Grievous to release the senator before engaging the general in lightsaber combat. After a brief fight, Grievous takes Viiveen hostage, only for Yarua to tackle him into space, sacrificing himself to save his daughter. Obi-Wan then takes a distraught Viiveenn to the Republic shuttle before he and Anakin take off with the rescued hostages onboard. While Anakin and Obi-Wan report to Master Yoda via hologram, Padmé comforts Viiveenn and wonders aloud what the Separatists wanted from her and her father.
Hyperspace Stories #1 is a solid first outing for the newest wave of Dark Horse Star Wars comics. A fun prequel-era adventure with a surprising emotional gut punch, the issue gives readers the exact kind of one-off story that the comic publisher is known for delivering. With the next issue focusing on Luke and Leia during the original trilogy, I’m intrigued to see whether future issues will continue this particular story and what Grievous was trying to get from Yarua and his family. Plus I’ll never be sick of seeing Obi-Wan and Anakin bickering, especially during Anakin’s final days as a Jedi Padawan before finally being knighted. Hyperspace Stories #1 is a strong first step into a larger world of Star Wars comics.
Rating: 7/10
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