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Star Wars Omnibus: Menace Revealed by Ryder Windham, W. Haden Blackman, Jason Hall, Timothy Truman
jaredkwheeler's review against another edition
2.0
Star Wars Legends Project #97
Background: Menace Revealed, released in July 2009, collected several stand-alone short runs and one-offs from the time between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones (two very brief stories take place during Clones). This is a review of the storylines not collected elsewhere. I will review the other series separately in connection with their trade paperbacks, and link to those reviews below.
Republic: Starcrash (1 issue, February 2001) was written by [a:Doug Petrie|169497|Doug Petrie|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] with art pencilled by [a:Randy Green|59439|Randy Green|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png]. Petrie also wrote an episode of The Clone Wars TV series. He is best known for his work on the shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Daredevil, plus several other popular shows. Green hasn't done any other Star Wars work, and most of his other work has been for Marvel, particularly X-Men.
Jedi Quest (4 issues, September - December 2001) was written by [a:Ryder Windham|17735|Ryder Windham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1317014865p2/17735.jpg] with art by [a:Pop Mhan|122256|Pop Mhan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Windham, of course, has contributed prolifically to the Star Wars EU, with dozens of publications to his name (mostly YA). Mhan has an extremely diverse resume, but this is his only Star Wars comic.
Starfighter: Crossbones (3 issues, January - March 2002) was written by [a:Haden Blackman|16071920|Haden Blackman|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and drawn by [a:Ramón F. Bachs|221805|Ramón F. Bachs|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png]. Blackman was a long-time employee of LucasArts who, in addition to writing a few dozen comics, was the lead on the Galaxies and Force Unleashed games. He was also the writer for Starfighter and Jedi Starfighter, to which Crossbones connects. Bachs has illustrated several other Star Wars comics, including (with Blackman) [b:Star Wars: Jango Fett - Open Seasons|876383|Star Wars Jango Fett - Open Seasons|W. Haden Blackman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403208197s/876383.jpg|861723] (my review).
Menace Revealed also contains 6 extremely short (3-10 page) one-shot comics that are hardly worth talking about: Heart of Fire, Poison Moon, Full of Surprises, Most Precious Weapon, Practice Makes Perfect, and Machines of War. Those last 4 were an exclusive run included with Hasbro Star Wars toys, and it couldn't be more obvious that they are merchandising tie-ins, not actual stories.
Republic: Starcrash is set 31 years before the Battle of Yavin (1 year after the Battle of Naboo), though it doesn't particularly refer to any events, and features characters and a planet that never appear again. Jedi Quest is a comic version of the same story told in the YA novel [b:Path To Truth|359801|Path To Truth (Star Wars Jedi Quest, #0)|Jude Watson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1374773828s/359801.jpg|17187318] (my review). Starfighter: Crossbones is set 24 years before the Battle of Yavin (despite a reference to it being 6 years after the Battle of Naboo, which would be 26 BBY). It features the Feeorin pirate captain Nym of the Starfighter games, with very few references to other known characters.
[b:Star Wars: Hunt for Aurra Sing|359867|Star Wars Hunt for Aurra Sing|Timothy Truman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442843907s/359867.jpg|349984] (my review)
[b:Star Wars: Jango Fett|970990|Star Wars Jango Fett|Ron Marz|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348222647s/970990.jpg|955887] (my review)
[b:Star Wars: Zam Wesell|359907|Star Wars Zam Wesell|Ron Marz|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403204715s/359907.jpg|350024] (my review)
[b:Star Wars: The Bounty Hunters - Aurra Sing (1999) (Star Wars: The Bounty Hunters|28426688|Star Wars The Bounty Hunters - Aurra Sing (1999) (Star Wars The Bounty Hunters (1999))|Timothy Truman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1451690604s/28426688.jpg|48534428] (my review)
Summary: In Starcrash, a newly-minted Jedi Knight named Yoshi Raph-Elan (yes, really) crashes on a strange planet and damages his lightsaber. He soon discovers that the planet is being oppressed by a sinister alien, and he joins forces with a beautiful princess to stop it.
In Crossbones, natives of the watery planet Maramere seek out Nym to acquire his particular set of skills to solve a difficult problem. The Trade Federation has taken control of their planet, and is engaged in a destructive battle with the Mere criminal Sol Sixxa, with most of the planet's natives caught in the middle. As an old enemy of the Trade Federation, Nym will have most of the weapons on the planet turned his way, but odds don't bother him.
Review: Starcrash is trying so hard to be zippy, witty, and fun . . . and, for me, just failing spectacularly at every turn. I'm not sure exactly how to explain why I hated this story so much, but the main character doesn't have a fraction of the charisma he thinks he does, and his schtick got very old very fast. There's nothing particularly Star Wars about this story, and maybe that was the point, but it didn't do anything for me. I'm a bit mystified as to how this one-off got dropped into the middle of several excellent large-arc storylines that Republic was doing. It just seems so out of place in every way. The art and character design are pretty nice, though. I'll give it that.
Jedi Quest I don't have much to say about that I didn't already say in my review of the book version. I think, though, that I kind of prefer this version of it. The medium just fits the story a bit better, and it makes more sense to have this be a comic adventure starring Obi-Wan and Anakin and Siri than it did as the introduction to the rest of the Jedi Quest series. I don't know why they did both, and they're both fine, but if I had to pick, I'd go with this one.
Crossbones pulls off everything that Starcrash fails at. It's a fun story that never takes itself too seriously, featuring a great character with lots of charm and a solid supporting cast. I also love that Nym is a scoundrel without being a Star Wars cliche. My biggest complaint is that the main premise behind the plot didn't quite make sense to me. It seemed like the Mere had two enemies that were basically working to destroy each other, and they want to go hire someone to upset that balance and leave them with one enemy who can then focus on oppressing them. I don't really get it, but whatever. I'd love to see more of Nym. Maybe I'll check out those video games. The other great thing about this comic: Zero human characters, and barely a human face anywhere in the story. It's a great gimmick that Star Wars stories should try more often.
Starcrash: D
Jedi Quest: B-
Crossbones: B+
Background: Menace Revealed, released in July 2009, collected several stand-alone short runs and one-offs from the time between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones (two very brief stories take place during Clones). This is a review of the storylines not collected elsewhere. I will review the other series separately in connection with their trade paperbacks, and link to those reviews below.
Republic: Starcrash (1 issue, February 2001) was written by [a:Doug Petrie|169497|Doug Petrie|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] with art pencilled by [a:Randy Green|59439|Randy Green|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png]. Petrie also wrote an episode of The Clone Wars TV series. He is best known for his work on the shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Daredevil, plus several other popular shows. Green hasn't done any other Star Wars work, and most of his other work has been for Marvel, particularly X-Men.
Jedi Quest (4 issues, September - December 2001) was written by [a:Ryder Windham|17735|Ryder Windham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1317014865p2/17735.jpg] with art by [a:Pop Mhan|122256|Pop Mhan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Windham, of course, has contributed prolifically to the Star Wars EU, with dozens of publications to his name (mostly YA). Mhan has an extremely diverse resume, but this is his only Star Wars comic.
Starfighter: Crossbones (3 issues, January - March 2002) was written by [a:Haden Blackman|16071920|Haden Blackman|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and drawn by [a:Ramón F. Bachs|221805|Ramón F. Bachs|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png]. Blackman was a long-time employee of LucasArts who, in addition to writing a few dozen comics, was the lead on the Galaxies and Force Unleashed games. He was also the writer for Starfighter and Jedi Starfighter, to which Crossbones connects. Bachs has illustrated several other Star Wars comics, including (with Blackman) [b:Star Wars: Jango Fett - Open Seasons|876383|Star Wars Jango Fett - Open Seasons|W. Haden Blackman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403208197s/876383.jpg|861723] (my review).
Menace Revealed also contains 6 extremely short (3-10 page) one-shot comics that are hardly worth talking about: Heart of Fire, Poison Moon, Full of Surprises, Most Precious Weapon, Practice Makes Perfect, and Machines of War. Those last 4 were an exclusive run included with Hasbro Star Wars toys, and it couldn't be more obvious that they are merchandising tie-ins, not actual stories.
Republic: Starcrash is set 31 years before the Battle of Yavin (1 year after the Battle of Naboo), though it doesn't particularly refer to any events, and features characters and a planet that never appear again. Jedi Quest is a comic version of the same story told in the YA novel [b:Path To Truth|359801|Path To Truth (Star Wars Jedi Quest, #0)|Jude Watson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1374773828s/359801.jpg|17187318] (my review). Starfighter: Crossbones is set 24 years before the Battle of Yavin (despite a reference to it being 6 years after the Battle of Naboo, which would be 26 BBY). It features the Feeorin pirate captain Nym of the Starfighter games, with very few references to other known characters.
[b:Star Wars: Hunt for Aurra Sing|359867|Star Wars Hunt for Aurra Sing|Timothy Truman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442843907s/359867.jpg|349984] (my review)
[b:Star Wars: Jango Fett|970990|Star Wars Jango Fett|Ron Marz|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348222647s/970990.jpg|955887] (my review)
[b:Star Wars: Zam Wesell|359907|Star Wars Zam Wesell|Ron Marz|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403204715s/359907.jpg|350024] (my review)
[b:Star Wars: The Bounty Hunters - Aurra Sing (1999) (Star Wars: The Bounty Hunters|28426688|Star Wars The Bounty Hunters - Aurra Sing (1999) (Star Wars The Bounty Hunters (1999))|Timothy Truman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1451690604s/28426688.jpg|48534428] (my review)
Summary: In Starcrash, a newly-minted Jedi Knight named Yoshi Raph-Elan (yes, really) crashes on a strange planet and damages his lightsaber. He soon discovers that the planet is being oppressed by a sinister alien, and he joins forces with a beautiful princess to stop it.
In Crossbones, natives of the watery planet Maramere seek out Nym to acquire his particular set of skills to solve a difficult problem. The Trade Federation has taken control of their planet, and is engaged in a destructive battle with the Mere criminal Sol Sixxa, with most of the planet's natives caught in the middle. As an old enemy of the Trade Federation, Nym will have most of the weapons on the planet turned his way, but odds don't bother him.
Review: Starcrash is trying so hard to be zippy, witty, and fun . . . and, for me, just failing spectacularly at every turn. I'm not sure exactly how to explain why I hated this story so much, but the main character doesn't have a fraction of the charisma he thinks he does, and his schtick got very old very fast. There's nothing particularly Star Wars about this story, and maybe that was the point, but it didn't do anything for me. I'm a bit mystified as to how this one-off got dropped into the middle of several excellent large-arc storylines that Republic was doing. It just seems so out of place in every way. The art and character design are pretty nice, though. I'll give it that.
Jedi Quest I don't have much to say about that I didn't already say in my review of the book version. I think, though, that I kind of prefer this version of it. The medium just fits the story a bit better, and it makes more sense to have this be a comic adventure starring Obi-Wan and Anakin and Siri than it did as the introduction to the rest of the Jedi Quest series. I don't know why they did both, and they're both fine, but if I had to pick, I'd go with this one.
Crossbones pulls off everything that Starcrash fails at. It's a fun story that never takes itself too seriously, featuring a great character with lots of charm and a solid supporting cast. I also love that Nym is a scoundrel without being a Star Wars cliche. My biggest complaint is that the main premise behind the plot didn't quite make sense to me. It seemed like the Mere had two enemies that were basically working to destroy each other, and they want to go hire someone to upset that balance and leave them with one enemy who can then focus on oppressing them. I don't really get it, but whatever. I'd love to see more of Nym. Maybe I'll check out those video games. The other great thing about this comic: Zero human characters, and barely a human face anywhere in the story. It's a great gimmick that Star Wars stories should try more often.
Starcrash: D
Jedi Quest: B-
Crossbones: B+
sleepyboi2988's review against another edition
2.0
Did not enjoy the writing and art direction across the board here.
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