Talk

Star Wars: Dark Times

Star Wars: Dark Times, a comic book series, was brought to readers by Dark Horse Comics. Its inaugural issue was initially planned to be available in October of 2006. Much like the series Star Wars: Rebellion, it serves as a direct successor to the earlier series Star Wars: Republic, even continuing the numbering sequence of Republic on its internal pages. Mirroring the miniseries format of Rebellion, it alternated story arcs with that series, and subsequently with the Star Wars: Invasion comic series.

The narrative commences shortly after the events of Star Wars: Purge, and its storyline is interwoven with the happenings in Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader. Publication of the series was paused in July of 2008 for a duration of eight months, prioritizing the Clone Wars monthly comic. It then resumed in April of 2009. Another hiatus occurred in June of 2010, with the series eventually making its return in August of 2011.

Conception

Dass Jennir and Bomo Greenbark, as they were last seen in Issue 80 of Republic.

In the year 2006, Dark Horse undertook a relaunch of their entire Star Wars comic lineup. This involved concluding their popular series, including Republic, Empire, and Star Wars Tales, and introducing new series in their place: Knights of the Old Republic, Rebellion, and Legacy. Initially, these appeared to be the only three series in the revamped line. However, in July, Randy Stradley revealed a new addition on the Dark Horse message boards. Dark Times was planned to alternate five-issue story arcs with Rebellion. Its initial arc was set to debut in the fall, following the conclusion of Rebellion's first arc, My Brother, My Enemy.

Republic stood out as a highly favored and critically acclaimed Star Wars publication throughout its impressive 83-issue run. Its narrative was set to continue within the pages of Dark Times, mirroring how Empire's story progressed in Rebellion. Officially, Dark Times is a direct continuation of Republic, with the numbering of the former picking up where the latter left off within the comic's pages. For instance, the inside cover of Dark Times #1 also displayed the numbering Republic #84. Furthermore, the debut arc of Dark Times furthered the story of Dass Jennir and Bomo Greenbark, characters last encountered in the Republic series.

Production

The Path to Nowhere

The inaugural story arc, The Path To Nowhere, was originally slated for an October 2006 release. However, a delay pushed the release of the first issue to November 8th. Interestingly, the first issue was released before the final issue of the initial Rebellion arc, a consequence of a four-month delay that saw Issue 5 of My Brother, My Enemy (originally planned for August) arrive in December. This marked the beginning of numerous delays that significantly disrupted the Dark Times/Rebellion publishing schedule. Issue 2 of The Path to Nowhere was then released in January of 2007, followed by the subsequent three issues in May, July, and October, respectively. Consequently, the fifth issue of the arc was launched a considerable eleven months after the first.

An example of Wheatley's pencils.[18]

Many followers of the series believed that the substantial delays stemmed from the time required for penciller Doug Wheatley to produce his highly regarded and photorealistic artwork. Following the release of Issue 3, Wheatley engaged with fans on the Jedi Council Forums, expressing that he held no resentment towards any comments and accepted full accountability for the delays. He stated that he had made significant strides in addressing the issue and that the comic was back on schedule. He also extended his gratitude to those who had remained patient. He admitted that the severity of the delays "scared the hell out of him", and assured that such delays would not occur in future story arcs.

The second story arc of Rebellion, The Ahakista Gambit, debuted in May 2007 and successfully completed its entire five-issue run before The Path To Nowhere concluded. The second arc of Dark Times, Parallels, was initially slated to premiere in August. However, due to the delays experienced by The Path To Nowhere, its first issue was released in October, merely two weeks after the release of Issue 5.

Following the release of Issue 5, Randy Stradley shared the following message on the Dark Horse Message Boards:

Because the events of The Path To Nowhere aligned with those in the novel Dark Lord, Issue #5 featured a scene directly taken from the book. James Luceno received credit on the issue's inside cover.

Parallels

Parallels experienced comparatively fewer delays in its release, with a five-issue run spanning from October 2007 to April 2008. Mick Harrison continued as the writer, while Zach Howard designed the covers, and Dave Ross assumed the penciling responsibilities from Doug Wheatley. Issue #8 saw the penciling duties shared between Ross and Lui Antonio, resulting in a noticeable inconsistency in the art style. Fans expressed disappointment with this inconsistency, although it's possible that Antonio was brought in to ensure the issue's timely release. The issue was divided between two locations, with Ross seemingly penciling K'Kruhk's adventures on an unidentified planet, while Antonio handled the story of the Uhumele's crew on Circarpous V.

Vector

Doug Wheatley made a comeback to the series to pencil Issues 11 and 12, which formed parts 5 and 6 of the expansive Vector crossover event. This event encompassed all four Dark Horse titles throughout 2008. Mick Harrison penned the script, with John Jackson Miller and John Ostrander contributing to the story's plotting. The events of Vector were designed to significantly influence the storylines of all four series.

However, Issue 12 featured a split in penciling duties between Wheatley and Dave Ross. Ross penciled the initial ten pages of the issue, while Wheatley handled the subsequent twelve.

Hiatuses

The ship used by the series's heroes: Schurk-Heren's Uhumele

In April 2008, it was announced that both Dark Times and Rebellion would be placed on hiatus to accommodate the release of Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Slaves of the Republic. Randy Stradley shared the following statement regarding the matter:

He also mentioned that work on both series was ongoing and that they were expected to resume publication once the excitement surrounding Clone Wars subsided. However, only Dark Times returned to publication, as the Rebellion line was discontinued and replaced by the new Star Wars: Invasion series.

In the "Letters" section of the final issue of Blue Harvest, released in June 2010, it was announced that the series would not continue until 2011.

In Star Wars Insider 124, it was revealed that the series would resume in August of 2011 with a five-part story arc titled Out of the Wilderness.

Star Wars: Dark Times—A Spark Remains became the final Dark Times story arc, due to Dark Horse's loss of the Star Wars comic license following Lucasfilm's acquisition by Disney.

Series timeline

The Path to Nowhere

Randy Stradley has indicated that "The story commences in the days immediately following the events of Purge, and its narrative intertwines with certain events in James Luceno's novel Dark Lord." He also stated that "approximately four weeks have passed between Republic #80 and Dark Times #1."

Parallels

Issue #6 begins two and a half days before the issuing of Order 66, and follows Master K'Kruhk until the order is given. The issue then jumps forward to the crew of the Uhumele on Pizkoss, two months later. As a result, Parallels unfolds roughly one month after The Path To Nowhere begins. Similarly, Issue #7 suggests that two months have elapsed since the conclusion of the Clone Wars.

Vector

Issue #11 commences three months after Palpatine proclaims himself Emperor, and then jumps forward to the crew of the Uhumele three weeks later.

Blue Harvest

Issue #13 begins four months after the Declaration of a New Order.

Out of the Wilderness

The prelude of the first issue indicates that it is four months since Palpatine declared himself Emperor. The story then shifts back to the Uhumele, two days later, before flashing back two weeks earlier to Jennir's exploits.

Thus far, it appears that a month has passed between each arc, with each arc beginning an additional month after Order 66, although Out of the Wilderness seems to be concurrent with Blue Harvest. However, in the case of the crew of the Uhumele, approximately one month and an additional three weeks pass between Parallels and Vector, with only nine days passing before Out of the Wilderness.

Fire Carrier

The sixth arc, Fire Carrier, takes place sometime after Out of the Wilderness. Issue 23 also references the events of the Gentis coup and featured the reconstruction of the Imperial Palace, indicating that it took place shortly after the events of the comic series Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison. The same issue also indirectly referenced the events of Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command and the first three issues of Blue Harvest. Issues 24 and 25 also indicate that it occurred sometime after the events of _Parallel_s, referencing the skirmish on an unidentified jungle moon.

A Spark Remains

Issue #28 opens with an ambush of Darth Vader on the planet Kestavel, and then cuts back to several weeks earlier. It also inferred that the events of the main period of time of the story arc occurred at least some period of time after the events of Star Wars: Vector. Issue 4 also referenced the events of Parallels, Out of the Wilderness, The Path to Nowhere, and Blue Harvest.

Media

Issues

Sources

Notes and references

External links

Appearances

This article uses content from Wookiepedia, under CC-BY-SA 3.0.