The “Death Star” is one of the most iconic objects in the “Star Wars” universe. Even people who have a passing knowledge of “Star Wars” can recognize the “Death Star.” Comic book writer Cavan Scott has written a comic anthology that takes place in and around the “Death Star” called “Tales From the Death Star” and it has a few problems.
As with any “Star Wars” anthology comic, there is a story where a character is telling these stories. Here it’s a hooded figure telling these stories to a former stormtrooper who is trying to collect scraps from the second “Death Star.” There isn’t much to enjoy here since these characters have little to them. Soo Lee’s art is the only fascinating thing here since it gives a dark look and feel to the situation.
“The Creature From the Trash Compacter” with artist Vincenzo Riccardi sees a group of captives being forced to investigate and kill whatever creature is in the “Death Star’s” trash compactor. It’s a decent story and is the best story in the anthology. While the character designs and backgrounds are decent, the colors can be described as “a waterfall of colors” since there are a lot of them.
The quality of “The Wild Squadron” is null and void since Scott broke one of the cardinal rules of “Star Wars”: never talk about the “Star Wars Holiday Special” or anything that was created from it. Scott decided to add spooky lore to “Life Day” by adding the “Wild Squadron.” No, Scott. No. Bad dog. That special and this story does not exist.
“We Shall Double Our Efforts” is a famous line spoken by Moff JerJerrod and the title of this story with artist Juan Samu. ‘Doubling our efforts” here means a technician using a ring that belongs to Emperor Palpatine to revive dead crewmembers into zombies and have them finish the second “Death Star.” The only positive thing here is seeing Darth Vader cut down a bunch of zombies. The story and art are both mediocre with the characters having weird facial expressions.
Finally, ‘The Haunting of Grand Moff Tarkin” with artist Ingo Römling has Grand Moff Tarkin being haunted by a ghost from his past during the “Battle of Yavin.” It can either be an OK story or a cringy one depending on who’s reading it. The art is fantastic since it looks like something you’d see in early “Heavy Metal Magazine” stories.
“Tales From the Death Star” is a disappointing anthology with only one story worth reading and the rest is either forgettable or junk and the artwork is a mixed bag.
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