Star Wars: Tales, Vol. 5

Star Wars: Tales #5

by Dave Land (Editor), Henry Gilroy, Jason Hall

Star Wars Tales Volume 5 features an astonishing variety of stories featuring Boba Fett, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Darth Maul, and more! This substantial volume includes a Chewbacca story gorgeously illustrated by Cary Nord (Conan), Haden Blackman's unbelievable Han Solo tale, Scott Kurtz's parody of The Breakfast Club, and the "all-indie issue"—featuring many of the best independent comics creators in the business!

Collecting issues #17-#20 of the quarterly Star Wars Tales, this volume includes a cover gallery featuring UDON, Cam Kennedy, Andrew Robinson, and Tony Millionaire. A bonus section collects the infamous one-page comic introductions from throughout the run of Star Wars Tales, by Dave Land and Lucas Marangon.

Genres: Star Wars, Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Comic Book

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2005

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually don’t bother with Star Wars comics mostly because I’m not a huge fan of the franchise and the writers for it are usually really crappy (Ian Edginton, W. Haden Blackman, Ron Marz? Pee-yeew!). But Amazon was having a blowout, selling Kindle editions of these trades for pennies, and I noticed this book had an amazing line-up of some of my favourite indie creators: Tony Millionaire, Jason, Rick Geary, Peter Bagge, James Kochalka and Gilbert Hernandez, so I bought this puppy.

This is a book of short stories that range from the classic trilogy to the universally reviled prequels. I was disappointed that these great artists couldn’t do more with the material, though that’s not to say they don’t produce some interesting shorts. Tony Millionaire’s story, George R. Binks, features Jar Jar’s dad, a man who hates his retarded son and tries to kill him on numerous occasions. It was good for a chuckle and I’m glad it got published, Lucasfilm acknowledging the deep hatred fans have for the character. The ending is inspired too.

But really all of the stories are just ok – not good, not bad – and over all too soon. Jason’s Darth Vader flubs his lines “Luke, I am your father”, Rick Geary applies his true crime talents to Luke Skywalker in a tongue-in-cheek crime caper, and James Kochalka’s Melvin Fett looks at Boba Fett’s incompetent cousin who’s also a mercenary – but comically bad at his job. Peter Bagge’s Jar Jar comics are ok as he also goes after the dumb character’s annoying personality and general brainlessness, while Gilbert Hernandez’s Young Lando Calrissian is a nice looking but dull bait and switch story.

I suppose paying 77p for the lot wasn’t bad but I wouldn’t really recommend this even for fans of some of the creators. The novelty of seeing them apply their art styles and narrative voices to these enormously popular characters wears off pretty quick and the stories are, unfortunately, boring.

[Mirjam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some stories were great, but most quite "meh". I don't particularly like Jar Jar or Boba Fett, who seemed to be at the center of this volume. There was a lack of female representation and somehow the stories felt repetitive. Not a favourite.

[Malcolm Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Planet of the Dead
What?: Han and Chewie land on a planet where they are haunted by the dead.
When?: Before A New Hope
Could be Canon?: Yes
Thoughts: A nice ghost story that hits the usual ghost story beats.
All For You
What?: A group of farmers gain possession of a Jedi holocron but dispute what to do about it.
When?: During the Sith War
Could be Canon?: Yes
Thoughts: Reminded me of the graphic novel Jedi vs. Sith with its art style and violence.
Phantom Menaces
What?: Luke is attacked by a holographic Darth Maul
When?: During the New Republic
Could be Canon?: No
Thoughts: Another story dealing with the possible resurrection of Darth Maul. This one does it a little differently.
Ghosts of Hoth
What?: While working on the Millennium Falcon in Echo Base, Chewbacca is haunted by ghosts leading him to discover a nearby Wampa cave
When?: Before the Empire Strikes Back
Could be Canon?: Yes
Thoughts: In an early draft of the film there was an entire sub-plot involving wampas in Echo Base. This story is inspired by that. Another standard ghost story.
The Apprentice
What?: A Sith lord's apprentice finds his position put into question when he rescues a slave.
When?: During the Old Republic
Could be Canon?: Yes (confirmed)
Thoughts: A small story with a lot going on. Great stuff.
Dark Journey
What?: A Jedi in on the trail of a serial killer.
When?: During the Clone Wars
Could be Canon?: Yes
Thoughts: Tonally very different from everything else in the Tales stories so far, this is dark and grim with an art style to match. Great stuff.
Number Two In The Galaxy
What?: A rival bounty hunter attempts to take Boba Fett's gear and take his place in the number one spot.
When?: During the Empire or New Republic
Could be Canon?: Yes
Thoughts: The phrase " you're nothing without the suit you shouldn't have it" comes to mind.
Payback
What?: Boba Fett is given another assignment that isn't what it seems.
When?: During the Empire or New Republic
Could be Canon?: Yes
Thoughts: Just how badass is Boba Fett? This badass, that's how. Great artwork!
Being Boba Fett
What?: Boba Fett deals with the fact that every time he looks in the mirror he sees his father's face.
When?: During the Empire or New Republic
Could be Canon?: Yes (confirmed)
Thoughts: An aspect of Boba Fett I've not seen explored anywhere else. Nice.
The Way Of The Warrior
What?: A young Boba Fett goes on his first hunt with his father.
When?: Before Attack Of The Clones
Could be Canon?: Yes
Thoughts: A nice story showing a father-son bonding in the only way Mandalorians can.
Revenants
What?: Han Solo is hunted by Boba Fett who keeps coming no matter what Han throws at him.
When?: After Return of The Jedi
Could be Canon?: Yes (confirmed)
Thoughts: Nice and action-packed that puts Han's and Boba's relationship on a whole new level. Fantastic!
Collapsing New Empires
What?: Han, Luke, Leia, Chewie and the droids encounter a sinister force in space.
When?: After Return of the Jedi
Could be Canon?: No
Thoughts: Some cool ideas here with a good story.
The Value of Proper Intelligence to Any Successful Military Campaign is Not to Be Underestimated
What?: An Imperial force lays claim to a planet inhabited by diminutive farmers.
When?: During the Empire
Could be Canon?: Yes (confirmed)
Thoughts: A short, two-page story that's brilliantly illustrated and funny.
Rather Darkness Visible
What?: Two Jedi discover and undercover cloning facility.
When?: The Clone Wars
Could be Canon?: Yes
Thoughts: Another short adventure of the Clone Wars. It was okay, but with unknown Jedi the outcome was pretty much expected.
The Rebel Club
What?: A parody of The Breakfast Club, Star Wars style.
When?: During the Rebellion
Could be Canon?: No
Thoughts: This is a bizarre choice of parody, but a lot of fun and some appropriate artwork.
The Lost Lightsaber
What?: This is the story of Luke's lightsaber after he loses it on Bespin
When?: After The Empire Strikes back and beyond
Could be Canon?: No - see the Thrawn trilogy
Thoughts: This is a nice alternative timeline for Anakin's lightsaber that far surpasses that rubbish that Disney spewed out. I particularly like who turns up to claim it.
Into the Great Unknown
What?: Han and Chewie crash land on Earth.
When?: After Return of the Jedi
Could be Canon?: No
Thoughts: This was a lot of fun. Topped off by another Harrison Ford character turning up years later to investigate the mysterious ruins guarded by a Sasquatch.
Storyteller
What?: Two members of a race being racially cleansed by a rival race (resembling stormtroopers) escape and find the remains of C-3PO who tells them an ancient story of a great rebellion.
When?: A long time after Return of the Jedi
Could be Canon?: Yes
Thoughts: A grim and violent setting coupled with the feeling of a great passage of time sees the end of things, and a new beginning. This is perhaps where Disney should have based their new stories on.
George R. Binks
What?: Jar Jar Binks' long-suffering father belatedly finds out why it's not a good idea to bring his idiot son whaling.
When?: Before The Phantom Menace
Could be Canon?: No
Thoughts: Done in the style and era of Moby Dick this story plays on the idiocy of Jar Jar Binks' character. Silly, yet pointless.
Who's Your Daddy
What?: Darth Vader prepares to meet his son for the first time.
When?: During the Empire Strikes Back
Could be Canon?: No
Thoughts: Done in the style of a comic strip, this joke is far too long for what it is.
Fred Jawa
What?: Some moisture farmers find they may be saved from Jawa 'bargains' when a Jawa solicitor appears to betray his kind.
When?: Anytime
Could be Canon?: No
Thoughts: Full of amusing gags and artwork, this was a lot of fun.
Luke Skywalker: Detective
What?: Luke's framed for murdering a rival.
When?: Before A New Hope
Could be Canon?: No
Thoughts: An odd story for Luke that would have better suited a freshly invented character. The story was okay though.
Hunger Pains
What?: A wampa strives to feed his children
When?: The Empire Strikes Back
Could be Canon?: No
Thoughts: A retelling of Luke's wampa encounter from the point of view of the wampa.
Failing Up With Jar Jar Binks
What?: Now as a senator, the incompetent and idiotic Jar Jar Binks causes chaos in the galaxy.
When?: Revenge Of The Sith
Could be Canon?: No
Thoughts: Though partially responsible for Palpatine's emergency powers, this overly-caricatured portrayal is just over-the-top.
Nobody's Perfect
What?: Anakin admits to his fiance some of his other atrocities.
When?: Attack Of The Clones
Could be Canon?: No
Thoughts: This is a fun continuation on Padme's nonplussed response to Anakan's admission that he slaughtered an entire tribe of Sandpeople.
Problem Solvers
What?: Han and Threepio are left in charge of fixing some of the New Republic's problems, with disastrous results.
When?: After Return Of The Jedi
Could be Canon?: No
Thoughts: Another daft story taking certain character aspects to the extreme. This one was so ridiculous, it forgot to be funny.
Melvin Fett
What?: Boba Fett's cousin is a dim-wit.
When?: Whenever
Could be Canon?: No
Thoughts: Just dumb
Young Lando Calrissian
What?: Lando poses as a Jedi to gain a reward for ridding a tribal village from the terrors of a rancor.
When?: Before A New Hope
Could be Canon?: Yes
Thoughts: Lando's always pulling some scam, and this one is entirely plausible, even if the Jedi were pretty much extinct at this time. A fun story though.
Final thoughts: This volume was more of a mixed bag with a lot more sub-standard stories than in previous volumes. There are still plenty of good nuggets in here, but they overshadowed by the weaker stories.

[Jedi Sunni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy this book though it took me a very long time to get through. There are some gems as far as stories go in this book. I enjoyed most of the art and the credits at the end were quite interesting.

[p1nkhe4rts · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for yaddle and the misogyny yoda gave her and of course she slayed outdoing yoda since day one.
did not care for the rest of the stories 😭

[Jaime K · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Most of these stories are even shorter than ones in other “Tales” books.
Each is rated out of 5 stars

"Planet of the Dead": 3.5
Han and Chewie are on a haunted planet and are estranged until Han comes up with a neat solution.

"All for You": 2.5
A Jedi crashes on a planet and wants people to hide a map from the Sith. But some teens want to help the Sith.

"Phantom Menaces": 4
Luke is on Iridonia and is visited by the “spirit” of Darth Maul.
Or, y’know, his brain, which was salvaged by a mad scientist.

"Ghosts of Hoth": 4
Chewie encounters ghosts of settlers on Hoth and helps them.
It kind of aligns with the ESB version of “From a Certain Point of View.”

"The Apprentice": 3.75
A Sith apprentice has empathy that backfires on him.

"Dark Journey": 4.5
A Jedi Knight during te Clone Wars (though her hair has an apprentice braid) goes against the Council’s wishes and tracks a serial killer out of vengeance. I don’t like the art, but this is creepy dark and very intriguing.

"Number Two in the Galaxy": 4
The number 2 bounty hunter after Boba Fett, that is.

"Payback": 2.5
Payback doesn’t pay against Boba Fett

"Being Boba Fett": 4.5
A day in the life of the bounty hunter, including when he’s led to believe a Jedi has survived on a world where another bounty is.

"The Way of the Warrior": 4.5
“This is the Way” of the warrior ;)
Boba is on his first mission and Jango offers a lot of different advice.

"Revenants": 4.25
Poor Han mourns Chewi’s death. He fights Fett and his army of Mandos. It’s super odd because I didn’t think any of them encountered Fett during the Vong war.

"Collapsing New Empires": 3
The art is awful. Luke and Leia look 12-14. It’s a bit akin to Galaxy of Fear plots though, hence a higher rating.

"The Value of Proper Intelligence to Any Successful Military Campaign is Not to Be Underestimated": 2.5
Um. Okay.

"Rather Darkness Visible": 2.5
A Jedi no longer wants to be one but then Dooku comes and I was just confused and bored by it all.

"The Rebel Club": 3.5
Not a fan of the art, but a silly adaptation of the ‘Breakfast Club.’ Too close of an adaptation though, so I kind of lost interest.

"The Lost Lightsaber": 3.5
Luke’s lost saber from ESB leads many to greed and envy. Ben at the end threw me off.

"Into the Great Unknown": 3.5
Han crashes on Earth--California? But since it’s a long time ago, the native Americans fight him and call Chewie Sasquatch.
126 years later, Indiana Jones seeks out this myth.

"Storyteller": 0.5
3PO is the storyteller and both the art and the story were odd and not good.

"George R. Binks": 1
Jar Jar and his parents are stranded on an island on Naboo. His dad is abusive and awful and this is dark but not in a good way. Awfully depressing.

"Who's Your Daddy": 0.5
Awful art and very annoying.

"Fred Jawa": 4
Jawas keep selling droids that go kaput just before the Jawas come back again. Fred Jawa, Consumer Advocate, is on the case.

"Luke Skywalker: Detective": 4
Teenage Luke is accused of murder and is ready to solve the case himself.

"Hunger Pains": 3.5
Another one that aligns with the ESB version of “From a Certain Point of View” with wampas.

"Failing Up With Jar Jar Binks": 1
This is an awful caricature of Jar Jar.

"Nobody's Perfect": 2.5
Odd short about a discussion between Anakin and Padme on their wedding day.

"Problem Solvers": 2
Um. This is a dumb thing about fixing computers.

"Melvin Fett": 2.5
Inane bit about Boba’s cousin trying to capture Jar Jar.

"Young Lando Calrissian": 4.75
Great short about young Lando swindling and being swindled in the process.

[Bo Malpas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Page 155 into the great unknown, superb!

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the stories in this are Ok.. But there is a true gem of a story in this called 'Into the Great Unknown'. That's a five star 10 page story.

[David Caldwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of short tales ranges widely in setting (All are in the Star Wars universe but they cover a lot of time.), characters, and style of artwork. The level of seriousness goes from serious to silly. Boba Fett gets the spotlight in several stories.

Some of my favorite stories do not fall into the "real" Star Wars universe. I found the parody of the Breakfast Club to be fairly funny. I also enjoyed the story of Han and Chewie making an impact on Earth (loved the cameo in that one).

But overall, I can't say that most of the stories blew me away. They weren't bad, just not that memorable to me. I also didn't like a lot of the artwork which detracted from the story. I realize artwork style is very subjective though, so others might not have the same reaction as I did.

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is slightly better than the last. The art continues to shine. As the series has gone on, the style of art has been quite eclectic which gives the story great variety. There are quite a few Boba Fett stories (despite the cover) in this volume and these work well in the shorter format. Unlike with a Jedi moral which is a common "Tale", a bounty hunter can have a quick sleight of hand to outmaneuver their opponent and the story still has a satisfying conclusion. I'm glad I kept going with this series and now there is only one question left. Can Volume 6 close out the series in style and earn all five stars? Only time will tell...

[Lisa Rathbun]

Quite a variety of tales and styles. My problem with this is although it many of the tales are dark, violent, and bloody (including a teen girl shoving a boy off a building to his death and a son stabbing his father), my kids' elementary school had it in the library where my 3rd grader checked it out. Amazon has it classified as YOUNG ADULT!!!!! Young adult does NOT mean 3rd grade!!!! Who chooses the books for the library anyway?

[Kelly Lynn Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series that, like "Infinities", explores "what if?" It allows the authors and artists some license to be creative without having to worry about continuity. There are some truly moving stories in "Tales," such as the one about the stormtrooper who has to take point when they board the Tantive IV, and the Darth Vader vs. Darth Maul duel, and the story that shows Vader with 3PO on Cloud City during "Empire".

[Hillingdon Libraries]

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

SW tales vol.5

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was probably best thing I've read so far, from Dark Horse. It was honestly great.

[jj Grilliette]

I have not read this book, but Goodreads thinks I was reading it.