Star Wars: Empire, Vol. 7: The Wrong Side of the War

Star Wars: Empire #7

by Welles Hartley, Davidé Fabbri (Artist), Christian Dalla Vecchia (Artist)

Fresh from the killing fields of Jabiim, where the Empire has virtually wiped out the populace of that world, Imperial Lieutenant Janek Sunber is sent to the quiet prison base on Kalist VI. But, unbeknownst to the Empire, the Rebels have designs on Kalist Base both for its desirable fuel supplies, and for the presence of a very important prisoner-one of their own who has already attracted the interest of Darth Vader.

Sunber doesn't know it, but he's on a collision course with an old friend who is with the Rebels, and he finds himself wondering which of them is on the wrong side of the war.

• Just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of Star Wars comes a story that reintroduces a character not mentioned since A New Hope!

• Collecting issues #35-40 of Star Wars Empire, this graphic novel holds a surprise that is sure to delight every Star Wars fan!

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

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[DC · Rating 2 out of 5]

This mostly pointless comics series finally started to tie into some kind of overall story line, and then it ends - the plot begun here continues in the Rebellion series (and what I've read of that is much better than the Empire series, with the exception of Darklighter, which is awesome).

The art in this volume, unlike some earlier volumes, is at least passable. I have two primariy complaints about the art:
1- The first story is by at least some of the same art team that did several of the Knights of the Old Republic comics. This in and of itself is not an issue, but as a result, several of the characters look a hell of a lot like Zayne Carrick - and that's kind of lame.

2 - The second, main story is drawn in a more cartoony style than I personally prefer, but my main criticism is that Luke is totally unrecognizable on the first few pages in which he appears. If you're drawing Luke Skywalker for a Star Wars comic, I expect you to have more than a vague idea of what he looks like.

I actually read the Rebellion series before this volume, and didn't feel like I was missing much. I'm glad to be done with this comics series - there are several other Star Wars comics series with actual story arcs and infinitely better art (KOTOR and Rebellion among them).

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star Wars Legends Project #259

Background: The Wrong Side of the War, released in December 2006, collects issues #35-40 of Empire (Sept. 2005-Mar. 2006). "A Model Officer" (#35) was written by John Jackson Miller and drawn by Brian Ching. "The Wrong Side of the War" (#36-40) was written by Welles Hartley with art by Davide Fabbri. Miller has written a number of comics and a few novels, most notably the Knights of the Old Republic and Knight Errant series and Kenobi. Ching drew about half of the issues of Knights of the Old Republic, plus several issues of Republic and a handful of other things. Hartley is a pen name of Randy Stradley, who has also written many things, including much of Dark Times and several issues of Empire and Republic. Fabbri's credits look much the same (and he has frequently drawn for Stradley's writing).

The Wrong Side of the War is set 8 months after the Battle of Yavin. The main characters are Luke, Janek Sunber, Deena Shan, Jorin Sol, and Darth Vader. There are also a few other minor characters who have had recurring appearances in other Empire stories. Most of the story takes place on Kalist VI.

Summary: The Rebel heroes have narrowly escaped total disaster on Jabiim, but they were foced to leave a man behind: Jorin Sol, the man responsible for the algorithm that determines the location of the Rebel fleet. Now, the Rebellion has mounted a daring mission to infiltrate the Imperial base where Sol is being held in the hopes of averting disaster. But no plan survives first contact with the enemy, and the small force soon encounters serious problems, including a large contingent of slaves they didn't know were being held, and an Imperial officer who recognizes Luke Skywalker! A near-impossible mission just got a whole lot more complicated . . .

Review: This entire run of Empire has been uneven at best, but I have to say . . . They really knocked it out of the park here at the end. Reading the last arc, and especially this one, you could almost believe that they had a big, beautiful plan in mind all along. I love the way they've woven some minor characters from earlier stories (who we had no particular reason to think we'd ever see again) into a grand design that feels epic and consequential, and that gives them an emotional dimension within the story that I wouldn't have expected. I'm speaking particularly of Janek Sunber, the hero of the 3-part "To the Last Man" that I praised so highly from Volume 3, and Deena Shan (she's got to be some kind of descendant of Bastila and Satele, right?), who was the POV character in the extremely enjoyable one-off "Alone Together" from Volume 4.

I wish there'd been a way for them to build to this grand conclusion without making the first 2/3 of this run feel like a loose anthology of disconnected vignettes, but . . . Here we are. And, of course, I keep calling this a "conclusion" when really there are plenty of dangling threads that I'm anxious to see picked up through their continuation in the Rebellion run. There will always be a place, I suppose, for the occasional random story that happens to be set within this timeframe (as we did sometimes see in Republic and Dark Times), but most of all I love the grand narratives of those runs, and this is where Empire, too, really starts to work.

I suppose I should spare a mention here for "A Model Officer," the one-off issue that begins this volume. It isn't quite a true one-off because it both somewhat follows the previous arc and leads into the next one, but it isn't essential to either. What I really like about this Darth Vader-centric story is that, just like "The Price of Power" from the last volume, this showcases Vader handling a problem in a way that involves some strategy and subtlety, but also with incredible brutality. I feel like any attempt to summarize it will give it away, but suffice to say that where the story went took me by surprise because I thought I had some idea where it was going and I didn't.

Likewise, I don't want to give away too many of the surprises of "The Wrong Side of the War" so I'll just say . . . There were connections that happened that I in no way saw coming, and I loved it. The story was tense and exciting, but also left me hungering to see what will happen next in the drama with . . . well, really most of the main characters. The story we thought this was at the beginning is resolved, but the outcome leaves everyone in a state of turmoil that will surely be a rich source for future issues. Bravo.

A

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Wrong Side of the War has many promising elements: Lieutenant Sunbar returns (my favorite character from previous volumes), Davide Fabbri returns (my favorite artist from previous volumes), and the plot is relatively twisty and exciting. But there are some serious issues.

To recap: Rebels sneak onto Kalist VI to rescue a rando in Imperial custody (I think he's from a previous volume?). Sunbar's on the planet as well, just arrived from Jabiim, and he's feeling a little uncomfortable with all the slave labor. Luke is on the Rebel rescue team, for whatever reason, and so are about a half dozen other characters from previous one-shots. The Wrong Side of the War is honestly "the Empire series' greatest hits!" Except...I don't care about any of these people, aside from Luke and Sunbar. I met them once and I can't say they were particularly compelling in their first go-round.

As a result of all this unearned screen time, I found myself pretty detached from the narrative. The old clone trooper doesn't care above saving the slaves, but that one Ralltiir dude is really into freeing them. So what? Tell me who these people are first before asking me to care about their opinions.

I digress. The Luke/Sunbar interactions are pretty solid - honestly, the The Wrong Side of the War would have been infinitely better if it had just focused on these two, without all the extraneous players. And Fabbri's art is so good - until suddenly it isn't. The big twist is completely spoiled by the fact that Fabbri's designs for all of the Imperial characters are basically the same. Still, The Wrong Side of the War is exciting and not a one-shot, so it was a bit above average for the Empire series. Still still: the Empire series kinda sucked if this was above average.

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please note that this comic series is now part of Legends, and is no longer canon within the Star Wars expanded universe.

Stuff I liked:
* This volume callback to or ties up a number of previous story threads together - very nice.
* I found "Model Officer" interesting: the dying Rebel looking up and seeing the wedge-shaped spaceship was a nice visual, and Vader's sick burn made me smile.
* My boy Luke is thrown in the mix - thankyou <3.
* It was nice to check in on our fav Imperial officer Lt. Janek Sunber - I genuinely was not sure how this story thread would go.

Stuff I didn't like:
* I personally did not find "The Wrong Side of the War" engaging until Luke was revealed.
* I was also super turned off that two of the three significant female characters were sexualised, irritating me enough that this lost the volume a star: one was a victim of an attempted rape to provoke doubt in a male character's mind, and the other was shown partially nude post-coitus while her male bed partner was already clothed - they couldn't both dress at the same time or both be in the same state of undress? Really??

Overall, this series is not the worst time I've had, and there have definitely been moments that I've really enjoyed. I would, however, hesitate to recommend this series to people outside of the fandom, and even then I would point out that this series is not my favourite. Take this as you will!

[Marta Duda-Gryc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazingly, very good! The first comic, "A Model Officer" by my favourite Star Wars writer, John Jackson Miller, seems a hilarious story about a model imperial officer without scruples who makes a mistake of being too ruthless while Darth Vader wants some prisoners in good condition to interrogate; but then comes the twist! And it's not so hilarious anymore.
The rest is the story of Janek Sunber, an idealist in Service of the Empire, with some old friends to lose. Yes, this is the comic version of Claudia Gray's novel "Lost Stars" ;)

[Logan Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10:
This collection is 100% the best in this entire series and that’s all due to the fact that it’s a single coherent story that showcases the complexities of warfare and specifically what goes through the mind of those who serve such evil as the Galactic Empire.

Janek Sunber is one of the most interesting characters and I am so beyond surprised that he hasn’t been brought back to canon. His relationship with the Empire as well as his friends (Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter) are so complicated and compelling that he is easy to root for.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunber/Tank is a complex character and he's used to full effect here. I'm honestly impressed that a character who was briefly mentioned in a 1970s comic can become the focal point of such a compelling story in the 2000s. That's down to the skill of Welles Hartley (this is a pen name used by a dude who actually cofounded Dark Horse Comics - his first foray into writing Star Wars comics was in 1984, interestingly). The gripping interactions between Sunber and Luke really made this TPB.

[Kathrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this comic and to see bit more of Tank and what happened after Jambin.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The opening theme is the fundamental reality that has existed since the invention of organized warfare. Even though both sides in the battle between the Empire and the Rebellion have faster-than-light hyperdrive and powerful blasters, some of the battles still involve opposing ground forces fighting over a section of dirt. The long-term reality is that commanders remote from the action are ordering troops to kill and die independent of the odds of success.
Janek Sunber is a lieutenant in the Imperial forces that leads a near suicidal assault on a ground position held by the Rebellion. Losing over half of his forces, war hero Sunber is then transferred to the Imperial base on Kalist VI, where the captured people of the rebellion are being worked as slaves. Over the course of his posting, Sunber demonstrates an unusual ability to question the Empire and his orders, to the point where he defends the slaves.
A valuable rebel spy is being held on Kalist VI and a major operation is mounted in an attempt to free him. Luke Skywalker is a member of that team and this leads to an unusual confrontation between Luke and Sunber.
Even in the most ruthless and firmly disciplined forces there will always be soldiers that question their orders and actions. This graphic novel presents a different perspective on the Storm Troopers of the Empire, demonstrating that there are those that are more than just order-following automatons. Not quite fifth columnists, but soldiers that never truly cede their humanity to the highest levels of the chain of command.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've kind of bounced around with the Empire comics, reading bits and pieces here and there, so my continuity is off and I'm missing chunks of the story.

When I saw this volume at the library, I figured it was worth the read. I've read one issue of this volume previously, but otherwise it was new. The story was good if not incredibly fresh. It makes me want to eventually go back and read the series in chronological order.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a bit sad that this is the last collaboration between Hartley and Fabbri. "To the Last Man" and "The Wrong Side of the War" were both really solid, enjoyable stories and easily two of the few standouts so far of my long trek through Dark Horse's Star Wars catalog. A final praise to Fabbri with these two stories is how much his art pops way more when he and Neziti Domenico (in two issue of this volume) are coloring his artwork.

[Hillingdon Libraries]

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries

[M.i. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stand alone stories that give us a better understanding of the workings on both sides of the war. Lt. Sunber gets some time in this as well and he seems like a principled man fighting on the wrong side.

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

SW empire v.7

[Daniel Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another prespective from a friend of Luke Skywalkers from Tatooine who ended up on the other side of things as an officer for the Empire.