Star Wars: Tales, Vol. 3

Star Wars: Tales #3

by Dave Land (Editor), Scott Allie, Paul Lee (Illustrator)

Collecting issues nine through twelve of the quarterly anthology smash sensation! Star Wars Tales Volume 3 features the thrilling Vader versus Maul story Resurrection, as well as comics sensation Garth Ennis' take on the life of a Stormtrooper in the riviting Trooper. Tales has explored every corner of the Star Wars galaxy and kept readers coming back for more! Collected for the first time into one prestigous volume, Star Wars Tales Volume 3 is sure to delight fans both young and old!

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

232 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2002

Reviews

[Jaime K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite some of my issues with the art, I enjoyed nearly all the stories.

"Resurrection": I love the art here. Vader and his troops go to in planet that is steeped in the Dark Side. The Force users there feel that Vader is not worthy and is not part of Darth Bane’s bloodline and sense the Light in him. It is yet another story where Maul is resurrected, which bothers me… But it has a powerful end.

"Hate Leads to Lollipops": Cute backstory of Maul.

"The Rebel Four": Hilarious short about superhero Rebels vs. Vader.

"Trooper": This begins with some sad facts about how Stormtroopers are trained, and I hope it’s not true. But we get insight from one in how the Empire provides a way out of a poor livelihood, but also traps and changes people.

"Skreej": Weird background in how Lando became a guard in ROTJ.

"Nameless": I didn’t really like the art, especially with Darth Maul. But I do like the back story about his double-bladed lightsaber.

"A Wookiee Scorned!": Chewie feels scorned and ignored when Han and Leia start their relationship.

"Free Memory": I am NOT a fan of the art, but I really like the story. R2 shows 3PO different messages the Big Three have left with him for each other over the years.

"Prey": this is an interesting story about how Boba Fett is hired to find Han after he deserts the empire, but then Vader follows. The art is pretty terrible, from the characters themselves especially Han, and the fact that Vader has a pink lightsaber. I didn’t mind Fett having a green saver though.

"In the Beginning": Weird

"The Princess Leia Diaries": We read some of Leia’s writings from 10-18 and see her growth, as she shows her desire to be her own person...and realizes more and more what she truly likes and who she wants to be. I love the inclusion of Winter and Leia’s immediate disgust of Tarkin.

"Tall Tales": Random stories are told at a cantina about the Rebels. They’re mostly ridiculous. The end is odd.

"Ghost": Woah. Teen Han meets Quinlan, who has bounty hunters after him. I love this story.

"A Day in the Life": I don’t like the drawings but the colors are fantastic. It’s about the struggles Wedge faces a few days after the Battle of Endor.

"A Jedi's Weapon": A kind of funny story about Anakin and Obi-Wan, and how Anakin has to treat his lightsaber.

"The Revenge of Tag & Bink": Yes! A continuation of the shenanigans the two find themselves in!

"Once Bitten": The drawings are pretty bad, and I find the story boring. Obi-Wan randomly tells Han a story about how he and Qui-Gon once fought Asajj.

"The Duty": It’s sad and I don’t agree with some of Gira’s thoughts.

[Alex Sarll]

Read because Garth Ennis on Star Wars? Yes please. Alas, neither of his contributions is all that; a scene of prologue could have been by anyone. The Stormtrooper's backstory, leading up to his casual on-screen offing, is at least more identifiably Ennis in following the life of the poor bloody infantry, but it's an idea which was already old when this came out - cf 'Best Man Fall' in The Invisibles, not to mention Austin Powers. Then too, it suffers a problem common to several strips here, when John McCrea (and I normally really enjoy his art) makes Vader's mask far too expressive. Elsewhere in comics, this is not just fine but essential - it's why Spidey works so much better on page than screen. But for Vader (or even Stormtroopers) it totally undermines the requisite impassive menace. Having read these stories, I'm all the more impressed by Salvador Larrocca's art on the current Vader series, where his pose can speak volumes without this counterproductive cartoonishness.

The rest of the collection features few creators of much note; the only story I much liked was one about R2's memory. Otherwise it's largely deleted scenes, in-jokes and vignettes which say less than they think, vindicating my general policy of avoiding expanded universe stuff. Worst of the lot, curiously, is the story which is also first and longest, in which rogue Sith purists resurrect Darth Maul to fight Vader. It could only be more thoroughly fan-wank if it also featured Slave Leia on the planet of the jelly lesbians.

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good collection overall, some left a lot to be desired.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

An assortment of non-canonical Legends-era stories. This is the kind of space where a writer and/or artist can ask "what if Quinlan Vos met Han Solo?" and make an adventure out of it - ultimately one that doesn't feel worth the time spent reading it, but that's not the point! Only in Star Wars Tales could you see this kind of thing. And I think that's great. The only real standout in this volume is "Resurrection" (Darth Maul vs Darth Vader). A solid story. The Tag & Bink story included is, funnily enough, not even considered part of Tag & Bink continuity. Is this non-non-canon, then? ;D

[Jedi Sunni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Resurrection:

This was a really first story and Ron Marz has a real winner with this one. The character personalities are dead on and the line "myself" could not describe our belove vader any better. The are is also very pleasing to the eyes as well. My rating for this one is a 4.7 out of 5.0.

Hate Lead to Lollipops:

This story was not one my favorites. To tell the truth it was really corny and a bit to silly. The best part of it was the characters as there are some familiar ones such as a hutt, wookie and kiminoans. The art style was not what I would call beautiful but it did accompany the story perfectly. My rating for this issue is a 2.8 out of 5.0.

The Rebel Four:

This was kind of a silly story that demonstrates darth vaders power to disband common alein and humanoids who are not stong in the force. For some reason it does stand out in my mind but really. It does give us a glimpse of Darth Vaders hunger to encounter Jedi. My rating for this Issue is a 3.0 out of 5.0.

Trooper:

I really enjoyed this story as it was beautifully written with better than average art. This is a little back story of the trooper, who is shot by princess leia on the tantivie before being stunned her self. This is simple yet engaging because this is a character I would never think of having a back story. My rating for this Issue is a 4.7 out of 5.0.

Skreej:

This one is not as good as trooper but it did catch me by surprise which says a lot. The storyline is ok but the concept is again great. I did not expect this short lando look alike to be were lando got his Jabbas guard out fit from. It was also implied that maybe the princess was with him. the art was not my favorite but about average. My rating for this Issue is a 4.2 out of 5.0.

A Wookie Scorned:

The beginning point at which Leia and Han's relationship takes off. It does make sense that Chewy would respond this way as he and Han have been together for some time now considering the stupid life debt owed to Han. This cool as quickly as it heats up, not going very far. I thought this was about average, so my rating for this issue is a 3.7 out of 5.0.

Free Memory:

Here we go with those two wonderful, love able droids who have a special place in all of our hearts. The emotional appeals lies in the interaction between R2 and C3-PO. R2 has some recordings in his memory bank that tell a certain story. I myself am very impressed with what is written here. My rating for this issue is a 4.2 out of 5.0.

Prey:

This one leads with Tarkins idea of using a bounty hunter to find Han Solo. From the looks of it Vader is not a fan and looks at it as a sign of weakness. It's now a race to Solo, Who will get there first or does it even matter. I thought this was an average story with some decent entertainment value.My rating for this issue is a 4.0out of 5.0

In the Beginning:

I thought this was a good back story and one I wish there was more details to. We all know that the famous Falcon was owned by Lando but this sheads some light on how it became the position of one Han Solo. The art is pretty good and I like the other characters involved. My rating for this issue is a 4.4 out of 5.0

The Princess Leia Diaries:

This was a unique look at Princess Leia growing up and the writer did an excellent job of bringing out the personality we know. She was certainly butt back then as well. I also enjoyed the appearance of Tarkin and his considerable arrogance. The art was average but the story felt right. My rating for this issue is a 4.5 out of 5.0

Tall Tales:

This one centers arounda bunch of aliens sitting in a cantina telling stories. These stories involved Han, the Falcon and Greedo. I enjoyed this one and how it related to the real world. My rating for this issue is a 4.3 out of 5.0.

Ghost

This one pretty much involved a jedi and han solo crossing paths in the past. I thought this one was kind of ridiculous. I guess seeing is definitely not believing because Han proves this to be so. My rating for this issue is a 2.5 out of 5.0.

A Day in the life:

This story was above average as I thought it pretty cool to have something that gives more inside info one rogue squadron. This show how tough it was for rebel pilots emotionally. I like the art work in this story as well. My rating for this issue is a 4.1 out of 5.0

A Jedi's Weapon:

We get a look at Obi-Wan teaching Aniakin a lesson about being a jedi. For some reason I don't think it's going to be a lesson that sticks with him. The entertainment value here is limited. My rating for this issue is a 3.3 out of 5.0.

The Revenge of Tag and Bink:

I have one word for this story "stupid". This was a ridiculous for two ridiculous characters. I did like Han, Lando and the Sarlacc being important to the plot of the story. My rating for this issue is a 4.0 out of 5.0.

Once Bitten:

This story was really close to being pointless. We have another lesson from Obi-Wan but this one deals with Aurra Sing. This is a character I like who is very intense in most moments. I did like the art, morn than the the story. My rating for this issue is a 3.4 out of 5.0

The Duty:

This story was just a little to dark for me. I like some of the ideas here and loved seeing darth vader. I did not seeing the jedi comment suicide but this a depiction of what the enemy present to people from a spiritual stand point. The good ole bait and switch.
My rating for this issue is a 3.2 out of 5.0.

[Timo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this one because it carries two stories by Garth Ennis. But out of interest and wee fanboy in me read this through also.
It is a big fat collection with loads of stories and most of them better than those two by Ennis. Although art in Ennis ones is better than most of other stories, especially in that Stormtrooper one which has McCrea art.
So, this was an ok thing. Could've been much crappier, could've been much better.

[DC · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was mostly fun, though more uneven than vol 1.

Also, the newer Epic Collection releases from Marvel that are re-publishing legends comics interpserse Tales runs into those collections, and the tone is usually wrong. I like this format, where the Tales are collected separately, as these are explicitly outside the EU continuity and/or humorous or parodies.

[Mouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories, some good, some bad! Some of the stories are quite silly and unfortunately the one between Darth Maul and Darth Vader just isn't that great. Maybe it's the art, maybe it's the total gratuitous fanboy aspect, don't know?

[Mirjam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Class! This was really entertaining and I very much enjoyed the length of the stories. My favourite was the Princess Diaries, where both the style and story was on point.

[Nathan Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining for a read without much meat. Just some fun silliness mostly.

[Jade]

Collects Star Wars Tales #9 - 12

[Gabrielle Andres · Rating 3 out of 5]

« si vous regardez cet holo bah merci quand même »

j’espère que dans le prochain tome sheel meurt

[Trekscribbler · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's really unfair -- in many respects -- to call these 'tales.' Most of these stories -- spanning across all possible timeframes of the Star Wars universe -- are little vignettes: the 224-page collection clocks in somewhere between 20-25 separate stories, so they're not in-depth character pieces ... but they're truly thrilling reads!

I picked this one up from the local comic book shop essentially on the recommendation of the other reviews 'round Amazon and some of the other boards I frequent. I understood that this was a collection from the popular 'Star Wars Tales' comic book, and, prefering to collect trade paperbacks for the simple fact that I get through it easier in one or two sittings than I do individual issues any more, I was a bit suspicious. However, these wonderful vignettes are incredibly relevant to what's already been established in the universe. Sure, the Vader/Maul face-off was pretty solid, but I was strongly impressed by some of the smaller works: C3PO comes to grips with aftermath of flushing R2's memory banks; "The Princess Leia Diaries" may not seem like a great idea but it ends up being a uniquely inspired look at the young rebel's grooming to lead a rebellion; even an early possible encounter between Darth Vader and Boba Fett pose some tremendous 'what if' possibilities for the Star Wars universe.

Sure, as some of the tales go by too quickly, it's hard to get a great investment in story, but some of these yarns really weren't meant to. They're quick, and, for the most part, they feel very faithful to the source material. Dark Horse is be highly commended, and I'll definitely be picking up another volume simply on the strength of this release.

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 4 out of 5]

My prediction that this series is slowly getting better and better with each trade is looking good right now. While I still like the first volume best, number three is much better than the second. The art is the best yet and most of the stories are very solid. I wish there were some more stories that I was excited to read, but I will take the improved art and the cutting back of silly stories and not complain!

The stories that stuck out to me this time around were:

Resurrection - If you enjoy Sith on Sith lightsaber battles then this story is for you. Of the two "super ultimate showdowns" this one between Vader and Maul is more enjoyable to read and makes more sense than the Boba Fett, Vader, Han one also in this volume.

Trooper - This is the standout story of Volume 3. Trooper is all about what Stormtroopers go through in training and what kind of people they are. It's really dark for Star Wars (Garth Ennis penned this story) and carried a lot of weight as a result.

Free Memory - What is essentially a sentimental story at heart, Free Memory got me. It really highlights on the connections Luke, Leia, and Han have for each other by imaging what the characters would say to the others at the most dangerous or pivotal moments.

The Duty - Another grim story, only this time about a Jedi who is attacked by Vader. While The Duty isn't nearly as good as Trooper, it is also sad in all the right ways and is just good enough to get a mention.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of 22 short stories cover a wide spectrum of the Star Wars universe with some of them being spoofs. The most unusual is the Fantastic Four rip-off where they attack Darth Vader yelling the battle cry, “It’s rebellin’ time!” Furthermore, the large hairy creature is called Grimgrim and the female is called God Richarrz. They do not last long against the master of the dark side.
My favorite was the battle between Darth Vader and Darth Maul for the exalted position at the emperor’s side. While this requires some temporal creative license, it is not too far out of bounds. Second on my list of best is the story that has Bobba Fett and Darth Vader squaring off in the cantina over Han Solo.
There is a story featuring a young Han Solo and another with a young Princess Leia. Han was a scamp even then while Leia was also a bit on the wild side, even playing practical jokes on Governor Tarkin. As one would expect in a collection of stories by different writers and artists, there is a significant difference in the appearances of the main characters from story to story. I found two of them to be mediocre, passed through quickly on my path to a better one.

[David Caldwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories set in various times throughout the Star Wars universe. They range from serious to silly. The artwork also has a wide range of styles. As can be expected with stories that were intended as fillers, some are good and others are not so good. With all of this mixing of different elements, any Star Wars fan should be able to find something they like. On the other hand, there will almost always be something that doesn't come off as favorable. Therefore, I am going with a rating of three stars. It is good, just not great or horrible.

[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".

[Jerome Otte · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first one of this series that I read and still one of the best. While the tales are not too in-depth, all of them are pretty enjoyable. The artwork is pretty good overall, although in "Nameless" not so much.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darth Vader vs Darth Maul, Garth Ennis shows us what it's like being a Stormtrooper, and The Return of Tag and Bink.

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

SW tales v.3

[Mark Lyndon Workman · Rating 3 out of 5]

So so

Anthologies are always a mixed bag.It was worth the price of admission to see Vader vs. Maul."Troopers" by Ennis is the best story.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again the "Tales" are really good.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read Ennis' bits. They were delightful. Exactly what I'd want out of prequel comics.