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Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire #1
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Darth Vader wants Luke Skywalker -- alive. Prince Xizor, the largest trader in the galaxy, wants Skywalker dead. And Skywalker, along with Leia, Chewbacca, and the droids, have a goal of their own: rescue Han Solo. But Solo has been encased in carbonite and taken by the most notorious mercenary in the galaxy, Boba Fett, who intends to deliver him to Jabba the Hutt. It's a clash of good against evil, of right against wrong, and it comes to a head in the Shadows of the Empire . . . Featuring all your favorite characters from the Star Wars motion picture trilogy and a score of new ones, Shadows of the Empire is everything a Star Wars fan could hope for.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
6 people are currently reading
452 people want to read
About the author
John Wagner
1,285 books189 followersJohn Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since. He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, for which he created Judge Dredd. He is noted for his taut, violent thrillers and his black humour. Among his pseudonyms are The best known are John Howard, T.B. Grover, Mike Stott, Keef Ripley, Rick Clark and Brian Skuter. (Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
May 27, 2018
Oh boy, here we go again.
I couldn’t help myself. Really. I’m not sure why the spirit moved me, I just had to reread Shadows of the Empire.
And just as before, I just got more of the same shit. Right off the bat, I was continually surprised by just how goddamn redundant Shadows of the Empire really is. Unless you’re into chugging George Lucas’ commercial piss on tap, the essential unimportance of this interquel is just so jarringly irritating. At its very best, its just going through the motions, at worst… F(x) = $$$. We know the drill.
Semi-well adapted from the book (which is o.k. on its own) are the illustrations of Xixor’s first meeting with the Emperor and the far more enjoyable depictions of Boba Fett’s initial scuffle with IG-88 over Tatooine. This tasteful application is sadly nothing more than a Pyrhric victory that provides an ample segue toward further lame-o plot development.
A hop, skip, and an interstellar jump at the speed of light away, Dash Rendar is introduced just to *poof away a mere page later. Paid to guide, “not to do dirty work,” the remaining team of gallant heroes including the original crews sans the carbonited Solo are left to their own devices to track down their frozen friend.
However, with anything exceeding a scintilla of knowledge of Jedi, any tension that could exist is evaporated before it could ever happen. Of course, Fett absconds away because of laid in stone conclusions pursuant to the next movie. Giving way to more predictable developments, the steps to Tatooine are retraced and Vader’s (recently) introduced mechanic – Jix, moves forward with his own plan to infiltrate Jabba’s cadre of careless curs and cads.
Just as nonsensical as most of this comic is, Dash Rendar, our otherwise soley motivated by profit mercenary, perks up out of nowhere to save Luke from the recently formed band of swoop bikers right outside of Mos Eisley. With a vacillating sense of motive and means, the golden boy of Star Wars is rescued just in time for the stolen Death Star plans via the Bothans to all too conveniently land at his feet (literally). Again, while none of this is in any way exciting, by adding a thematic underlay to the rest of the story, the battles of the bounty hunters can riff off and occur, which is far more interesting overall, no matter how ultimately futile.
Anyways, more shit goes down that explains various upcoming happenstances in Jedi, no matter how unnecessary. And while it is cool to see Xixor (in some ways at least) far more detailed in the comics as a feisty court intriguer playing both sides to his benefit, his lack of direct action and expositions of his true goals (that the novel does a far better job of) leaves his character weak and malformed. Equally maladapted and even more mal-developed is Dash Rendar who curiously leaves once more after saving Luke’s dumb-ass. The story becomes dragged down by these developmental issues as the conclusion is revved up faster than a swoop bike race from here on out
Ultimately, things are wrapped up as we would expect. Sure, the ride has been purely commercial (as it always has been) in nature (admit it!). But what else could we expect? However, as a money-grubbing experiment to test the waters for the (then) potentially new trilogy, Lucas was far more successful than he could have possibly imagined.
I couldn’t help myself. Really. I’m not sure why the spirit moved me, I just had to reread Shadows of the Empire.
And just as before, I just got more of the same shit. Right off the bat, I was continually surprised by just how goddamn redundant Shadows of the Empire really is. Unless you’re into chugging George Lucas’ commercial piss on tap, the essential unimportance of this interquel is just so jarringly irritating. At its very best, its just going through the motions, at worst… F(x) = $$$. We know the drill.
Semi-well adapted from the book (which is o.k. on its own) are the illustrations of Xixor’s first meeting with the Emperor and the far more enjoyable depictions of Boba Fett’s initial scuffle with IG-88 over Tatooine. This tasteful application is sadly nothing more than a Pyrhric victory that provides an ample segue toward further lame-o plot development.
A hop, skip, and an interstellar jump at the speed of light away, Dash Rendar is introduced just to *poof away a mere page later. Paid to guide, “not to do dirty work,” the remaining team of gallant heroes including the original crews sans the carbonited Solo are left to their own devices to track down their frozen friend.
However, with anything exceeding a scintilla of knowledge of Jedi, any tension that could exist is evaporated before it could ever happen. Of course, Fett absconds away because of laid in stone conclusions pursuant to the next movie. Giving way to more predictable developments, the steps to Tatooine are retraced and Vader’s (recently) introduced mechanic – Jix, moves forward with his own plan to infiltrate Jabba’s cadre of careless curs and cads.
Just as nonsensical as most of this comic is, Dash Rendar, our otherwise soley motivated by profit mercenary, perks up out of nowhere to save Luke from the recently formed band of swoop bikers right outside of Mos Eisley. With a vacillating sense of motive and means, the golden boy of Star Wars is rescued just in time for the stolen Death Star plans via the Bothans to all too conveniently land at his feet (literally). Again, while none of this is in any way exciting, by adding a thematic underlay to the rest of the story, the battles of the bounty hunters can riff off and occur, which is far more interesting overall, no matter how ultimately futile.
Anyways, more shit goes down that explains various upcoming happenstances in Jedi, no matter how unnecessary. And while it is cool to see Xixor (in some ways at least) far more detailed in the comics as a feisty court intriguer playing both sides to his benefit, his lack of direct action and expositions of his true goals (that the novel does a far better job of) leaves his character weak and malformed. Equally maladapted and even more mal-developed is Dash Rendar who curiously leaves once more after saving Luke’s dumb-ass. The story becomes dragged down by these developmental issues as the conclusion is revved up faster than a swoop bike race from here on out
Ultimately, things are wrapped up as we would expect. Sure, the ride has been purely commercial (as it always has been) in nature (admit it!). But what else could we expect? However, as a money-grubbing experiment to test the waters for the (then) potentially new trilogy, Lucas was far more successful than he could have possibly imagined.
July 3, 2020
Not the best Star Wars story I have read. Not the crappiest either.
It did all the motions you would expect the characters you love to do, but that really isn't enough for a great story, is it?
Rushed clumsy art also.
But still, there were bits that were good.
It did all the motions you would expect the characters you love to do, but that really isn't enough for a great story, is it?
Rushed clumsy art also.
But still, there were bits that were good.
April 7, 2023
Woof...this didn't age well, or was it any good from the start? 1996 was a different time. SHADOWS was a monster, as a kid I saw it everywhere! Like the introduction says "everything but the movie." It's easy to imagine then that quality was less than consistent across the media rollout.
If we consider the novel as the centerpiece and think of this as an adaptation, than it is a poor one. While it expands in places, for better or for worse, it glosses over major plot points and characters. Dash Rendar, a huge part of the central storyline, just shows up and is introduced in a single speech bubble. Guri does so little she may as well be abscent entirely. In fact, the comic seems more concerned with telling the story of Boba Fett delivering Han to Jabba.
The dialogue is stilted, the art is ugly and inconsistent, standard 90's comics fare. There is little to redeem this title. An easy pass, especially if you've already read the book.
If we consider the novel as the centerpiece and think of this as an adaptation, than it is a poor one. While it expands in places, for better or for worse, it glosses over major plot points and characters. Dash Rendar, a huge part of the central storyline, just shows up and is introduced in a single speech bubble. Guri does so little she may as well be abscent entirely. In fact, the comic seems more concerned with telling the story of Boba Fett delivering Han to Jabba.
The dialogue is stilted, the art is ugly and inconsistent, standard 90's comics fare. There is little to redeem this title. An easy pass, especially if you've already read the book.
January 9, 2025
I thought this was pretty good. It's set after Empire Strikes Back and before Return of the Jedi. We get to see Boba Fett and the bounty hunters, Jabba the Hutt, Darth Vader, as well as some new characters like the evil Xizor and Dash Rendar.
Overall a cool Star Wars story that filled in some blanks, but at this point I'm not sure if it's considered canon.
Overall a cool Star Wars story that filled in some blanks, but at this point I'm not sure if it's considered canon.
March 18, 2023
Fun bit of dork nostalgia. I like it when Chewbacca has to go incognito as a famous wookie bounty hunter and his whole disguise is just that he has a mullet.
October 2, 2018
I thought the art was decent, I think the period between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi is interesting and there were some new and existing characters that were apparently developed a bit between the films but...it's just okay. I hope the book is more impressive because this was just kind of sloppy and confusing storytelling and the dialogue was...oof...shlocky.
February 1, 2019
Picked this up because I grew up playing Shadows of the Empire on N64. Pretty cheesy, full of scenes where Boba Fett just talks to himself or Frozen Han (so, basically to himself). And I honestly didn't enjoy Xizor as a character that much. The art bumped this up from a 2 to a 3. I'd be curious to read the novel version at some point.
July 12, 2023
Shadows of the Empire was a mid-level novel given the attention of a mainstream film in the Star Wars franchise, and part of that treatment was a comic book adaptation that accompanied the novel and video game and toy line. John Wagner does enough work to differentiate the comic from the novel, offering up some (unnecessary) additional information to shore up holes in the story that really didn't need filling.
The comics expand some of Boba Fett's role in getting Han Solo over to Jabba, and fills out a tiny bit of the intelligence network Darth Vader and Prince Xizor use to undermine one another throughout the story. Aside from these very small expansions, though, the comic adaptation is definitely the lesser of the two efforts. In positive terms, it's way less horny than Steve Perry's book, but it isn't as narratively cohesive because it is only a snapshot of certain story beats taken from the novel. Because it's mostly just an adaptation, it lacks its own sense of identity, and what it adds to the story isn't good enough to make it really interesting.
Credit to Wagner for trying to add to the existing canon, and at a minimum the series' covers are amazing. Kilian Plunkett's interior art ranks in the better half of '90s Star Wars comics, and the colors are generally pretty on-point. It doesn't aspire to the sense of style of someone like Cam Kennedy, but Plunkett's layouts are fine and his characters mostly recognizable.
At the end of the day, the Shadows of the Empire adaptation is really just a decent effort at what I consider to be a pretty "okay" novel, but adapting something that was only just okay to begin with isn't always a recipe for success. What it adds isn't really good or big enough to track this one down for a personal collection, and perhaps this one is just best enjoyed as nostalgia.
The comics expand some of Boba Fett's role in getting Han Solo over to Jabba, and fills out a tiny bit of the intelligence network Darth Vader and Prince Xizor use to undermine one another throughout the story. Aside from these very small expansions, though, the comic adaptation is definitely the lesser of the two efforts. In positive terms, it's way less horny than Steve Perry's book, but it isn't as narratively cohesive because it is only a snapshot of certain story beats taken from the novel. Because it's mostly just an adaptation, it lacks its own sense of identity, and what it adds to the story isn't good enough to make it really interesting.
Credit to Wagner for trying to add to the existing canon, and at a minimum the series' covers are amazing. Kilian Plunkett's interior art ranks in the better half of '90s Star Wars comics, and the colors are generally pretty on-point. It doesn't aspire to the sense of style of someone like Cam Kennedy, but Plunkett's layouts are fine and his characters mostly recognizable.
At the end of the day, the Shadows of the Empire adaptation is really just a decent effort at what I consider to be a pretty "okay" novel, but adapting something that was only just okay to begin with isn't always a recipe for success. What it adds isn't really good or big enough to track this one down for a personal collection, and perhaps this one is just best enjoyed as nostalgia.
June 5, 2023
Not much to say about this one; essentially the complementary version of the novel, which does add certain sequences not shown in Steve Perry's book, but which consist on scenes with Boba Fett on his way to deliver Han Solo to Jabba The Hutt. The only truly newest addition on the narrative is the character of "Jix", who's a double-agent from Vader, infiltrated on Jabba's Palace to gain Intel on what he's planning to do to Luke, but his relevance in the book is basically zero, and he's in the comic book for a short while.
Other than that, this is pretty much the summarized version of Perry's novel, but with certain narrative discrepancies as, for example, dialogues that feel cut or delivered at different moments in the plot, or sequences that happened either afterwards or way back certain parts of the main story. Kilian Plunkett, and John Nadeau's art is pretty much the type of art you'd see in the late 90s, and in touch with other 'Dark Horse' Stat Wars titles, so there's a certain melancholic taste in their art style, but the highlight has to be the covers by Hugh Fleming, which essentially feel like movie-posters, and, well, would've been amazing to have him also as the interiors artist.
As a stand-alone entry, this feels cut and all over the place, but if you decide to check on the novel, while not obligatory, it sort of works as a casual companion. It is enjoyable as most 'Dark Horse' comics were, and some of its visual style turns appealing and enjoyable to appreciate, not to mention, the designs are quite helpful just to see how these characters look like in the book, and that's helpful alright.
It is a fun Star Wars reading, but it needs the context of the book in order for the reader to fully receive the complete 'Shadows of the Empire' experience.
Other than that, this is pretty much the summarized version of Perry's novel, but with certain narrative discrepancies as, for example, dialogues that feel cut or delivered at different moments in the plot, or sequences that happened either afterwards or way back certain parts of the main story. Kilian Plunkett, and John Nadeau's art is pretty much the type of art you'd see in the late 90s, and in touch with other 'Dark Horse' Stat Wars titles, so there's a certain melancholic taste in their art style, but the highlight has to be the covers by Hugh Fleming, which essentially feel like movie-posters, and, well, would've been amazing to have him also as the interiors artist.
As a stand-alone entry, this feels cut and all over the place, but if you decide to check on the novel, while not obligatory, it sort of works as a casual companion. It is enjoyable as most 'Dark Horse' comics were, and some of its visual style turns appealing and enjoyable to appreciate, not to mention, the designs are quite helpful just to see how these characters look like in the book, and that's helpful alright.
It is a fun Star Wars reading, but it needs the context of the book in order for the reader to fully receive the complete 'Shadows of the Empire' experience.
November 2, 2025
Shadows of the Empire was an ambitious mid ‘90’s Lucasfilm project that told tells the story between Empire Stiles Back and Return of the Jedi. It consisted of a novel, an N64 game, a toy line, a graphic novel, and even a soundtrack. It also helped to pave the way for the prequel trilogy by proving people were still interested in Star Wars. It introduced several new and sometimes interesting characters of Xizor, Dash Rendar, and many Bothans. I wish I liked the comic a little more as I am a huge fan of the game and I remember liking the novel. Although this tells the same story as is told in the novel, it is much more condensed and the abbreviated story makes it rather difficult to understand. It was difficult to understand character’s motivations or even who they are. The one advantage to reading this on top of the novel is that I think it has some additional info on the bounty Hunter story lines for Bossk, Boba Fett, IG-88 and the others. In the end, I will give this a three because I am neither better nor worse off for having read this.
June 11, 2018
Tal vez la más icónica novela de Star Wars, donde se sutrae un personaje muy interesante: Dash Rendar, el contrabandista más engreído que podemos encontrar.
No obstante, este personaje ha llamado tanto la atención que le hicieron un video juego; ¡sí! Así es, un video juego de la consola Nintento 64 con el título homónimo a la novela, aunque el relato del juego está basado en las aventuras que pudo haber tenido él mientras Luke, Leiah y Lando intentaban rescatar a Han Solo de una de las mafias más poderosas del Imperio Galáctico.
A mi me gustó mucho, pero tampoco digamos que es una obra maestra. Es lo que es, una novela bien hecha que entretiene.
No obstante, este personaje ha llamado tanto la atención que le hicieron un video juego; ¡sí! Así es, un video juego de la consola Nintento 64 con el título homónimo a la novela, aunque el relato del juego está basado en las aventuras que pudo haber tenido él mientras Luke, Leiah y Lando intentaban rescatar a Han Solo de una de las mafias más poderosas del Imperio Galáctico.
A mi me gustó mucho, pero tampoco digamos que es una obra maestra. Es lo que es, una novela bien hecha que entretiene.
April 19, 2025
If you're going to read any version of Shadows of the Empire, this is the one you should spend your time and your credits on. All the unnecessary crap is missing. Some of what was cut led to a bit of confusion (mostly how Leia met Guri) and some of these creative choices make you realise just how superfluous Dash Rendar is. Boba Fett has his own storyline here, as does a spy for Darth Vader, and these characters are far more important to the movement of the plot. I actually enjoyed reading this. The novel was terrible!
May 25, 2022
JIX! JIX! JIX! Not my favourite art in this one, but still a highly enjoyable comic. I've never read it straight after I've just read the novel before, so it was interesting to notice the differences. Though it did occur to me that it's SUPER weird that the Rebels would think Darth Vader behind a SECRET attempt at Luke's life. I mean, why would THEY think he'd ever hide trying to kill Luke? It makes no sense. Oh, well. Also, THIS is how I like my Boba Fett.
September 17, 2022
Questa miniserie si situa tra L'Impero Colpisce Ancora ed Il Ritorno dello Jedi. Pubblicata per la prima volta nel 1996, ha una trama decisamente buona e da vera storia di Guerre Stellari. Disegni da sufficienti a discreti, la mia impressione è che la colorazione eccessivamente satura e pesante tenda a rovinarli.
3 stelle e mezza.
3 stelle e mezza.
June 28, 2020
Takes place between Episodes 5 and 6. Its out of the Marvel Star Wars Legends. I might have enjoyed it more if I knew more of the back story from this time in the comic time line. I did however enjoy them giving a more human side to Vader.
August 22, 2021
Moves too fast as it hits just the most important plot points of the novel, often in only a page or two before moving on rapidly to something else, though I did like the additional focus on Boba Fett's journey that's left out of the novel.
January 1, 2023
Quite a decent Star Wars romp from a very interesting time in the franchise history. It's got a speeder race, a nice space battle, a fermone emitting lizardman seducing Leia, a lot of Boba Fett and irritated Vader but not enough lightsabers. That's all you need to know, move along.
January 17, 2019
Great fill in between episodes 5 and 6. Shows Luke filling out his skillset.
April 19, 2019
Great book. Fills in the gap between Episodes V and VI perfectly.
May 15, 2019
wayyy too short for a comic converted from a novel.
Added some additional clarifications and additions which were nice I guess
Added some additional clarifications and additions which were nice I guess
December 24, 2019
Started out incredibly slow. Picked up enough near the end to earn a third star.
February 2, 2020
It was fun to revisit this series. Lots of over the top moments and loved seeing Prince Xizor
May 25, 2020
Hard to follow without having read the novel. The Boba Fett subplot should have been its own miniseries!
August 13, 2020
EU Comics #4
Read the novel and play the game instead - this comic was disjointed and didn't convey the story well.
At least I got to see Xizor seduce Leia in full colour glory. /s
Read the novel and play the game instead - this comic was disjointed and didn't convey the story well.
At least I got to see Xizor seduce Leia in full colour glory. /s
September 23, 2020
Substandard art paired with an overview of the Shadows plot that doesn’t do justice to the characters involved.
August 13, 2021
The game which barely tells a comprehensible story is somehow the best version of this event. The comic is better than the novel but feels incomplete without the novel to fill in its many gaps.
July 19, 2022
Expands on the events from novel and focus on Baba Fett. Fett is now incredibly chatty, talking away at Han to the point it is funny.
September 16, 2022
it is a pretty interesting book for star wars fans. confusing at times though.
January 2, 2023
The game is better.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews