Force Matters: Space Halloween Has Never Looked Better in ‘Star Wars: Tales From The Nightlands’ #2

This week’s Star Wars comics share a commitment to strong visuals, from a cute first person gimmick to a lush dream sequence.

Star Wars: Jedi Knights #8 by Marc Guggenheim & Madibek Musabekov

A story told through the eyes of young Jedi initiate.

• The conceit of this issue is that its told entirely from the perspective of a young girl named Soona as she agrees to join the Jedi order, drawn like she’s the main character in a first person shooter.
• It also features a key role for Kelleran Beq, the Jedi played by Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best who debuted in The Mandalorian as the Jedi who helped Grogu survive Order 66, which gets touted on the cover.
• He does so by being the Jedi who rescues Soona from pirates; as much as I dig Best’s redemption within the fan community, the idea that Lucasfilm is apparently positioning him as a Jedi whose specialty is saving children seems kinda silly.
• The Jedi being recruited in this issue is Soona Taj, who appeared in a vision to Obi-Wan in issue #1.
• I’ve never been a big fan of the idea of the Jedi roaming around the galaxy plucking deeply young children from their families, especially when they’re old enough, as here, to have memories of their family/have some say in the decision (because how could they possibly grasp the full implications of their choice?).

• This is the first appearance of Kiranno, their homeworld.
• The two Jedi recruiting Soona are Seera Longa and Berem Khana. Both debuted in issue #1, with Seera also showing up in issue #5 and Berem in #2. Both die here, firmly setting at least the flashback portion of this issue after those events.
• The Jedi ship here is the standard T6 shuttle, the same model of vehicle flown by Ahsoka in her titular series.

My issues with the practice of Jedi poaching kids (which is hardly a creation of Guggenheim’s) aside, the visual conceit of this issue is exactly the sort of cute gimmick that a “Tales of the Jedi”-style semi-anthology book like this can and should do (see also, the “all splash pages” issue #3), so long as the gimmicks are deployed sparingly. So far, the balance has been good.

Star Wars: Tales From The Nightlands #2 by Cavan Scott & Vincenzo Riccardi

The Nightlander emerges after 30 years, drawing on Luke’s feelings for his father in another attempt to cross over into the physical world.

• The eleven page dream sequence that opens this issue is utterly gorgeous.
• It’s never super clear when this issue takes place, but it’s meant to be set after The Empire Strikes Back and before Return of the Jedi, given the appearance of the encased-in-carbonite Han in the dream sequence, his absence from the actual story, and Luke’s angsting over Darth Vader.
• “Wild Space” is the term for the portion of the Star Wars galaxy that is largely unmapped (as opposed to the Unknown Regions, where Grand Admiral Thrawn is from, which is mapped but mostly unexplored). The planet Mortis, considered by some to be the origin point of the Force and home to the Father, Son, & Daughter manifestations of the Dark side, Light side, and balance, is in Wild Space.
• Rabnir, the planet to which Luke is lured in this issue, is also there; this is its first appearance.
• Daesha, young Anakin’s companion in the first issue, returns, being coerced into helping the Nightlander find a host.
• When Luke is referred to as a new hope for the galaxy, the accompaning panel is an homage to the original Tom Jung movie poster.

• When Leia appears to help Luke, she briefly resembles Rey in her first appearance (wearing goggles and a scarf around her head and face).

This is fantastic looking issue. Riccardi utterly knocks it out of the park with detailed linework, rich, complex coloring and engaging layouts. Would love to see them on a Star Wars book on the reg.

Cover of the Week – Jedi Knights #8 Dan Jurgens Variant

Jurgens cover is a clever riff on the visual conceit of the issue, catching our attention with the foregrounded lightsaber while maintaining the first person POV.

Question of the Week

Which Star Wars movie poster is your favorite? I’ve always been partial to the Tim Reamer Return of the Jedi poster, as well as Drew Struzan’s Attack of the Clones. Hit me up on socials with your favorites!