Review: Star Wars Omnibus: At War With The Empire, Volume 2

That is in a nut shell what is contained within this Omnibus. They are individual stories of what happens now that the Rebellion against the Empire is real threat to the Empire and the struggles that take place before we get to The Empire Strikes Back. Seven complete stories make up this collection with really compelling tales from Luke’s encounter with a forgotten Clone Trooper from back in the day to Dark Vader fighting his way to becoming the ultimate Dark Lord second only to Emperor Palpatine. The 462 page Omnibus is as you can imagine, quiet a read but I enjoyed every page. Being a huge Star Wars fan does help in the attention span and focus needed to complete this read in under a week but as I’ve said in past reviews, I have never been a Star Wars comic book reader. Yet I have really grown to appreciate them. Dark Horse has really done a great job at providing fans with much needed stories to supplement what Mr. Lucas but into place. These tales fit almost seamlessly with the Original Trilogy and even the Prequels. Many new characters are introduced who play small yet significant roles in the over all story of the fall of the Empire. Probably my favorite in this Omnibus is the last story titled, “Breaking The Ice”. In it we are told a tale in which Han Solo, Princess Leia and Chewie are sent on a mission to explore the surface of the ice planet Hoth. Han and Leia crash land on the ice planet and are forced to get too close for comfort in order to stay warm while they wait to be rescued. Han is worried about Chewie who rode alone on another ship which mistakenly seems to have crashed as well. I loved how most of this tale takes place in the cockpit of the starship Han and Leia are trapped in and to see how they warm up to each other as Leia gets her first glimpse at Han’s vulnerability. It is a great transition story to their love hate, and ultimately love, relationship we see in The Empire Strikes Back.

Over all I loved this. The change in art style from story to story was the only thing I had to get use to but it did make sense as each story does have its own style and thus requires its own unique look. I’d definitely recommend this Omnibus to anyone who is a Star Wars fan and wants to be treated to some pretty entertaining stories that help transition to, in my humble opinion, the best Star Wars Episode in the saga, The Empire Strikes Back.

It should also be stated that this is the second volume in, “At War With The Empire”, having not read the first I will definitely go back and read the first volume.

Let us know what you think. Don’t take my word for it, buy this Omnibus and read for yourself.