Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Star Wars Agent Of The Empire Iron Eclipse #5Star Wars: Agents Of The Empire – Iron Eclipse #5 of 5
Dark Horse Comics
Ostrander, Roux, Hugonnard-Bert

The first mini-series of Agents of the Empire wraps up with a fun and exciting issue with a nice surprise ending. The book has had a hold on the original Star Wars film's roots by including Han and Chewie here and there in the series, but the main story is about the James Bond-like Imperial agent, Cross. The book really doesn't focus at all on the Empire, but rather a mystery and a horror/science-fiction hybrid of an ending. It's a great ending issue to a very good story.

Cross, and his female companion, confront the head-with-a-spider-body, Stark, in an all-out bloody confrontation. Stark is about to launch a virus that will infect droids all over the galaxy. As a trial run, he infects the assassin droid, INGA, who used belong to Cross. Cross has strong ties to the droid and not only doesn't want to hurt her, but he needs her help to kill Stark and his droid army.

The issue has the James Bond vibe throughout. The evil base is coming down around the hero, the girl's fate is hanging in the balance. The villain has one or two last tricks up his sleeve to foil the hero. Except, this is Star Wars and you never know when Han and Chewie are going to show up to bail you out.

Clearly, the issue is only enhanced by how well Ostrander writes Han into the story.

Ostrander makes sure the dialogue stays true to the original Star Wars film's persona and he also takes care to make sure Han doesn't completely take over the comic book.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsI love the artwork. The settings and backgrounds are rich and detailed and are exactly something I would expect to see in a Star Wars comic book. I loved the little background droids (and droid parts) that float around when the place is coming apart at the seams. I also really enjoyed the depictions of Han and Chewie. I think the art really told a fun and exciting adventure story throughout.

Agents of the Empire truly is a James Bond story set in Star Wars. Ostrander has created an interesting character with Cross but how will Cross be affected by the events of this shocking ending? This is really unexplored territory for Star Wars and I would rate it as a creative success. If you like your Han and Chewie stories or you like a caper in the vein of James Bond then this is something to pick up.

4.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles