Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Star Wars Dark Times A Spark Remains #2Star Wars: Dark Times – Spark Remains #2 of 5
Dark Horse Comics
Stradley, Wheatley & Jackson

The second issue of the latest Dark Times mini-series is an excellent and surprising read. The two Jedi are searching for a third Jedi to assist them in their bold plan to weaken the Empire by taking down one of the top dogs. The comic book isn't just a Jedi versus Empire struggle as there is a love story in here that is really taking its hold on the characters involved. The anticipation that this issue leaves the reader at the end is outstanding on many fronts. This is a very strong Star Wars comic book.

Jedi Jennir and Sahdett are working with their rag tag crew to track down a third Jedi, one from Jennir's past. While they travel from planet to planet in search of this character there are a couple of subplots brewing.

The love story angle is the most intriguing because it involves a Jedi. This isn't the Anakin-Padme love story because we all knew from the beginning that Anakin would eventually become Vader so breaking some other rules along the way seemed to be nothing special. However, Jennir is just an average Jedi but with the order broken why should he keep to the code? Does it make him less of a Jedi? Is having an attachment even relevant anymore? The biggest question from this is the simplest one: why does it matter if he loves something or not when the galaxy is already in darkness? These questions won't all be answered but bringing them out in this comic book made the issue special.

However, the issue becomes even better when we reach the end. Jennir and Sahdett find their Jedi and he is familiar as he had a minor role in the Republic comic series. The cliffhanger brings up a lot of questions and the next issue looks to be a great read as well. This is the way to end a Star Wars comic.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsWheatley does the usual outstanding job on pencils. The comic book is light on action and that plays right into Wheatley's hands. There are some soft moments in this book and plenty of drama in one or two of the subplots and Wheatley answers the challenge. This is a very good visual book.

Dark Times tends to have really unhappy endings for characters so I would have to assume that some of these characters are going to die. I can't imagine what the last three issues have in store for this arc but I can't wait to find out. This is a fantastic read.

4 out of 5 Geek Goggles