Somehow I missed the Star Wars: Agent of the Empire – Iron Eclipse series the first time around. Fortunately, Dark Horse is releasing it as a trade in October and they were kind enough to let me review it. The story focuses around Jahan Cross who is an imperial agent. And that is “agent” in the James Bond sense of word. When a situation calls for someone who can get things done the Empire calls on Cross. Much like James Bond he tends to get out of situations with a lot of structural damage and a trail of dead bodies. He even has a tech person who does not trust him to bring back his equipment undamaged, and will sleep with any hot women that might have information he needs.
I don’t want to spoil and of the specifics of the story because it was way to fun to not read so I’m going to keep this pretty general. The story is just as outlandish as some of the early Bond movies as well. Sure there is a mad man trying to take over, but how he plans to do it is extremely over the top. Yet, it is not until the ends of the story that we find out exactly what his plan is. That mystery is part of why this story is so fun. Plus Han Solo and Chewbacca play a minor part in the story. It is fun to see then in their pre-movie phase trying to make a few credits wherever they can.
The art work is really nicely done, which is what fans have come to expect from the Star Wars comics. As nice as the art is though it is the characters in Star Wars: Agent of the Empire – Iron Eclipse that really make it stand out. How each person interacts with Agent Cross is handled well and makes for some humorous moments. As a fan of the Bond movies I really enjoyed Star Wars: Agent of the Empire – Iron Eclipse. It takes everything that is great about Bond and puts it in the Star Wars universe really nicely. It is worth checking out when it releases if you are like me and missed this series the first time around.
