– Spoiler Review –
With the Nightmare Conjunction set to return every thirty years, Cavan Scott takes Tales from the Nightlands into the Rebellion era, where the young Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker gets roped into the Nightlanders’ dastardly schemes in another fun, spooky, and gorgeous issue!
After proving the concept was more than worth the hype in issue #1, Cavan Scott, as well as artist Soo Lee, set a high bar to cross for both Scott and artist Vincenzo Riccardi in issue #2. And more importantly, Scott had to prove the Nightlander was spooky enough to usher in a new, lasting Star Wars boogeyman, as while the opening issue more than left an impression, could issue #2 solidify it? It’ll be up to issue #3 to put the Nightlander amongst the annals of Star Wars villains and spooktastic threats, but given how I had already said she could stand alongside them, which issue #2 reaffirms my belief, I think most fans will feel the same sooner than later.
Whereas the opening issue took place on Ryloth, Luke Skywalker ends up traveling to Rabnir, showing how it’s less about the place and more about the dreaded Nightmare Conjunction, a time when the veil between the living and the dead thins, and how the Nightlander, being the queen of the Nightlands, can manipulate this time to draw in her victims. Better yet, when Luke arrives after a creepy dream convinces him to go, we run into Daesha again, the yound Twi’lek Anakin Skywalker attempted to help speak with her grandfather before unleashing the Nightlander the first time, tying the series together in more ways than one. What I appreciate most about Daesha’s return is how the Nightlander has messed with her over the years, forcing her to be an unwilling servant to help call in a potential victim for the Nightlander to possess and come to the realm of the living, as while it’s unfortunate for her as a character, it makes the creature a potential persistent threat that could mess with anyone and anything even without the Conjunction. It’s another fun aspect of her character because who else has she whispered to throughout the years in her attempts to pierce the veil and who could she whisper to in the years to come?! Plenty of stories could be used there too! Either way
Whereas issue #1 was about Anakin Skywalker’s problems with letting go, and to an extent Obi-Wan Kenobi working on accepting his place as a Master, issue #2 looks at Luke’s fears regarding his hope of being the Jedi Order’s new beacon against worries he could end up like his fallen father, while touching on the importance of family, found or otherwise. Set sometime between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi (like a BUNCH of comics were recently), as Daesha summons forth the supposed spirit of Anakin Skywalker so Luke can talk to him, the Nightlander makes herself known, revealing her name is Hitanaga, and attempts to take over Luke’s body and bend the galaxy to her dark will. With Anakin, the Nightlander was able to find his hidden reason for helping Daesha, but for Luke, she taps into his fear he’ll become a monster, like his father before him, telling him he can’t avoid what he really is deep down inside. The opening nightmare she certainly had a hand in crafting, as well as the recent failure with Han Solo’s capture and Vader’s dark revelations, are a potent cocktail Luke can’t help but drink from, giving himself up as a host. Hope is not something we simply have all the time, it’s a conscious choice, one we must make time and time again as the struggle against the dark never ends, and Luke is just like anyone else, the temptation to give in to the darkness always present. I really enjoyed how Scott reiterates this is the real Luke, someone who has flaws and can make mistakes, much like The Last Jedi laid bare, as it helps build up the Jedi’s successes to be even more impactful to see him learn and grow instead of being all-powerful and never wrong. But he’s not alone in this galaxy and I appreciated this issue even more once Leia comes to save his behind, as while she has her struggles too, she’s the more steadfast of the two and helps him back to hope, to the light. There’s just never enough Luke and Leia sibling content at this point and even the little bit here exemplifies the strength their bond lends one another, while it was a blast to see Leia involved and in the middle of the action as well. Having Daesha help too was a nice moment for her character and I’m curious if she’ll be involved, someway somehow, in the final issue…hope she at least learned her lesson and doesn’t give into the Nightlander’s tricks.
On art for Tales from the Nightlands #2 is Vincenzo Riccardi, with letterers Tyler Smith & Jimmy Betancourt, and once again Riccardi stuns with his unique, mesmerizing styling. It’s clear from the start during Luke’s nightmare, from Luke’s Force-ful push of Vader that shatters a window into tons of little shards, Han Solo looking like he’s made from melting carbonite before his body is shattered by Vader’s blade slicing through him, to even the rightly scary image of Leia’s floating head, with her hand outstretched and her body similarly shattered into little rocks, all set to Riccardi’s vivid, bright, almost neon-esque coloring. What Riccardi cooks up with Vader in the nightmare, tendrils of smoke billowing from Vader’s eyes, like when General Grievous died, is already pretty harrowing, so I was eagerly looking forward to what he’d bring to the Nightlander, Hitanaga herself. Whereas Soo Lee played up the transition from the Nightlander’s false presentation to its real look, Riccardi focuses primarily on the creature’s main design, which matches his earlier work with the nightmare Vader. A detail Riccardi pulls out is the way Hitanaga’s mouth, from her teeth to the skin around it, is recessed from the outer, shiny layer of what looked like the demon’s skin initially, hinting even this look might not be the Nightlander’s real form, as if the blue outer shell is actually armor or a covering, while it’s a plain unnerving sight, like it could fall off at any moment or be peeled back to reveal what’s really underneath. Given Riccardi’s style is so fluid and smokey and glittery with color, the juxtaposition of the devolving opening nightmare and Hitanaga’s presence against scenes of Luke awaking in the rebel base or Leia coming to rescue him really help highlight the scary, unnerving aspect of his work and make the non-nightmare sections feel more grounded than his work usually seems at times. The colors in the sandstorm, and all the glitter-like dots he puts in it, is a big favorite of mine, as it feels both overwhelming yet beautiful. Comicraft’s letterers Smith and Betancourt rise to Riccardi’s challenge, their early work with Luke screaming “NO!” as he shoves Vader with the Force, which gets a nice ‘fwm’ sound FX that feels as bold and as powerful as the push, which leads us into a shaking and nearly broken SFX for Vader crashing through the window, gives the scenes heft and really sells the journey Luke’s going through as he confronts his fears in his dreams. And given Riccardi’s style, they do a great job letting readers flow across the wavy, kaleidoscope of his panels, which are a little confusing at moments if their word bubbles or SFX didn’t get placed where they are now. I’m still very much in love with the special word bubble they concocted for the Nightlander, as it feels like an inverse of her face, as the light blue of the armor is inside the bubbles and the darker blue of her raw mouth lines the outside of the bubble; spooky as she is!
Here are a few other things:
- Tales from the Nightlands #3 now drops November 26 (a week later than its initial release date), but you can check out the previews for it thanks to the SDCC panel earlier this year.
- Two small moments, but I love how Scott references familiar lines from the films: Daesha adjusting Vader’s famous line revealing his parentage of Luke on Cloud City; and Leia saying an adjusted version of her line when she unmasks herself in Jabba’s Palace when rescuing Han (she’s even wearing a mask here too!).
- As promised, Scott has taken to answering some of the AMA questions regarding the series, so give them a listen for his insight! His first video discusses the inspiration for the Nightlander and how a little mistake about Ryloth led to this idea, and in the second video, he discussed what it was like creating the Nightlander instead using existing characters.
- The first planet we meet the Nightlander on is Ryloth and now she’s on Rabnir…what’s the R-named planet she’s haunting next?!
Tales from the Nightlands #2 focuses on Luke, but what it shows us of Leia, Daesha, and even the Nightlander herself, and how dazzling it artwork is, makes it even better than the first!
+ Solidifying the Nightlander’s reputation…one more issue to seal the deal!
+ Dealing with Luke’s fears and Leia saving the day
+ Mesmerizingly haunting visuals from Riccardi
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him and the website on Bluesky.
DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this comic from the publisher at no charge in order to provide an early review. However, this did not affect the overall review content. All opinions are my own.
TALES FROM SERIES:
Tales from the Nightlands: #1 | #3
Tales from the Rancor Pit (graphic novel) | Tales from the Death Star (graphic novel)
VADER’S CASTLE SERIES:
Tales from Vader’s Castle (miniseries) | Return to Vader’s Castle (miniseries) | Shadow of Vader’s Castle (one-shot) | Ghost of Vader’s Castle (miniseries)