– Spoiler Review –
Nothings ever truly gone…or dead, as the return of the annual spookfest for Star Wars comics likes to remind us! From the ashes of IDW’s Vader’s Castle series rises Dark Horse’s Tales from the Rancor Pit, this year’s spooktacular collection of scary all-ages tales from writer Cavan Scott and a variety of artists. While it doesn’t quite scare like those before it, it’s a worthy successor with delightfully chilly stories from across the eras.
In Tales from the Rancor Pit, the framing story revolves around Vaclav, a Hassarian, hanging over Jabba the Hutt’s Rancor Pit, pleading for his life and gaining a stay of execution as he offers the entertainment of telling tall, scary tales. It doesn’t have the grandiose feeling of the story unfolding around Vader’s Castle, nor is Jabba’s Palace as spooky a setting, but Nick Brokenshire’s art is where the framing story truly shines. Brokenshire has always had a fun, yet scary-leaning style, even with bright colors or unique color palettes, though he covers up the latter with shadows to make Jabba and his castle darker, more menacing. Two things which really stood out to make the setting haunting: Jabba’s translator droid, one eye missing and covered in green slime, is unnerving, as if it doesn’t realize its appearance and thus not changing its demeanor. We’ve seen what Jabba does to his droids, so it’s no surprise, but it sets the throne room scene better than just a menagerie of species; the other is all the shadows over Jabba, his eyes judging and tight, turn him from a large, not terribly scary slug into a menacing enforcer, a thug with a grudge, making it harder for us or Vaclav to tell what he’ll do next. Case in point is the Z-line in the page between story one and two, as his hands hover over the release button, Vaclav waiting to learn his fate. The final page of Rancor Pit, without spoiling, had my favorite image from the framing story, making you question what were tall tales or not, a nice little parting gift from Scott and Brokenshire that’ll keep the scares in your head after you put the book down.
“Ghosts of the Machine” Art by Juan Samu; Tyler Smith & Jimmy Betancourt Lettering Throughout
While I might rank this tale tied in second with the final one, it gains enough of an edge to win thanks to the absolutely gorgeous art by Juan Samu. Taking place during the Clone Wars, a Hassarian General for the Separatist army finds his callous disregard for the droids he sends into battle has come back to haunt him, as they are rising from the dead and trying to kill him! It feels a little too similar to the first issue of last year’s Ghosts of Vader’s Castle, as its possessed droids seem like the undead ones here. Overall though, the idea for the story speaks a lot to the franchise and its back and forth on droids, their rights, and their sentience, and Scott’s writing of the undead droids, the creepy way they say things or taunt General Kazameer, is even more shiver-inducing thanks to the art.
Seriously, Samu’s work is among some of the greatest I’ve seen for Star Wars comics, from the grotesque yet animated way he draws the undead droids, the growing fear on Kazameer’s face, to the big entrance page from Mace Windu, he manages to capture vivid, dynamic scenes for big and small moments. As cool as the double page spread is of Windu coming to slice up some droids as Kazameer flees to the safety of his citadel, Depa Billaba making an appearance as well, its sense of heroics amongst the war all around them, I enjoyed a smaller panel of Windu more. In it, Mace appears above the tactical droid Kazameer leaves behind, the angle almost like a thug looking up to find Batman has arrived, he and his purple lightsaber framed by blinding lightening, as if he appeared in a flash before delivering justice; It was such a cool way to show Mace, who can be rather intimidating with his demeanor, making the Jedi both frightening yet powerful, like they are serving justice yet are surrounded by shadow aka the specter of the Sith. His colors for the planet, neon-esque, making the battle outside disorientating in a good way, while making it otherworldly and scary, like when we see the clone trooper reaching out after being shot down, the burning pink acid burns sizzling off his armor. Kazameer’s appearance is similar to Brokenshire’s Vaclav yet different enough it’s clear he’s a different member of the species, like a more prominent horse-like face or the augmented eye (ironic given his disregard for droids), while the range of emotion and eventual overwhelming fear across his face really makes you feel how scared and terrified he is of the encroaching undead. As for the undead droids, beyond the spooky green mist around them, the piercing red of their eyes is menacing, while I love all the little details Samu presents, from exposed or broken wires to missing parts from battle damage via blaster or lightsaber. But better yet is the range of emotions he’s able to pull out from their damaged frames, be it tilted heads or feigned civility/concern from a hand up to one’s chin, while the wicked smile on an undead Gonk droid is both hilarious and the stuff of nightmares I didn’t know was possible.
“Undead or Alive” Art by Andy Duggan; Colors by Roman Stevens
“Undead or Alive” is my favorite, but it had a two things in its favorite that made it a given: one, it’s set during The High Republic era, which Scott helped create, and two, it stars Ty Yorrick, saber-for-hire monster hunter extraordinaire whose miniseries (also by Scott) and brief part of The Rising Storm (you guessed it, by Scott as well!) and Race to Crashpoint Tower (this time by Daniel José Older) just weren’t enough for me. While it felt a little similar to one of the tales in Shadow of Vader’s Castle in regards to the monster’s ability to cause others to turn into them, more Ty easily equals more awesome, which remains true with “Undead or Alive!” When an old boss Ty played mercenary for in the past calls her with a monster problem, and thanks to her reliance on the Verazeen Stones—essentially like flipping a coin—she takes the job. It turns out to be way more than she imagined, the monster deadlier and less random than originally described. How she handles the truth of the assignment, tying into her reliance on stones’ probabilities, was an intriguing way to show her affinity for justice, even if it’s dark, recalling she was a Jedi at one point and does take responsibility for some of her actions. I also enjoyed the interplay between Ty and her two droids again, especially Kayel-Ohthree, which she doesn’t nickname as to avoid attachment, who is snarky and always keeps her on her toes. While it’s great to have more Ty, and shows the endless possibilities with her saber-for-hire lifestyle, it never feels like enough once again. Can’t wait for more Ty in Phase III! Lastly, I love the little line from Jabba about how he doesn’t remember the story quite happening like that, considering he was alive during the era, and I’m curious if we’ll ever have any follow-up with the possibility things went a different way or this was just a cheeky way for Scott to point out these tales aren’t ‘canon.’
While there have been several artists drawing her since her debut, the visual consistency for Ty continues here in Andy Duggan’s work, which is quite the blessing as it makes it easy for fans new and old to distinguish her quickly, while speaking to the strength of all the lovely concept art made to help build up the High Republic. There are several great expressions for Ty, like her surprise when Kayel didn’t put them on mute or her steely gaze as she prepares herself to confront the monsters, and I appreciate the range Duggan brings as it shows she isn’t all business. I’ll talk more about Stevens colors and the lighting they bring to a scene, but for now one small thing in a small panel stood out that ties into the colors: after Ar-Oh’s flames are dying down and Ty is leaving the droid behind, shadows dance against the panel’s backdrop due to the flames, a neat little effect I feel like I don’t see too often. Roman Stevens colors, while they have a muted vibe, have a news reel, newspaper-like quality to them, giving “Undead or Alive” the most “flashback” look of the three tales, almost like it could’ve happened; which makes Jabba’s comment all the more intriguing. Beyond that overall look, I adored the way Ty’s purple lightsaber glowed in the dark forest, bathing the panels in purple, a hue that goes away once she turns it off, while the giant flames her little astromech RO-VR cooks up to cut through the forest overtakes panels with yellows and oranges, Ty’s lightsaber still purple but dimmed by the flames; Smith and Betancourt’s lettering in Ar-Oh’s flame producing panel, sizzling, flame like SFX only adds to the temperature and Stevens’ colors.
“In the Lair of the Dragon Slug” Art by Rafael Pérez; DJ Chavis on Colors
It all ends where it all began, as Scott delivers scares in the original trilogy for the final Rancor Pit tale. As the Rebellion works to fortify Echo Base on Hoth, a strange and frightening sound issues from deep within the caves, leading Han, Leia, and a very reluctant Chewbacca to go investigate. While everyone, including readers like myself, believe its !ampas, the truth is far more threatening: giant snakes! It’s rare we get Scott writing these characters, but you’d think he was doing it more than the High Republic era, the ease at which he seems to capture Leia and Han’s bickering, and Chewie’s caught-in-the-middle-but-can’t-not-help-them demeanor. I could hear Harrison Ford or Carrie Fisher delivering many of the lines, which you’d think would happen more often but it doesn’t, so this was a nice plus. I also liked how while Leia ends up saving the day, it was still a little due to Han and Chewie, though nothing intentional of course. Lastly, it’s fun to think this tale was part of Scott’s original pitch for the Vader’s Castle series, and all these years later, he’s finally able to bring it to life! Find that little tidbit and more insightful details about the making of Tales from the Rancor Pit in the interview with Scott on the official site.
Pérez’s artwork doesn’t always fit with how you think Han and Leia look, but like I said earlier, the dialogue more than sells us on who is in the scene. That being said, out of all the monsters drawn for Rancor Pit, Pérez’s dragon slugs are my favorite of the group, their snake-like features, with little fins, and the spotted texture are visually distinct and unique, while the scale of them, dwarfing an adult Wampa, made them awe-inspiring. I also can’t not talk about the absolutely ADORABLE young Wampas, which while sort of remind me of Star Wars Rebels Wookiees from the series premiere, are too little and silly looking I can’t not fall in the love with them, which while not exactly fitting for a comic full of scary things, is a nice moment of levity in the overall darkness of Rancor Pit. DJ Chavis’ colors have a lot of cold blues and whites to work with and keep each thing distinct that it thankfully doesn’t all blur together. While the lettering team has done a great job all issue, they have a big task before them in “In the Lair of the Dragon Slug,” as they have to make us and the characters worry about what can’t be seen, large, loud, and spooky looking SFX to prompt Leia, Han, and Chewie to go investigating, building up tension for the inevitable monster reveal. They don’t let up once the dragon slugs are around, tons of SFX to make the fight seem anything but easy, while the extra large SFX of Leia’s plan to draw away and bring fear to the giant slugs helps show the might of her plan.
Tales from the Rancor Pit is another fine addition to the annual spooktacular of Star Wars comics, and if you want some fun all-ages frights to share with the family or friends, look no further!
+ Art makes the imagination shiver, especially Juan Samu
+ Ty Yorrick tale is worthy of the character and sets up potential for more monster fun
+ Great Han and Leia
– Doesn’t have the same presence as the previous series yet
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
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.