(Graphic Novel with Bernie Wrightson)

Batman parachutes into the South American jungle in search of a missing geologist and instead finds a Special Ops team and a crashed spaceship.  This story is very familiar, perhaps overly so, but nevertheless it's great to see Batman going toe-to-toe with space's scariest denizens.  The one thing I really enjoyed is Batman's musings on where the real evil lies; with the instinct-driven aliens or with the humans trying to exploit them.

4 out of 5

 

Green Lantern Versus Aliens

(Graphic Novel with art by Rick Leonardi and Mike Perkins)

Green Lantern Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps encounter the xenomorphs on a distant planet but choose to rescpect the Aliens' right to live.  Ten years later Kyle Rayner, the last Green Lantern, is called upon to rescue the crew of a crashed star freighter who have fallen afoul of the xenomorphs.  I've never really been a Green Lantern fan, but Kyle's little quips and his dodgy attempts to chat up Crowe helped to endear the character to me.  The Aliens are done justice here and I liked the idea that although they no longer have their power rings, the former Green Lanterns are still willing to step into the breach when needed.  This book's best element, however, is the way it shows that the butter-wouldn't-melt policies of most old school superheroes aren't necessarily the best solution.  This also raises the interesting plot point of having Kyle be forced to decide to follow Hal's example, which led to the current problems, or to become a merciless killer in order to prevent the Aliens returning in the future.

4 out of 5

 

Star Wars: Darth Maul

(Graphic Novel with art by Jan Duursema and Rick Magyar)

Set a year before 'The Phantom Menace'.  Sith Lord Darth Sidious (he's really Senator Palpatine, you know) decides that the powerful Black Sun crime syndicate could be an impediment to his plans and sends his ruthless apprentice, Darth Maul to 'wipe them out, all of them'.  There isn't much of a plot here and the book basically involves Maul going from one place to another lightsabering everthing in sight.  Somehow I was hoping for something more and also, I'm not a big fan of Duursema's artwork.  Don't get me wrong, the art is incredibly well done, but I prefer artwork to be more stylised than hers is.  It's not all bad news, I loved the design of Maul's torso tattoos and the scene where he confronts a Dathomiri Nightsister is excellent.  However, too little, too late.

3 out of 5

 

Star Wars: Jango Fett

(Graphic Novel with art by Tom Fowler)

Let's be honest, anything with Jango Fett in is going to be cool!  This book doesn't disappoint either.  Five years before Episode II, Jango is hired to recover an alien artifact but soon discovers that he has competition in the form of his old rival/ally Zam Wesell.  This is only a short book (about the length of a single comic) and therefore is quite costly for what you get, but it's such a fun read that I'd say it's worth it.

4 out of 5

 

Star Wars: Zam Wesell

(Graphic Novel with art by Ted Naifeh)

The sequel to 'Jango Fett' and set directly thereafter, this book manages to far exceed it's predecessor.  Zam and Jango break the habit of a lifetime and do a job for free when they discover that the idol they recovered (in 'Jango Fett') has the power to destroy Coruscant itself.  The interaction and sexual tension between the two main characters is what gives this story it's driving energy and is really interesting considering how their relationship ends in 'Attack Of The Clones'.  On top of an already excellent story, this book features a major Star Wars event; the death of a member of the Jedi Council.  An all round good read, although the cost-to-size ratio is still an issue.

5 out of 5

Particularly if you liked 'Darth Maul', then you might want to read Michael Reaves' novel which ties into it, 'Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter'.

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