Review - Star Wars Agents of the Empire: Hard Targets #1

I freaking love Star Wars. The movies, games, books and especially the comics that inhabit the vastness of the Star Wars Universe. Dark Horse Comics knows what they are doing and are really good at it. The latest evidence of that being Agent of the Empire: Hard Targets #1.

The assembled cast behind it John Ostrander, David Fabbri, Christian Dalla Vecchia, Wes Dzidba, Michael Heisler and Stephane Roux.

For an agent of the Empire the job is never done. For Jahan Cross, a typical day involves subverting a planet's population or turning agendas towards the Emperor's to further his will and dominance of the galaxy. Cross travels from world to world, tangling with all manner or folks from dignitaries and royalty to bounty hunters and scum.

With the Star Wars universe being so big, an endless number of stories exist within it and I'm loving the ones that take part in the heyday of the Empire and show the kind of living that existed under the boot of the mighty Empire. The bulk of this issue though takes part on Alderaan, with him there as a visiting dignitary for a party hosted by Bail Organa.

A bit of action is always a good way to start a comic off and there are no worries on that front as this issue starts off with him in a running fight with Boba Fett on the planet of Serenno. The cause of the battle is unknown, but Fett doesn’t look to be aiming to kill Cross; just keep him from interfering in his own mission.

On the artwork side I have to say the first part of the comic felt a lot more cartoonish to me and seemed a bit out of place (compared to the rest of the issue at least). Overall though, I love the artwork and panel layout. The art in Agent of the Empire works great with the story as the characters are done with strong detail meshing with the backgrounds perfectly.

Dark Horse has a lot of great series from the Star Wars universe, but the Agent of the Empire one is a big favorite of mine. Star Wars Agents of the Empire: Hard Targets #1 is a great first issue in the new series for Cross. With both the Empire and Boba Fett involved things are never what they seem and it's essential that Jahan Cross start realizing that sooner rather than later.

Star Wars Agents of the Empire: Hard Targets #1 is in stores now.