I hope everyone enjoyed Free Comic Book Day and of course, Star Wars Day! Originally I was going to get 4 videos out to celebrate May the Fourth, but ‘life’ got in the way, so I was only able to get out this one, but I think you’ll agree it’s an interesting one! It’s the very first Star Wars limited series put out by Dark Horse Comics, Star Wars: The Dark Empire! Dark Horse had acquired the comic rights to the Star Wars franchise in the early 1990s and this came out in late 1991.

Originally planned for a revival at Marvel (LONG before the 2015 revival), and set after the events of Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy, it tells the tale of the New Republic becoming the Rebel Alliance once more as Luke senses a dark presence growing! Is the Emperor ALIVE AGAIN?

It was a popular but divisive story to be certain, and yet the Dark Empire Trilogy tells an interesting tale that actually gets the ball rolling on a LOT of concepts that kicked off the Expanded Universe – many concepts that would be utilized, and some fans would rather forget (the apparent Emperor’s resurrection for example, although even THAT would be justified thanks to the prequel trilogy).

My conclusion is that this was an interesting story, so sit back and enjoy as I share with you what happens when Luke joins the Dark Side…at least for starters…