The Phantom Affair (Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron, Volume 2) (Paperback)

Bestsellers
Books
DVD's
Popular
Music
Classical
Music
Videos
Toys
&
Games
Computer
&
Video
Games
Magazines
Electronics
Posters



Save up to 70% at Overstock.com! (88x31)
Search Overstock.com:




(Click to Enlarge)

The Phantom Affair (Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron, Volume 2)

Authors: Michael A. Stackpole, Darko Macan, Edvin Biukovic

 Average Customer Rating: 4.89/5.00
Amazon Sales Rank: 62,862
Paperback Release Date: January, 1998
Manufacturer: Dark Horse Comics

 View on Amazon (ISBN: 1569712514)
Number of Paperbacks: 1
Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours
 List Price: $12.95, Amazon Price: $10.36

More Star Wars Paperbacks:


Other items in Amazon's Book Catalog for Star Wars:


Similar Products on Amazon.com:

Amazon Customer Reviews of this item: (Average Rating is 4.89/5.00)

Rating: 5 [ Wow . . . ]
This is, so far, my favorite of the Rogue Squadron comics. The artwork is great and the story is brilliant. Michael A. Stackpole remains one of my favorite authors. Since others have synopsed the story, I won't bother, but suffice it to say, I highly recommend it!

Rating: 4 [ Not a bad way to start a series ]
The tpb premier of the XWRS series manages to give a good start to a great series. The story in itself is a bit different from the rest of the story arcs, and remains on an individual scale like rest of the series's first half, whereas the second half is essentially one long, complex story. 'The Phantom Affair' puts the Rouges on the world of Mrlsst, bargaining at an academy campus for a new war technology. This is mostly a wedge-centered arc, and he gets a few people from his past to join in. The art by the late Edvin Buikovic is very good. While his ships are detailed but fail to gain a sense of movement, his people are very good. Incredibly detail goes top every face and background figure, which works very well when you have a story set on a crowded campus. Three-fourths of the way through, the art is taken over by Gary Erksine. While trying to imitate Buikovic, the art still takes a noticeable plunge in overall quality and Buikovic's sense of smoothness is unfortunately lost. The color is done by David Nestelle, who will come to grace most of the series's story arcs with his superb coloring. Nestelle proves that coloring is just as important as the art in setting the mood in many a scene.

The script is done by Darko Macan, who does casual dialogue pretty well, although his combat lingo leaves something to be desired. The series begin with seven rouges, five of whom will see the end of the series. Many future players await introduction, so 'The Phantom Affair' is set apart a bit from other arcs, especially those in the latter half. Wedge's background is set up well by the flashback involving Booster Terrik and the death of Wedge's parents. Loka Hask proves to be an interesting, of not a bit too vocal, villain. Also, tying together the beginning and ending of the series, Mirax Terrik takes on an important role in the story. On an interesting note, another 'special appearance' from later on in the series is her future husband, Corran Horn. ('Blood & Honor')

Overall the plot takes more than its share of twists and turns. While a good overall read, I personally feel that 'The Phantom Affair' is a bit distanced from the rest of the series. Nonetheless, it's a good kick-off that provided a glimpse of what is to come.


Rating: 5 [ A New Beginning ]
The Phantom Affair is the second story arc of the X-wing Rogue Squadron comic series, but it was the first to be collected in TPB form. Its predecessor was deemed by the publishers to be not so good, and so this comic is sometimes seen as the real beginning of the series. And what an excellent introduction, an excellent comic, it is.

The art is really good, the story is really really good, and the dialogue is lots of fun. This book picks up soon after the Battle of Endor -- several weeks or maybe a month. The Rogues, in case you don't know, are the Rebellion's top fighter squadron, often called on for the most difficult jobs. Their mission this time: to buy a starfighter cloaking technology from the Mrlssi. When they get there, however, things get complicated. Not only is there apparently a "ghost Jedi" haunting the campus, but it turns out that the Imperials have also sent a delegation to try and obtain this technology. And the real catch -- the head of the Imperial delegation happens to also be the guy who essentially murdered Wedge's parents when he was a boy. And it thickens from there, but I can't really say more without spoiling things.

Aside from giving us a great, fun plot, this book also reveals more about Wedge's past than I think any other book or comic has. Plus, of course, there's a plethora of action sequences, and of course all the characters are in character, trading their customary amusing witty banter. And Mirax Terrik (from the X-wing novels), along with her ship the Pulsar Skate, appear here, giving readers a visual reference for her character.

And this book doesn't skimp on extras either. There's a little introduction by Stan Sakai, an extra page giving us some background on and schematics of the X-wing fighter so we'll know what we're looking at, plus, accompanying the cover gallery are several pages of character design sketches. Very cool.

This is one of the best X-wing comics, one of the best Star Wars comics, that you can buy. And I recommend you do so. You won't be disappointed.