Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories – Grievous is written by Michael Moreci and published Dark Horse Comics. Artwork is by Caio Filipe, colours by Dan Jackson and letters by Comiccraft’s Tyler Smith and Jimmy Betancourt. Main cover art (left) is by Michael Cho.
Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories – Grievous is available from today, in comic book stores and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your copy digitally from Amazon Comixology UK.
Synopsis
Count Dooku has sent General Grievous to conquer the jungle planet of Katou. It’s an opportunity to prove Grievous’ worth to his Sith masters. The herders of Katou are no match for the mechanized monster. Still, when Jedi Knight Cardiff Baye and his clone troopers arrive, Grievous takes to the forest for a stealthier approach.
Can the general’s brute strength defeat the heroes of the Republic, or will his beastly nature be his downfall?
Review
As a long time reader of Marvel’s Star Wars comics, I was excited to see what Dark Horse Comics had to offer, in the way of Star Wars storytelling.
I’d flirted with their publications, but never fully committed – Cavan Scott’s Tales from Vader’s Castles and Tales from the Rancor Pit, were all I’d seen in the way of Star Wars from Dark Horse, since the classic early 2000’s offerings.
But I’m happy to report that Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories, Grievous, stands up strongly against those fan favourites, albeit in a totally tonally different way.
What I’ve always loved about Star Wars comics, is the way they take seemingly two dimensional characters from existing media and flesh them out with purpose and pathos.
General Grievous is the epitome of this, a multi armed, lightsaber wielding mechanical menace who offered spectacle to the Star Wars prequels of the early 2000’s and not much else.
Perfect fodder for expansion and Michael Moreci does just that, producing a piece that provides insight into Grievous’s nihilistic psyche and purported need to prove his worth, with the story focusing on Grievous consistent predatory preference and need for violence and brute strength, despite showing himself to be more than capable of stealth.
It’s a cohesive and compelling story, bringing focus to an often sidelined character, but I feel like that focus could have gone further, as although additonal insight is offered it sometimes feels like it is still somewhat under-developed.
Potentially this is due to the all-ages/younger reader approach that Dark Horse Comics appear to have taken with their Star Wars stories, but my personal tastes would have liked to have seen a little more active introspection from our titular character.
Between Moreci’s writing and the Art Style of Caio Filipe, we land comfortably on something that simultaneously resembles both The Clone Wars TV series of 2008 – 2020 and it’s 2003 Tartakovsky precursor – dynamic and dramatic but delivered with fun and suitable micro-doses of frivolity.
Dan Jackson’s colouration offers us a more grounded and gritty tone that juxtaposes the clear bold cartoony linework that apes televisual instalments of Grevious’s story.
There are some really fun Kaiju like creatures in this book, reminiscent of the Zilo beast from other Star Wars stories – these creatures and the conflict with them, inject a sense of scale, in what is a more character driven story than we’ve seen on screen from the Cybernetic Kaleesh General.
Cardiff Baye and his unit of Clone Troopers slotted in to this existing universe, very believably, sharing page space, not only with General Grievous, but Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, without ever feeling out of place.
I found the final stand off between Baye and Grievous very compelling, it feels earned for both characters and holds a real dramatic tension, underpinning what we’ve seen of Grevious throughout the story, in one final brutalistic barrage in their game of cat and mouse.
It was a fun and enjoyable read that effectively tells it’s story but in my opinion, lacks the requisite depth that often justifies these kind of side-character focuses.
I think for those yearning for more Grievous, it’ll scratch an itch, without ever being considered a seminal piece- but what I want out of a Star Wars comic and what your average 12 year old Star Wars fan wants out of a Star Wars comic are very different, I’m sure it has it’s market and that they will enjoy it very much for what it is.
Verdict
Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories – Grievous undoubtedly gives us a greater insight into the character than we’ve enjoyed previously, but it stops short at scratching beneath the surface to uncover anything of any real meaning or consequence.
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