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Star Wars - Mara Jade: By the Emperor`s Hand

Star Wars - Mara Jade: By the Emperor`s Hand

List Price: $15.95
Your Price: $10.85
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Zahn's Dream in Color
Review: I was a fan of Zahn's novels, but this gave me a different approach to Mara. Her character is portrayed well in this comic. The art is great, combined with the direction of Zahn, it has made it one of my favorite comics of all time. I highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Mara Jade, the Star Wars series, or someone who just wants to get a taste of this world.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: please be more respectfull
Review: i would like to point out that those of you who made fun of this book would do well to be mindfull of others opinions. i find it very offending what some people write about this book.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Just an Opinion
Review: I'll admit it, I like Mara Jade's character, and I enjoyed this book, along with other works focusing on her. Timothy Zahn is my favorite Star Wars author(followed closely by Mike Stackpole), and most of his work is pretty darn good. Now having said that, I think the person from Maryland brings up some good points. I don't agree with a lot of them, but they're good points. Of course, what she thinks are bad things, I think are good things: she says Mara Jade is supposed to be a strong character, but isn't; well, I like the fact that she has all this fake bluster and is in fact quite fragile inside of that hardened killer shell. I also don't think the Star Wars universe has to be black and white. That's why I love it: it can be whatever the viewer wants it to be. Still, I thought the reader from Maryland gave some good counter-Star Wars fanatic points; it's good to have not just blind lovers of something reviewing a book. That's why I gave a thumbs up for her review. The person who supported the reader from Maryland I can be less sympathetic with: he came up with no real valid points, except saying Mara is shallow and two dimensional, not actually backing up said assertions. Also, the "mud-for-brains" assertion was indeed a little unfair. The only reason you can call me mud-for-brains is because I kept buy Kevin J Anderson Star Wars books even though I hated every one of them. That's blind devotion to a major corporation there, folks: my monthly contribution to Lucas's "Buy me another private Jet" fund. Luckily, the Phantom Menace knocked that out of me(oh god that was horrible) and I only purchase quality Star Wars books; these new NJO books, as well as most of the new comic seem to be quality to me. This comic is no different, in my opinion: it's a well done Star Wars book. That being said, Star Wars books, are by my estimation, at the bottom of the literary ladder. They're still just as fun to read as better written books such as The Last of the Mohicans, however. That's about it. Hope this was helpful! :)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A lightsaber in one hand, a blaster in the other.
Review: Jedi are awesome. There's pretty much no argument there. But some of us, even if we lived in Lucas' universe, would have a hard time putting away a good blaster even if we were Force-sensitive. Enter Mara. The neutrality of her character is so cool that readers keep flipping pages; she's not really bad, but nor is she good, either. Zahn created such an interesting concept here that it's almost impossible not to like her. As far as this graphic novel goes, it is definitely a page-turner and has some truly wonderful art work. I loved seeing Isard's multi-colored eyes in print! Definitely worth buying. My only qualm is that the story doesn't go far enough--I want to read more! How does Mara meet up with Karrde? That in itself leads to many possibilities of a sequel.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great! Mara Jade rules!
Review: Mara Jade is such a fun character! She's just a loyal soldier to the empire who gets caught up in the galactic civil war and has her life turned upside down on her. The character kicks butt and doesn't take anything from no one. She may seem cold hearted, yet we see her feelings and thoughts in this wonderful TPB. Do yourself a favor and read the adventures of Mara Jade, the woman who becomes Mrs. Skywalker.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Mara Jade is a stunner,
Review: Mara Jade Skywalker has had a hard life ,being taken away from her mom and dad by a team of stormtroopers at a early age then kept as a experiment by Emperor Palpatine as a private force-using agent not light nor in the dark side known only as The Emperor's Hand,then when the emperor died shes made redundant,went to work with Talon Karrade as 2 in charge,saved Luke's life,trains as a jedi knight(later to become a jedi master),marries Luke Skywalker,keeps Jaina Solo as an apprentice,picks up a mysterious disease,cured,helps fend off the Yuuzhan Vong.God I'm outta breath.These are the reasons shes my favourite character.This book is about her as the emperors hand.

In this story the emperor orders her to take out the leader of the Black Nebula,the sort of replacment for the failed Black Sun.She does so but she starts thinking how easy it was,a bit too easy for her liking.Then unexpectedly the Emperor dies and in honour of him Mara will finish her last mission by getting into Black Nebula and taking out the real head of Black Nebula.

This book is pure genius, its got great art work and its written by Timothy Zahn.I thought its about time Mara got her own story then this came along, AMAZING *****

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A rare comic that's a must purchase
Review: Mara Jade: By the Emperor's Hand is one of those rare comics that has great art, smooth storyline, commendable dialogue and genuine depth. Co-authored by Stackpole and Zahn, two of Star Wars' more popular novelists known for quality output. The result here is another of their hits you expect when collaborative craniums work well.

The quality of art shines bright, considering the comic dates back to a period where quality and art are not what they are now. You can just tell efforts were made to add extra ice to this cream, the way the front credits were specially done. Characters and climates, scenery and locale, were all highly rendered and coloured well. This is definitely one of your more 3D-ish comics, and worth the purchase if just for that.

Dialogue is what you'd expect from usual Stackpole and Zahn efficiency: quick, creative and inventive. Mara's persona here, in her Imperial days, lends her a cool competence matched only by her slick lines. The support cast isn't left out, and while I haven't quite worked out who oversaw what issues, the authors are at their vintage best here.

What makes this comic stand out from the mediocre variety out there is its creativity and effort to give just a little more for readers. The sheer range of aliens is both amazing and appreciated, both the familiar denizens and all new ones just for a show here and there. Alien species ranged from the typical to exotic to comical. Mara's is never without a way of working, and the inventive methods of working past obstacles speak highly of the writers' imagination behind her.

The storyline itself is simple and enough: eliminate Black Nebula's crimelord, who fancies himself the heir of the recently toppled Black Sun criminal network. Having failed to kill Skywalker at Jabba's palace, this she does easily. Too easily; and when her Emperor master bites the dust, she resolves to finish the job.

Nice use of Isard and Pestage, and why Mara earns her wrath. Good to see a dark-skinned man, that Imperial tech. It's rather rare to get that in comics, when humans are predominantly fair skinned. Humour, of course, wasn't lacking. The bartender alien looked like that Dexter from AOTC, his voice easily imagined.

There were some faults to note, small but noticeable as they were. The facial likeness of Strok was given to other Imperial army officers, which can confuse readers at the end. The end page itself just sorted of finished . . . perhaps a bit too abruptly and not slow enough. Mara doesn't complete her mission till almost the last page.

Further more, she does an astonishing amount to self-thinking. Thought-bubbles were everywhere, which you will find common in books but sort of gave the bemused impression the lady sure speaks a lot to herself! Almost every panel had text in which, factored into the full 144 pages, slows down reading and makes for a long comic here.

While I had problems with Jabba "just" giving Mara a speeder to get away from him when she arouses his suspicions, overall, omitting this nifty slight of work is outright criminal, and with such high standards of excellence it's well worth your $$.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: one of the best SW comics
Review: Star Wars comics can range from exhilerating to, well, extremely disappointing. But it's hard to go wrong with Mara Jade. She is such a good addition to the SW universe -- first of all, a strong female character, and we all know that the SW universe is short on those. But what I love about Mara is that she defies the Star Wars clear-cut good vs. evil dichotomy which makes for great movies but can sometimes be too simplistic in novels and comics. In this graphic novel, Mara is on the side of the baddies, but she always has integrity, and we somehow end up liking her despite her flaws. And she is the perfect force to temper Luke's farmboy blond-haired unwavering *goodness!*

The artwork is absolutely beautiful as well. Nice color, too. The only better Star Wars art, imho, is Star Wars Union which is also not to be missed!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A wonderful piece of literature
Review: The persons from Maryland and Tennessee are complete morons. Mara Jade is one of the coolest characters ever. The Emperor's Hand! That is a great and very spooky idea. She carried out the commands of the most treacherous person that ever lived and her story is right here. Buy it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Definetely a Worthy Star Wars Comic
Review: The plot is just wonderful and the drawings are my favorite of all the comics. Besides Princess Leia, there were no other too significant women in the Star Wars universe. Mara Jade is a tough individual that can take on anyone with class! She is intelligent and has a good underlying soul. This comic underlines her background and with the two greatest SW authors and one heck of an illustrator wrapped up together, you get a good dose of what Star Wars has become.


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