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February 20, 2008
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 When last we saw poor Bomo Greenbark, he was strapped to a torture table that made Han Solo's grilling at the hands of Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back seem like a pleasant walk in the proverbial park. Coming on the heels of the horrific tragedy at the close of the harrowing Path to Nowhere story arc, the continual suffering of the character, while appropriate to the time period and indicative of the series' name, was shockingly sadistic, at least for a Star Wars product.
Now, for the fourth issue in the stellar "Parallels" arc (#9 overall), Dark Times author Mick Harrison cuts Greenbark loose, literally and figuratively, and the diminutive Nosaurian takes the opportunity to further entrench himself into the hearts of readers as he selflessly sets out to free his captured friends at the expense of an assured escape.
Meanwhile, on a remote jungle world, Jedi Master K'kruhk tends to the wounded padawan Chase Piru, and steels himself for the coming confrontation with the opportunistic smugglers who've made off with the youngling refugees of Order 66, intent on claiming the Imperial bounty for surviving Force users.
The issue, as you might've guessed from the mini-series title, alternates back and forth between these parallel narrative threads, and, despite the necessarily short length of the comic medium (about 40 pages), manages to do them both justice with a mixture of tight scripting and lovely visuals.
The artwork, by Dave Ross, takes center stage in this issue, as the dialogue is kept to a minimum as Bomo's escape, as well as Chase's injury and K'kruhk's girding for battle, are told primarily via Ross' pencils. The muted color scheme is noteworthy as well; despite being marooned on a lush jungle planet, the padawans and Master K'kruhk live in an increasingly grey world, and their sensibilities, and fates, are reflected in the somber shades that flesh out the backdrops.
Ultimately, Dark Times #9 serves as an effective buildup to the forthcoming final volume in the "Parallels" mini-series, and does so with a grace and style that bodes well for the series' future. While it doesn't have the flash of Legacy, the original trilogy pedigree of Rebellion, or the built-in back story of Knights of the Old Republic, Dark Times does have a huge heart and the storytelling skill to match.
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