Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood #4 (of 6)

Story: Mike Richardson, Randy Stradley
Pencils: Paul Gulacy
Inks: Randy Emberlin
Colors: Dave Stewart
Cover: Dave Dorman
Editor: Diana Schutz

Kanos goes to the Zanibar planet Xo and rescues Mirith Sinn. They find the ruins of an ancient Human structure. reviewed 10/17/99 The Story Normally, it would be complicated to review the end of a series when the first half was reviewed by a different person. But in this case, taking over is pretty easy mostly because I agree entirely with Paul's reviews of Crimson Empire. There are some general points about this series that I want to add that were not covered before, though. First of all, I find the habit of calling people by their full names all the time is the height of annoyance. All the Council members say the full names everytime they speak about or to someone else. It's like saying "Good morning, Joe Smith! How is Josephine Smith doing? And the kids, Marc Smith and Mary Smith?" Isn't that annoying? Also, I still can't figure out why there are so many aliens in the IMPERIAL Inner Council. Anyway, back to this issue in particular. There is a slight improvement, mostly because the pointless and uninteresting political machinations of the Council and the back story of Grappa the Hutt and Black Sun only have two pages each. This is a classic rescue story: save the damsel in distress at the last minute before she's horribly mutilated in a Zanibar ceremony. And as a rescue story, it is pretty well accomplished. However, there are still some holes in the plot. For example, how come the Zanibar ship, who was in close pursuit of Sinn's A-wing, lost track of its target from one panel to the next? Also, how come Mirith Sinn forgot that Kanos killed her Trandoshan friend and that she vowed to kill him? Only because he saved her life? Why does she still show interest in him even after he confessed that he's fanatically loyal to the Emperor and that he is a selfish bastard? As they talk over a burning blaster rifle (?!?), Kanos shows the slightest thought that the Emperor was a tyrant when Sinn shows him a propanganda holo-recording. I hope the series does not go in that direction, which would become another tireless Imperial-goes-over-to-the-New Republic-after- seeing-the-true-colors-of-the-Emperor story. I said there is a slight improvement, but it's only because this is a rescue and run story, which does not advance the main plot of the series much. It's always fun to see people fight monsters. The Art A slight improvement is noted here as well. I am not a big fan of Gulacy's style, but it is getting better with each issue, probably due to Emberlin's inks as well. The coors by Dave Stewart are less wasted on bad art than in previous issues. The Zanibar planet Xo is very interesting, with the red sky, the strange rock formations and weird plants and animals (and plant-animals as well!) Also, I like the Council Guards' armors. Pretty neat. Conclusions This one is a bit more fun, but cannot be enjoyed without reading the rest of the series which is a bummer. I can't recommend it. 5.5/10. Not Recommended.
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