“The name is Cross…Jahan Cross.”
Star Wars: Agent of the Empire – Iron Eclipse debuts this week from Dark Horse Comics. The hero is a secret agent working for the Empire 3 years before the events of A New Hope tracking down stolen droid technology.
This new series is the latest from comics veteran John Ostrander. He’s created action tales from various time periods in the Star Wars universe and tells USA Today that Agent Cross’s mission will have him encounter smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca before they became Rebel Alliance heroes.
Ostrander says Cross is influenced by Jason Bourne and John Le Carre spy novels .
“Still, there’s a lot of overlap in the Bond and Star Wars franchises: charismatic lead character, beautiful women, exotic locales, large-scale villains, intense action, chases, technology and gadgets. It’s like peanut-butter cups: two great tastes that go great together.”
I think the challenge will be making a hero out of an agent working for “the bad guys” but Ostrander’s writing is outstanding. This could be a new way to see the Star Wars canon from an Empire insider.