Product Description: Baron Soontir Fel, the greatest fighter ace of the Empire, has been captured by the Rebel Alliance. But from the shadowed recesses of a Rebel interrogation chamber, Fel tells a story of the deception and corruption beneath the Empire's orderly surface... and sets the stage for his own defection to the Rebellion. This collection concludes the events set in motion in X-Wing Rogue Squadron: In the Empire's Service.
Try To Resist Cutting Off The Last Third With Scissors.... That's my review, that title. This TPB makes me want to hunt down the first 2 of the individual issues comprising it. The last third makes me want to hunt down whoever was responsible.
What is the deal with it being printed all the way down into the crease? I don't like bending out the spines of my books. Do I have to do that in order to see all of some panels? Will it then fall apart?
Baron Soontir Fel could be explored more This story takes off from Rogue Squadron No. 6, "In The Empire's Service". In Rogue No. 6, Baron Fel was introduced as the best pilot in the Imperial Navy, commanding the 181st Squadron and have teached the best pilot in the Rebel Alliance, most of them joined the Rogue Squadron. At the end of "In The Empire's Service", Baron Fel was captured, interrogated, and revealed himself to be married to the sister of one of the Rogue's Pilot.
"Blood and Honor" itself is a compilation of "The Making of Baron Fel" and "Family Ties", both pubulished by Dark Horse Comics. In the beginning of "Blood and Honor", Baron Fel told his life story, from his boyhood to his capture. Next, he defect to the Rebellion in return to them securing his family. So, the half part of "Blood and Honor" is about several Rogue Squadron pilots trying to save Fel's Family.
The story of Baron Fel itself is intriguing, since it deals with a military man who ideologically support the Empire, fight for the Empire, but gradually become disillusioned and eventually lose his loyalty.
Baron Fel's story could be more exciting, too bad they doesn't go into much detail on some part of his life. For example, how Baron Fel become disillusioned. Exactly what that makes him decided to joined the Rebellion? They don't covered much detail here. There aren't even a dilemma involved. I would like to read Baron Fel's musing on the thought of defection and reflections on his gradual disloyalty, on how become disillusioned. I believe this is the most important part. Some parts that are not covered are his academy days. What makes him a valedictorian, for example? And what did he do with fellow student Han Solo?
"Family Ties" isn't much too interesting. Perhaps it would be more interesting if Baron Fel's story is made into 3 parts that explore more on Baron Fel's decision to defect, while Family Ties could be shortened into 1 part.
A sequel that equals Following right after In the Empire's Service, Blood and Honor is a comic where interstellar actions takes a temporary backseat for this character-driven tale. From the depths of a debriefing room, now in enemy custody, captured Imperial fighter ace Soontir Fel regales his background---a story of deceit, integrity, romance and inevitability. Dived into two parts---The Making of Baron Fel, and Family Ties---this is one comic that is surprisingly empathic for readers.
The art quality is not the shocking excellence of modern fare, but its elegant simplicity conveys all it needs to and more. Frames are uncluttered with extraneous graphics and colouring adds enough three-dimensional texture to curry assent. Dialogue is handled just as well; both tone and wording are perfectly in keeping with a dignified Imperial naval officer.
Fel recounts his career with an abundance of character cameos from the Star Wars universe. This was an excellent idea, simply because comics are visual books, providing the reader with a rare look of how some people actually look. Many of these guest appearances were names the reader knows but may never have seen in art, like General Derricote, Syal Antilles, Thrawn and Hal Horn.
Palpatine, Tarkin, Isard, Vader and Turr Phennir also cameoed, along with other names from past Rogue Squadron comics. One downside to this fun was Fel's acquaintance with so many of them.
The second half of the trade paperback was Family Ties, where Wedge sends three Rogues to Corellia to safeguard Fel's family from Imperial retaliation over his suspected defection. The art here was not as good as the first half, with frames looking too light in detail. The dialogue, however, is vintage Stackpole. And with three new names for show---Corran, Iella and the bumbling Loor---you could almost imagine it was one of his X-wing books!
It was great to see how Corran and Iella look like, though Loor doesn't have his infamous Tarkin resemblance. Now that Plourr has her hair back, and enough of it, she just looks great. Wondering where Hobbie's "bug bite" comment came from in the X-wing book Starfighters of Adumar, you now know. Just a small discrepancy: CorSec uniforms were green-black, not orange here. The ending here, unfortunately, was just too rushed. An extra page of Corran in his emerald X-wing would have made the difference.
But that notwithstanding, Blood and Honor is one comic you cannot go without for serious readers in the Rogue Squadron series.
Improved artwork for this Baron Fel story This is Vol 6 of the X-Wing saga, and the 2nd of 2 TPB's about Baron fel. Stackpole does the entire story here and we get a new art team of crespo Hall and Johnson with 4 ink and color people.
The pencil work has very few lazy artist panels and only a 2 sections where the ink and coloring fell off so I give the art team a 3.8. Who ever did the pencils in last 25% of the book was a 4plus.
This is a comic, I usually emphasis the visual elements in my grading. But this is the second half of the story of Baron Soontir Fel, the greatest fighter ace of the empire, and for a short time a Rogue, and the guy the Wedges sister marries. This comic is about the story and you will like the story. It is a strong plus that the artwork here is about average.
Baron Fel revealed When Baron Soontir Fel, the greatest pilot of the Imperial forces, is captured by the Rebels, he tells all in the confines of an interrogation cell to Wedge Antilles, the greatest pilot of the Rebellion - also his brother-in-law.
Stackpole brilliantly shows the past carrer of Fel in the Imperial Navy, how he met Syal Antilles, Wedge's sister, and how it comes to be that Fel defects to the Rebels.
The story falls short in the cofusing final third, however. Not much happens and what does happen is very jumbled and not thought through. Then again, Stackpole isn't exactly the Master of the Hidden Plot. But it is well worth its cost in dollars in the first two-thirds; after all, I bought it.
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