Product Description: When Imperial Intelligence chief Ysanne Isard discovers that acting-Emperor Pestage has cut a secret deal with the Rebel Alliance to sell out the Empire, it appears that the Rebels` ticket to Imperial Center has been punched. But when Pestage is captured in his sanctuary on a far world, Rogue Squadron is assigned to go after him. If the New Republic wants to claim Imperial Center and turn the tide of war, it is imperative that they rescue Pestage, now wanted by the Empire for high treason. Unfortunately, Isard is also going after Pestage - with a brace of Star Destroyers and her own designs on the Imperial throne! Mandatory Retirement is the thrilling conclusion to the epic Rise of Isard story arc and a key link in the Star Wars mythos!
Perfect ending that leads us into the novels. Vol 9 MR returns the Pencil and Inking people I have liked the least in this series. But this was their best effort and is one of the 3 best comics in the 8 TPB series visually. The characters are drawn with sufficient detail so that there is little confusion on who is who, which was a problem in Vol 8. As good as the artwork is, it is still not up to the best that Dark horse has done so it get a 4.
The story is an important addition to the further understanding of the characters that will appear in the novels to come. The story is the perfect ending of the series of comics and leads us right into the novels. The novels will take us to the conquest of Coruscant and ultimately the defeat of Ol'Iceheart.
This is a solid 4 star comic and I strongly recommend it, with a ps. For Mr's. Nadeau and Crespo. I accused you of lazy art in previous work. Very good job here.
A great end to the series Mandatory Retirement concludes the Rogue Squadron comic series, and does so with slick action, camaraderie and polish. For those who have the X-wing: Isard's Revenge book, you'll find the backstories of Admiral Krennel and Ms Isard here.
The art is worthy of The Phantom Affair in quality, and just as fantastic, certainly above other issues of this series. The background detail in frames are not fuzzy or lacking, and some scenes are actually rendered from creative camera-points.
Plenty of characters here, and their interaction is fun and not left to idle. Though the Imperial scenes are short they are adequate. The dialogue is vintage Stackpole; readers of his X-wing books will recognise his style of speech sentence structure. Wedge's face has changed so often per issue you wonder what his cosmetic secret is. It was nice to see all the Rogues having R&R in the beginning, though beware---Wedge and Tycho have bulging muscles without their shirts!
The plot is great and never a dull moment. Baron Fel's lines stand out, but it is Pestage that stands out here. He goes from being a pest to a pestilence on everyone's nerves, particularly when you have to protect someone who's your enemy. There are many links to the X-wing books; Krennel's cryptic comment scoffing at studying an enemy's art when a tactical hologram will tell all you need to know is better explained in Isard's Revenge, where Thrawn booted him out of his forces, is one.
Other nice touches was Wedge's long eulogy, some sharp lines from General Carvin, and more Dendo scenes; the man likes his cape, doesn't he? Though Salm and Dendo have similar faces, apart from the latter's head horns.
Overall, Mandatory Retirement is a great issue and a fitting finale to this series. If you're looking for a comic with good action, dialogue and an actual story, not just a tale, this is the one for you.
Superb Ending to a Superb Series Stackpole ends his series with a bang. 'Mandatory Retirement' is indeed second only to 'In the Empire's Service' in the series in my opinion (as I prefer the larger-scale arcs) and is indeed uniquely Star Wars. The story begin with light scenes of the various Rogues intermixing, socializing, and so forth, building the characters enhanced over the course of the series. Intermixed with these, however, are grim scenes of the events on Coruscant and Cituric. Pestage, intermin Emperor, goes into hiding, and the hunt for him begins. Dinner, dancing, and enjoyment ends for the Rogues and they are suddenly thrown into the mix of things. One of the high points in this story are the many philosophical conversations about the Empire and the Repulbic and the differences between them. The conversations between Fel and Pestage and the clash between Nrin, Fel, Pestage, and Wedge after one of the Rogues is lost are both some of the best SW I've ever read. One must also take note of the dire contrast between the first and second halves. The Rogues begin by relaxing and enjoying themselves (except for to lonely, rejected Fel) and events transpire that put these same people in a dire, morbid situation where their hope for survival looks bleak. superb writing by Stackpole. Onto the art. The Nadeau-Crespo team is a success, with and very good mix of people and technology. X-wings, Y-wing, Bantha-class shuttles, and Star Destroyers all look superb, in particular a jaw-dropping two-page battle shot towards the end. Crespo does very good faces and their expressions. One of my favorite parts of the whole arc is the full-page shot of the Rogues and Kapp Dendo's commandoes standing over the cloth-covered body of a fallen Rogue. (Who will remain nameless, of course.) The expressions on each and every face is a virtual window into what each one must be thinking. And once again the coloring by Dave Nestelle is superb, perfectly conveying the feelings of bleakness and hopelessness in some scenes while conveying one of tranquility and enjoyment in others. In a series like Rogue Squadron, when you have dozen of characters, its hard to balance it out. But Stackpole does it just as well as he has throughout the series. Fel once again is a superb character, while others like Nrin show both their good points and their flaws very well. Pestage starts out as an almost sympathetic character, but as time goes on he becomes more and more loatheful. Not perfect, but still highly reccomended. It's also one of the few examples in Star Wars where an actualy deep, philosphical reason against the Empire is established. Bravo to Stackpole and crew for a great ending to a great series.
Arguably The Most Consistent If Michael Stackpole has written the storyline, you are virtually guaranteed a great Star Wars Tale. He, like Timothy Zahn, and maybe one or two other writers always deliver material that is faithful to the saga, and well written as well. These collections of illustrated stories bound between a single cover are not as widely visible as the more traditional books. However they can be fun, and when they are good, they are extremely good. And just as the other forms of written material that bring the Star Wars Saga to fans, bits and pieces of information are here for the learning as well.
Another fan, Mastage, has already written a good summary of the contents, however there was one other aspect that I enjoyed. At the end of these books the cover art from the installments are generally included. This time they took several pages to document the creation of the cover art for this final volume from start to finish. Not unlike the movies these books that are a branch of the movies and other books, traditional attention and praise is rarely given, as it is deserved. The movies consistently are the biggest box office events of the year when they are introduced, yet other than technical achievement they are ignored.
Ysanne Isard is one of the better female villains that have been created, and if the Emperor even becomes an Empress, she will head the list of candidates. This is not the best of these I have read, as I continue to feel earlier books were more complete. The storylines were more developed, and many of the books were a full 50% longer than the more recent releases.
For fans of Star Wars all the written material are fun, so if you have yet to try one of these, do so, you will enjoy the experience.
A fitting end to a great series. Michael Stackpole has done it again. He has written the best book in this series since "In The Empire's Service". The book is filled with everything you've grown to know and love about this series:awesome space battles, the best art in any Star Wars comic book, backstabbing, betrayal, love, and funny subplots. The story, which covers an attempt by the Alliance to rescue former villain Sate Pestage, is very well written. There are many great twists, which we have all come to expect. Ysanne Isard, the vilain, is portayed especially well, with her treacherous path covered in full detail. Isard's attempts at assasination against her enemies is reminiscent of Crimson Empire, another great series. In conclusion, if you are looking for a great Star Wars book, look no further.
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