No One's Ever Really Gone or Dead in Tales From the Rancor Pit

Fall into a pit of spooktacular vibes in Dark Horse's latest comic venturing into the darker side of Star Wars with veteran writer Cavan Scott at the helm. Tales From the Rancor Pit is set between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and consists of three short tales told by Captain Vaclav who hopes these stories will buy him freedom in lieu of meeting an untimely demise at the hand's of Jabba, or worse. The tales feature undead battle droids from the time of the Clone Wars, monster hunter Ty Yorrick on a mission during the High Republic era, and a tale from Echo Base featuring our favorite Original Trilogy heroes. Tales From the Rancor Pit is available at your local comic shop but is expected to have a wide release (available in bookstores and online) January 3, 2023.

"Ghosts of the Machine"

Set during the Clone Wars, a Separatist General finds his troops are rising from the dead to target none other than him due to the blatant contempt he showed his soldiers. Though the concept is supposed to be zombified droids, it reminded me of The Clone Wars Season 4 Episode 19 Massacre since the undead droids were depicted to have a green mist dancing around them similar to how the Nightsisters resurrected their dead which took me out of the story. Otherwise this one is my favorite (what can I say, I love the prequels and Clone Wars.) Furthermore, artwork by Juan Samu for this tale is spectacular and compliments that of Nick Brokenshire perfectly.

"Undead or Alive"

Our High Republic tale featuring everyone's favorite saber-for-hire Ty Yorrick starts off with her taking a job from an old boss with a monster problem, but Ty soon realizes this monster is deadlier than expected. For those who read the High Republic, you'll find the similar affinity for justice in how she carries out this task and even a moment where he references she was a Jedi at one point. With not a lot of Ty Yorrick content in Phase I, this will help hold fans over until Phase III.

"In the Lair of the Dragon Slug"

Readers will ultimately land back in the same era in which this tale as a whole is set but some time back when the Rebellion is working to fortify Echo Base. Han, Leia, and Chewy investigate a series of frightening sounds within the caves of Hoth and the monster is not what you would expect (if you're thinking of the giant, snowy fuzzball-Wampas-well, that's not it.)

Final Thoughts: Tales From the Rancor Pit is a fun set of spooky tales for Halloween like Tales From Vader's Castle, also written by Cavan Scott. Dark Horse Comics has a strong return to Star Wars with many great addition to the universe and Tales From the Rancor Pit doesn't disappoint.

Click the image to see my visual review on Instagram