With this stretch, I've wrapped up two strong series and begun, at least so far, two strong new ones. I'm a little sad for the end of the X-Wing series, definitely my favorite so far. By the end, they were trying to do too much: too many characters, too many threads, three - or was it four? - simultaneous romantic tales. It was at its best when it settled on a narrow focus for a while. In fact, in my experience, that's pretty much always the case in comic books.
I don't need to be too wistful about Crimson Empire because I'll be starting the second series soon.
Mara Jade might very well be the single best character introduced between the original and prequel movie trilogies. Timothy Zahn deserves the credit, having invented her for his Thrawn book trilogy. The truth is, quite a lot of badass female Star Wars characters were introduced in the '90s - heroes, villains and, best of all, in between. Unfortunately, Padme was a step backwards in that regard but perhaps these others were important precursors for Rey further down the line.
The greatest contribution by the Dark Horse comic books to the broader franchise was the fleshing out of an ancient history for the Jedi/Sith struggle. While I tired of that thread after a bit, Jedi Academy has renewed my curiosity. It's actually the latest in the timeline of any series I've explored so far but it's well grounded in the earlier legends.
My Recent Reads
Crimson Empire #5
Originally published April 15, 1998
Writers: Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley
Artist: Paul Gulacy
In-Story Timeline: 11 ABY
Crimson Empire #6
May 20, 1998
Richardson and Stradley/Gulacy
X-Wing Rogue Squadron #30: Masquerade, Part 3
May 6, 1998
Michael A. Stackpole/Drew Johnson
4 ABY
X-Wing Rogue Squadron #31: Masquerade, Part 4
July 1, 1998
Stackpole/Johnson
X-Wing Rogue Squadron #32: Mandatory Retirement, Part 1
August 5, 1998
Stackpole/Steve Crespo
X-Wing Rogue Squadron #33: Mandatory Retirement, Part 2
September 16, 1998
Stackpole/Crespo and John Nadeau
X-Wing Rogue Squadron #34: Mandatory Retirement, Part 3
October 28, 1998
Stackpole/Crespo and Nadeau
X-Wing Rogue Squadron #35: Mandatory Retirement, Part 4
November 25, 1998
Stackpole/Crespo and Nadeau
Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand #1
August 5, 1998
Timothy Zahn and Stackpole/Carlos Ezquerra
4 ABY
Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand #2
September 2, 1998
Zahn and Stackpole/Ezquerra
Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand #3
October 7, 1998
Zahn and Stackpole/Ezquerra
Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand #4
November 4, 1998
Zahn/Ezquerra
Jedi Academy - Leviathan #1
October 28, 1998
Kevin J. Anderson/Dario Carrasco, Jr.
12 ABY