Who wrote and drew the Dark Empire Star Wars comic?
Dark Empire was written by Tom Veitch and drawn by Cam Kennedy for the first two six-issue limited series. The final installment, Empire's End, was also written by Veitch but drawn by Jim Baikie.
Questions about Dark Empire
Short answers, pulled from the story.
How does Emperor Palpatine return in Dark Empire?
In Dark Empire, Palpatine survived death by transferring his spirit into a succession of cloned bodies. By Empire's End, his clone bodies were decaying rapidly because his personal physician had contaminated all stored genetic samples on behalf of a conspirator named Carnor Jax.
When was Dark Empire published and by which company?
Dark Empire I was published bimonthly in 1991 and 1992 by Dark Horse Comics. Dark Empire II ran from 1994 to 1995, and the final two-issue series Empire's End was published in 1995.
How many copies did Dark Empire sell?
By the end of the 1990s, Dark Empire had sold over 100,000 copies. Along with Timothy Zahn's novels, the series is credited with sustaining the financial viability of Star Wars during that decade.
Is Dark Empire still considered canon in the Star Wars universe?
No. In April 2014, Lucasfilm reclassified most licensed Star Wars novels and comics, including Dark Empire, as non-canonical Legends material to create a clean slate for the sequel trilogy.
How did Dark Empire influence The Rise of Skywalker?
The Rise of Skywalker used the same plot element of Palpatine returning via a clone body, which the film's novelization confirmed. Both the comic and the film also invoke the spirits of past Jedi to permanently defeat Palpatine.